16 comments

  • Chantal JandardChantal Jandard, 8 years ago

    Well hey, I learned something; I had no idea about the technical side of this sort of thing. Thanks for posting!

    16 points
  • Eli SladeEli Slade, 8 years ago

    Very interesting. I didn't know Apple change the toolbar button in El Capitan until I read this. I like the newer buttons.

    2 points
    • Marc EdwardsMarc Edwards, 8 years ago

      I like the new buttons and the design of El Capitan as well. It’s just a shame there’s a few small details missed, like these ones.

      2 points
      • Eli SladeEli Slade, 8 years ago (edited 8 years ago )

        Well maybe if an Apple Engineer sees this post they might have time to make the dithering repeat bigger.

        2 points
  • John PJohn P, 8 years ago

    Excellent detective work, pretty shocked that Apple's designers don't understand the basics of noise and dithering.

    1 point
    • Marc EdwardsMarc Edwards, 8 years ago

      If we’re being generous, it’s possible it’s an intentional decision made for performance or disk space. Although, I can’t see it making much difference to either.

      2 points
  • James LaneJames Lane, 8 years ago

    I don't really know much about how things like the Finder window are created/built, but just thinking about that pixel thing.

    Could it be 1px because the window has to adapt to any width that the user defines? So it would have to be multiples of 1px?

    Or would it be a case of using something similar to 'overflow: hidden' on a 20px repeat background?

    1 point
    • Marc EdwardsMarc Edwards, 8 years ago (edited 8 years ago )

      It's definitely possible to use repeating centre slice sections of any width, and still support any width for the view. Apple did it with their Mavericks window titlebars (which repeats every 128 points), and they provide ways for developers to do it for buttons and other elements.

      I think it's either a mistake, or intentional for performance reasons.

      Or would it be a case of using something similar to 'overflow: hidden' on a 20px repeat background?

      Yep, exactly like that.

      1 point
  • matt michelsonmatt michelson, 8 years ago

    Man, this is fascinating. Really enjoyable read! Gradient dithering (or lack thereof) is still the thing I hate most about using Illustrator for ui design, even if i love it for so many other reasons.

    1 point
    • Marc EdwardsMarc Edwards, 8 years ago

      Yeah, I’m with you on that one.

      Illustrator’s vector features are second to none. Illustrator’s rendering is second to everyone.

      2 points
  • Marc Olivier LapierreMarc Olivier Lapierre, 8 years ago

    Your articles are always so fascinating! I'm always learning something new. Looking forward to your next one :)

    0 points
  • Graham MurdochGraham Murdoch, 8 years ago

    Is it possible that this is intentional?

    0 points