Productivity software, computer maintenance tools, creative software suites, integrated development environments, habit trackers, language learning apps, video games, video streaming libraries, pretty much anything that involves a screen feels bad. It's so odd that every bit of software's UI/UX feels both overly designed/bloated but also simultaneously barren and empty. Software design seems increasingly unable to fulfill its basic functionality. So many of the bits of software that we interact with feel identical but also somehow feel distinctly bad.

I can't articulate how capitalism is to blame but if any of you could help I would appreciate it.

You’d think that there would be some sort of universal visual/technical language we can all agree upon but it seems that there is no real driving aesthetic philosophy for systems we use every day. Aside from getting users to interact with a payment system/outlet all of the software we use has dreadful UI/UX.

Paying for something is very easy. Simple and intuitive (most of the time), it’s usually one to four clicks/taps but actually using a thing is seemingly more difficult. Using a common feature of a product can be somewhere between two to nine clicks/taps. I don’t think everything should be command-line interfaces (CLI) of course, but I will say that CLI at least usually allow users to get what they want.

I know it’s usually answered with “because money”, but how and why are UI/UX so universally bad for pretty much every bit of software we all use? It feels kind like how every car (fuck cars) had the same weird amorphous shape that is both considered “normal” must also universally unappealing.

What happened?

  • 99LuftBalloons [none/use name]
    ·
    2 years ago

    Modern UI is mostly designed for mobile devices as mobile devices are the largest share of people using the internet. Then the association for modern design becomes synonymous with mobile looks even if it doesn't make sense for desktop software.

    The vast majority of Gen Z people are not computer literate. There was a sweet spot for Millennials in which they grew up with computers before they became streamlined into non-functionality. I remember an article about how Comp-Sci professors were having to go over basic concepts like directories because everything is stored in one or two folders on a mobile device. People who enjoy niche forums like Hexbear self-select for being computer literate so it's not a realization many of us have. I almost had a stroke when my younger sibling couldn't figure out how to open a browser on a desktop and it's only a 4 year age difference.

    • RION [she/her]
      ·
      2 years ago

      Feeling like a senior citizen in ur early twenties because u know how computer works :chomsky-yes-honey:

    • Mindfury [he/him]
      ·
      2 years ago

      my younger sibling couldn’t figure out how to open a browser on a desktop

      I am going to tear my eyeballs out

    • marxisthayaca [he/him,they/them]
      ·
      2 years ago

      I keep telling folks I work with, there's a difference between computer literate and digital natives. I was shocked when I learned a lot of college students do all their work on an ipad or worse, an iphone!!!!

      • 99LuftBalloons [none/use name]
        ·
        2 years ago

        Someone just submitted a group discussion in my college course by screenshotting a text message.

        I promised myself I wouldn't become a boomer who shits on younger folk for not knowing obscure tech I grew up with but it's gotten so much harder. At least rotary phones were obsolete, desktops are still the standard in 99% of workplaces.

        • Llituro [he/him, they/them]
          ·
          2 years ago

          I've realized that I need to go over how to turn on a desktop tower and monitor because they literally can't troubleshoot it on their own.

      • raven [he/him]
        ·
        2 years ago

        Do they even use a bluetooth keyboard? Surely this is asking for some kind of RSI.

    • Shinji_Ikari [he/him]
      ·
      2 years ago

      I was showing my 14y/o BIL how to make a basic web server with python. He's been taking a python class in school and it was basically useless.

      The kid has a gaming computer with a multi-monitor setup and when I was walking him through setting up WSL and vs code, he barely knew how to navigate his machine. Start menu? Huh? basic google searching? nuh uh, "drag that window onto your other display so we can reference it as we go "whoaa".

      I'm happy to help but I can't imagine being given a nice computer at that age and not figuring out how to make it my own.

      • barrbaric [he/him]
        ·
        2 years ago

        We must bring back awful PC ports that require you to implement ridiculous hacks whose only instructions are in README text files to get the gamers computer literate.

        • Shinji_Ikari [he/him]
          ·
          2 years ago

          The only reason I have a degree in computer shit is because I needed to host a pirate minecraft server from the command line. My entire career in tech after that can be drawn as a straight line. I repurposed a computer from like 2003 to be an always-on debian based MC server that had well over a year of continuous uptime before being shut down.

          Before MC it was pirating GTA: SA and Halo.