Most CMSs I know you have to define some sort of schema with fields for your content to fit into. Trello with lists and cards is really flexible, pair that with hashtags and it’s loose enough to support a lot of different content arrangements. Uploading images is as simple as attaching it to a card.

Plus everything is visible: you can see your whole sitemap in one screen. I can also have lists that aren’t pages for notes and drafts.

And Trello already has an iOS app, so I don’t have to worry about fighting a mobile admin site.

There’s a few reasons! One, I can update my site from my phone. I just use the Trello app, and hit a special URL to reload.

Two, I have complete control over how the content is presented. I have found there’s a huge canyon between Markdown and WYSIWYG. Trello is a user friendly tool for arranging pieces of content, it’s got the right amount of flexibility and everyone’s familiar with it.

For designs where I am focused on the content first, I have developed a couple of tools.

One is for creating websites from a Trello board. Each list becomes a page, and each card becomes a chunk of content. Here, for example, is a live preview of my portfolio website — https://lokum.icing.space/#mQ6WXDAQ/ — the content comes from this Trello board, and the CSS is developed in this CodePen.

The next, currently in alpha, is for rapidly prototyping screens with text, forms, navigation, etc. You type some hashtagged text on the left, and a preview is updated on the right with Bootstrap, Foundation, or wireframes. You can play around with it here.

All of this is open source on GitHub. I use React + Node.js.

This sort of collaboration would have taken days in Sketch

https://icing.space/flambe

I’ve been working on my content-first UI mockup tool, where you annotate with #hashtags and @mentions and it creates a Bootstrap / Foundation / vanilla mockup. There’s even a React code preview.

Feedback appreciated!

I think it’s because the editors are making it more appealing for people who want to skim. The pull quotes are the juicy parts highlighted, sometimes almost like click-bait within the article. But instead of encouraging you to click to open, they are encouraging you to stay around so you don’t click to close the tab.

Yes, and I won so many iPads I built a mansion out of them…

I will click some Google sponsored results, some Twitter ads if they seem of interest, rarely a Facebook ad. I find some YouTube ads entertaining but I’ll skip nearly all, and won’t click as it will take me away from what I actually wanted to watch.

I used to really dislike Google Ads because I didn’t trust them, but now I’ve played around with the other side of it, I trust it a bit more.

I don’t block banner ads because I once was part of a site that had them. So I understand why publishers run them, and how low the money is. It’s sad those ‘You might also like ads’ have become so prevalent, as they are just shit. But maybe they convert well sadly.

Correct me if I am wrong, but it sounds as if you agree with my overarching theme: that OS X's interface quality has declined with the years.

What — no! It is so important if you are going to critique something that:

1. You yourself take constructive criticism on.
2. You use those same skills you critiqued with to explore other possibilities.
3. You don’t seemingly make it your top goal to convince others that your original argument is completely sound and still stands.

You are making multiple arguments:

1. OS X / macOS’s UI quality has declined.
2. This is closely tied to the loss of Steve Jobs.
3. This is related to the move away from skueomorphism.

My argument in return is:

1. Not just the UI but the UX has declined, and although related, I think UX is more important. The user experience is more important than whether something is skueomorphic or flat.
2. This was occurring during the time of Steve Jobs. Excessive skueomorphism was harming not aiding usability.
3. There has not just been a move away from skueomophism, but a move to more fragile user experiences with Apple software. I don’t agree that one simply caused the other. However, I do believe there are other links. Maybe I’ll have to write an article.

So please don’t attempt to boil down my points to ‘sounds as if you agree’. It simply dismisses them. I hope you understand why I am a bit cheesed. Looking forward to reading part II.

Boy, yeah I really disagree with the over arching theme to this. I agree about the reduction in colour — a red delete button I think is more usable.

I believe OS X’s UI started going downhill while Steve Jobs was still alive. The interface of Leopard brought some much needed pleasantries (removal of brush metal with a smooth gradient, and unifying it with the other window styles) with just pure excess (The Dock! That awful reflective Dock). At the time I felt the Time Machine UI was too garish. Here is some critique from the time http://arstechnica.com/apple/2007/10/mac-os-x-10-5/4/ — 2007! (Note the greying of icons began during this time.)

Releases such as Lion brought awful skueomorphism to the Calendar, Contacts, and Notes. The decoration was so over the top, it got in the way of just using the thing. The skueomorphism was shallow — much of it added nothing. It’s like it was trying to be a statement in itself. They went much too far with the sense of play. I believe quite a lot of it was just badly executed.

I do believe there is a deterioration in Apple’s software design. I believe the core of the problem is a loss of skill and taste in usability. Steve Jobs very often enforced a benchmark for Apple’s software to reach. He also had a good feel for usability, and was prepared to reject anything that was too complicated or was poorly thought through. That’s the biggest loss to Apple’s software I think. Edge cases are missed. The overall vision often has holes in it, partly because it’s so broad now with multiple device categories paired with years of legacy. It’s a harder problem than ever to manage. I heard many UX/UI people left Apple before the time of iOS 7’s development.

Steve Jobs was an experienced expert at combining aggressive deadlines with ambitious software (also hardware of course), and I think it’s because he knew software and working with software people so well. Other offerings such as online services he and probably other managers were less versed in, and so products such as Mobile Me weren’t nearly as well executed.

If you are passionate about it, then sure.

If you are not, I think it is safe to be skeptical about it. I personally don’t believe in its current format that it will blow up into a giant mainstream industry.

Also predictions that it will supersede our touch screen devices are far too premature — there is zero reason the two won’t coexist for quite a while.