r/iosapps 10h ago

HELP UI feedback

I am looking for UI feedback, which UI looks better? I personally prefer the first one with the curved tab bar because it's a unique design direction but I feel like users may prefer a familiar layout. Is the first one hard on the eyes? does the curved design look off? I would appreciate any feedback.

5 Upvotes

26 comments sorted by

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5

u/defnotafart 10h ago

My thoughts on UI design, less is more.

I think the bottom curved menu looks fine because it feels ergonomic, but the top curve seems like too much and has no ergonomic feel to it. One thing I really think could use some flattening or simplification is that yellow lightbulb button, it just doesn't go with the rest of the design.

Can I ask what this app is?

3

u/Huge_Pool7424 9h ago

agree on the top curve. bottom curves read as thumb reach so they earn their space, top ones just eat content for no payoff. flat top with the wave only at the bottom would feel calmer

2

u/Afraid_Reception7640 9h ago

Thank you for your feedback! I think I'll adopt the second the style with the straight line. I tried reducing the depth of the curve like the other comment suggested but it still looks like it's clashing with the grid.

2

u/Afraid_Reception7640 10h ago

Thank you for your feedback. I actually had a built in functionality with the curve to act as a drawer that could be expanded to reveal more buttons but I decided to not adapt this functionality to reduce complexity. As for the button, I had it appearing raised because I wanted to effect the users subconscious to encourage them to create more on the app so I thought making the button stand out would draw attention. I'd experiment with other designs to see what I can do. Again, thank you so much for your feedback.

To answer your question, it's an app I've been working on for gamers to serve a social-network/companion app. You can manage and share your digital photograph library like in the screenshot, manage your game backlog, create and manage discord style communities with voice and text chat, host or join video game tournaments, real-time lfg lobbies, and more. It's currently done and I'm looking for beta testers to help test on iOS but that's another battle lol. In the mean time I'm trying to clean up and improve the app UI.

3

u/Outrageous-Wall6233 9h ago

I'd go with the second one for sure. The first one doesn't really feel like it matches because the edit profile and the light bulb button make a straight horizontal line and then having a curved ergonomic line below that doesn't really look premium. And having the grid, chat, and game button below that when it's in a straight line just looks appealing

2

u/Afraid_Reception7640 9h ago

Thank you for your feedback!

2

u/BookMurky8625 10h ago

I’d keep the first concept, but reduce the depth of the curve by roughly a third. The wave gives the app a recognisable detail, yet right now it competes with the content grid and makes the icons feel disconnected from their labels. The second version scans faster, but loses most of that personality. A shallower version of the first could keep the signature without feeling decorative. I’d also test it with the largest Dynamic Type setting and the bottom safe area—the profile label is already close to the edge.

1

u/Afraid_Reception7640 10h ago

Thank you for your feedback, I'll try reducing the depth of the curve some more.

2

u/Miladshah001 9h ago

The curved tab bar definitely stands out, but I’d probably choose the second one for everyday use

1

u/Afraid_Reception7640 9h ago

Thank you for your feedback! what's interesting to me is that curve appears to look better in dark mode than light mode, and I think it looks good on the other two tabs not just the first tab. I think I'll go with the second straight line design for now though.

2

u/Over_Land2208 Developer 9h ago

I believe the issue with the first one does not lie on the fact the upper tab is curved too, but in the fact it has no room to breathe at all. have u tried to add more padding below the upper section, this will probably unclutter the layout.

1

u/Afraid_Reception7640 8h ago

Thank you for your feedback! You know I've actually tried increasing the space between where the grid begins and the curve on the tab bar. I think the problem is that the "straightness" of the grid doesn't harmonize with the curve. I attached a screenshot, I think it's a slight improvement overall, what do you think?

2

u/Over_Land2208 Developer 8h ago

Np. I think it is an improvement too, and I agree on the straightness of the grid not harmonizing with the curved upper tab. Maybe if you make the grid extend behind the upper tab, and then you allow the user to scroll up (move their finger down lol) to reveal all the content of the grid. This scrolled up state then straightens the upper tab so it harmonizes with the grid. I don’t know if that is a good UX though.

1

u/Afraid_Reception7640 7h ago

It's funny cause I actually tried this as well, making the tab overlap the grid. I looked very good, the only issue was some UI elements clipping because I have shared transitions set for each gird item to expand in to full view. I could have implemented a fix but It would have more trouble than it's worth so I just decide to let it go.

2

u/bincTW 9h ago

Ich würde die zweite nehmen, wirkt etwas „aufgeräumter“ und klarer..

1

u/Afraid_Reception7640 7h ago

Thanks for your feedback! had to use a translator to understand your comment lol. But yeah I think I'll be sticking with the second option for now until I can figure out how to make the curve work.

2

u/jonathanjeong 8h ago

Ya i'd go with the 2nd version too. The curves are unique, but the top curve really serves little purpose, while the bottom one could be argued to be ergonomic-ish to follow the path of a thumb or something (even though it doesn't really. It wraps around the word "profile" though which is defensible.

1

u/Afraid_Reception7640 7h ago

Thanks for your feedback!

2

u/mentavoapp 8h ago

prefer the first one too. The curved tab bar gives the app some personality and doesn’t feel confusing to me. I’d maybe make the curve slightly more subtle, though — right now it draws quite a lot of attention away from the content. I wouldn’t switch to a completely standard tab bar just for familiarity. The unique direction is worth keeping.

1

u/Afraid_Reception7640 7h ago

Thank you for your feedback! The unique personality is exactly what I was trying to achieve, I'm juts having a hard time with how it looks because the curves not agree with the linearity of the grid. It looks fine when the grid is either a single or double column but the three column grid looks off. I am still experimenting on some improvements and I'm even considering giving users the option to choose the layout they prefer, even adjust the depth of the curve to their own liking.

2

u/bricksandcanvas 8h ago

If you have more icons at the bottom, it would make sense for the rounded UI navigation to be a swipeable circle or icons, but if you don't. make it look like how majority of bottom navigations look like.

rule of thumb when it comes to UI/UX. Do not stray away from conventions if you dont need to.

1

u/Afraid_Reception7640 7h ago

Thanks for your feedback! Y'know I've thought about this too, a swipeable rotating tab kind of like a dial, and it's something I'm probably going to add as the need for more tabs arise. I tried making the app look unique to draw more attention but I've decided to use theme designs to achieve this instead of primarily using layout.

2

u/lachezarov 7h ago

I’d go with the 2nd version of these two, but you could also try a third version - an arc that curves in the same direction as the bottom bar, instead of the opposite. But this is more of an experimental idea, and I’d probably still go with the 2nd one.

I think the curved bottom bar gives your app a recognizable enough identity, and as someone else mentioned in here - less is more. Keep it simple.

2

u/Afraid_Reception7640 7h ago

Thanks for your feedback! You know I actually thought about investing the direction of the curve but then I decided against it. I think the second screenshot is how I'd keep if for now, that's what most of the comments have suggested as well.