Apple's unified theme
One of the new OSX Leopard features that Steve Jobs unveiled today is a unified theme for the operating system. Apple has been experimenting with app themes for a long time, and the result has been a hodgepodge of inconsistent UIs. The current Finder, for example, shares the same (butt-ugly) brushed metal theme as iCal, iChat and a smattering of other applications. iTunes and the iLife apps have another skin, and older apps – such as MS Office – have another still. They just don’t feel right. Given Apple’s focus on UX as a differentiator, it was about time the company did something about this.
Leopard has a new unified UI that seems similar to the one currently used by iTunes and the iLife apps. It is clean, sober, and – most important – consistent throughout the whole operating system. And they didn’t stop with the OS and applications: apple.com has also undergone a redesign that adopts the new UI look and feel. (They couldn’t well announce a “unified” theme for the OS while still feature the old tabbed UI theme on the site, could they?) This attention to detail is a testament to Apple’s commitment to develop and differentiate their brand through consistent design.
A side note: I’ve never seen a better online presentation of a new software app than the Leopard pages in apple.com. The screencasts, especially, seem perfectly integrated with the rest of the site, and do a great job of presenting the new features clearly.
Kudos to all involved!
Would be nice if they could update the international sites as well.. Not JUST the American one.
Hi Lemonpie, I agree—it’d have been nice for them to have done all the sites at the same time.
With time I’ve also noticed other parts of the site that aren’t yet using the new interface. I believe this is what Walt Disney would have referred to as “bad show”.