Explore the art and science of app design. Discuss user interface (UI) design principles, user experience (UX) best practices, and share design resources and inspiration.

All subtopics
Posts under Design topic

Post

Replies

Boosts

Views

Activity

Align NSMenuItem title to right
In my application, I am creating a simple NSMenu with NSMenuItems. The title of the NSMenuItems are adapted to the system language. So, when the system language is an RTL language (right to left), I want my NSMenuItem to be aligned at the right. I can't see anyone talking about this, or any option that could make me achieve that easily. NSMenuItem* item1; NSMenuItem* item2; item1 = [[NSMenuItem alloc] init]; item2 = [[NSMenuItem alloc] init]; item1.title = "foo"; item2.title = "bar"; item1.action = @selector(fooAction); item2.action = @selector(barAction); NSMenu *menu = [[NSMenu alloc] init]; [menu addItem:item1]; [menu addItem:item2];
Topic: Design SubTopic: General Tags:
0
1
64
Mar ’25
Center alignment in row of LazyVGrid
I am creating a LazyVGrid with 2 columns. I want it so that if there is only one item in a row, then it goes to the center of the row. I tried using an HStack with a Spacer, but it doesn't push it to the center. How do I do it? ForEach(pets) { pet in VStack { Image(pet.species.rawValue) .resizable() .frame(width: 80, height: 80) Text(pet.name) .poppinsBold(size: 16) } } HStack { if pets.hasEvenNumber { Spacer(minLength: 0) } Button { addPetSheet = true } label: { VStack { ZStack { Circle() .frame(width: 70, height: 70) .foregroundStyle(.gray) Image(systemName: "plus") .foregroundStyle(.white) .font(.title) } Text("Add") .poppinsBold(size: 16) } } } }
Topic: Design SubTopic: General Tags:
0
0
459
Oct ’24
Icon Composer missing margins
I'm trying out Icon Composer Version 1.0 (27.4). I imported a simple logo and sized it in the outer circle. The icon appears good in the Icon Composer. But when I export the file and use it for my app icon it seems to be missing a margin or padding that other native application icons have. Am i supposed to be adding my own padding to these resulting icons or am I building them incorrectly? Any guidance would be appreciated. Thanks!
Topic: Design SubTopic: General Tags:
0
1
108
Jun ’25
Give me my old Photos app back
Pleeease for the love of any and all things holy, I would really be eternally grateful if Apple decided to release an update that allows users to return to the old the photos app. Phones and technology are already overstimulating, and by making the photos app one continuous page it is emulating a social media app. The continuous page makes it much more overwhelming and confusing to find photos. Change and innovation is great! There are some changes that I enjoy from the ios 18 update, such as the little text enhancers that can emphasize certain words. However, the photos app was fine the way it was. If anything, Apple should allow the PAYING customers to choose how they would like their photos app (keeping the customizable option). also my battery which is normally super great is suddenly not as efficient…reminiscent of past devices I’ve had from Apple.
Topic: Design SubTopic: General
0
1
530
Dec ’24
Progress Ring Artifact
I'm working to emulate the Activity Rings featured in Apple's Fitness app. Here's a copy of what's in the swift file so far. // // ProgressRingPrototype.swift // Nutrition // // Created by Derek Chestnut on 1/13/25. // import SwiftUI struct ProgressRingPrototype: View { @State var progress = 0.00 let size: CGSize let thickness: CGFloat var color: Color? var gradientColors: [Color]? var body: some View { let color = color ?? .primary ZStack { RingPrototype( size: self.size, thickness: self.thickness, color: color.opacity(0.2) ) let gradient = AngularGradient( colors: gradientColors ?? [.primary, .secondary], center: .center ) let style = StrokeStyle( lineWidth: 32, lineCap: .round ) Circle() .trim(from: 0, to: progress) .stroke(gradient, style: style) .rotationEffect(.degrees(-90)) .frame(width: size.width, height: size.height) } .onAppear { DispatchQueue.main.asyncAfter(deadline: .now() + 1) { withAnimation(.easeInOut(duration: 1)) { progress = 0.75 } } } } } #Preview { ZStack { ProgressRingPrototype( progress: 0.1, size: CGSize(width: 256, height: 256), thickness: CGFloat(32), color: .primary ) ProgressRingPrototype( progress: 0.1, size: CGSize(width: 190, height: 190), thickness: CGFloat(32), color: .primary ) ProgressRingPrototype( progress: 0.1, size: CGSize(width: 124, height: 124), thickness: CGFloat(32), color: .primary ) } } Here's a snapshot of the live preview. I'm experiencing an issue where the trailing line cap generated by the stroke exceeds the start angle of the angular gradient, which creates an ugly artifact at 0 degrees. Anyone have a solution to this problem? Derek
Topic: Design SubTopic: General
0
0
308
Jan ’25
I get these errors every time: 'App' is ambiguous for type lookup in this context
import SwiftUI import RealmSwift @main struct UniqueHolidayApp: App { init() { migrateRealmIfNeeded() } var body: some Scene { WindowGroup { ContentView() } } private func migrateRealmIfNeeded() { let config = Realm.Configuration( schemaVersion: 1, migrationBlock: { migration, oldSchemaVersion in if oldSchemaVersion < 1 { // Realm will handle changes automatically for simple additions/removals } } ) Realm.Configuration.defaultConfiguration = config } }
Topic: Design SubTopic: General
0
0
390
Nov ’24
glassEffect() in SwiftUI always renders as white – even with latest Beta 2 on macOS 15
Hi everyone, I’m having trouble getting the new glassEffect() modifier to render correctly in SwiftUI. No matter what I try, it just appears as a solid white background (instead of translucent glass). This happens both in Beta 1 and Beta 2. My setup: • Mac mini (M4 chip) • macOS 15 Beta 2 (Tahoe) • Xcode 16 Beta 2 • Samsung Odyssey G9 57” monitor (super ultrawide) • Using Preview in SwiftUI (not the Simulator) Even when I use Apple’s default demo code like: Text("Hello World") .padding() .glassEffect()
Topic: Design SubTopic: General
0
0
86
Jun ’25
iOS 26 - TabView "Split" Question
Hello, I am currently trying all of the new features in iOS 26, including some of the new API's. However, there's one question I am not sure of. In the Build a SwiftUI app with the new design video, there is one section where they show off the Apple Music TabView with one section containing the tabs on the left and the search tab on the right. The scroll down feature I was able to implement. The tabs being split, I have no idea how to do that. How can I do that in SwiftUI?
Topic: Design SubTopic: General
0
2
70
Jun ’25
Customizing screen..
I like that you can choose to tint all your apps, it looks great, but when I’m tinted the myfitnesspal widgets are blank. Just a white square. Kinda frustrating that I have to choose between looks or function..
Topic: Design SubTopic: General
0
0
379
Dec ’24
How to make web shortcut icons mode-adaptive like native app icons?
Hello everyone, I'm very impressed with the Liquid Glass design introduced in iOS 26, especially how native app icons automatically adapt to the system's display mode (dark or light). This brings me to a question: Is it possible to make a website shortcut icon created via Safari's "Add to Home Screen" feature adapt to Dark Mode in the same way? For native apps, we can use tools like Icon Composer and asset catalogs (Assets.xcassets) to provide different icons for each mode. It would be a huge improvement for web clips if we could achieve the same with existing web technologies like apple-touch-icon or the Web App Manifest. If anyone has figured out a way to do this, I would greatly appreciate it if you could share your knowledge. Thanks in advance! 日本語の原文: iOS 26から導入されたLiquid Glassデザインについて。 ネイティブアプリのアイコンがシステムの表示モード(ダークモード/ライトモード)に合わせて自動で最適化されるようになりました。 そこで疑問に思ったのですが、Safariから「ホーム画面に追加」機能を使って作成するWebサイトのショートカットアイコンは、ネイティブアプリと同じようにダークモードに対応できないのでしょうか? ネイティブアプリの場合は、Icon Composerなどのツールでアセットカタログ(Assets.xcassets)を使い、モードごとのアイコンを用意できますよね。 Web側でも、apple-touch-iconやWeb App Manifestといった既存の仕組みを使って、アイコンを動的に切り替えられるようになると、Webクリップの使い勝手がさらに向上すると思うのですが もし、すでに何らかの方法で対応されている方がいらっしゃれば、ぜひその知見を共有していただけると嬉しいです。
0
0
556
1w
Any chance of still joining the UX Writing Lab?
I have accidentally missed the sign up window for the UX Writing lab by 1 hour, but I'd still love to join it if at all possible. I have had this lab several times in the past and it was always very informative. I have a time tracking app that helps people make the most of their time. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/timelines-time-tracking/id1112433234 I'm looking for guidance on how to improve copywriting in my onboarding sequence, on my paywall, and overall throughout the app. Thank you for considering. My Apple ID is lukas[at]glimsoft.com.
Topic: Design SubTopic: General
0
0
71
Jun ’25
What is the best way to design a UITabBarController (or Sidebar) combined with a UISplitViewController on iPadOS 18 and later, while avoiding memory management issues?
I'm developing an iPadOS 18+ application that uses a UITabBarController, styled as a sidebar, to serve as the primary navigation interface. This setup includes 20 different tabs, each representing a distinct section of the app. For the user experience, each tab needs to present a master-detail interface, implemented using a UISplitViewController. The goal is to allow users to navigate between tabs via the sidebar, and within each tab, access related content through the split view's list-detail pattern. The Problem: Currently, my implementation involves instantiating a separate UISplitViewController for each tab, resulting in 20 unique split view instances embedded inside the UITabBarController. While this works functionally, it leads to significant memory usage, especially after the user opens each tab at least once. The accumulation of all these instantiated view controllers in memory eventually causes performance degradation or even memory warnings/crashes on lower-end iPads. The Question: What is the best approach to implement this type of architecture without running into memory management issues? Specifically: Is there a way to reuse or lazily load the UISplitViewController instances only when needed? Can we unload or release split view controllers that haven't been used for a while to reduce memory pressure? Would a custom container controller be more appropriate than using UITabBarController in this case? Are there iPadOS 18+ best practices or newer APIs that support this kind of complex multi-tab, multi-split-view structure efficiently? Any advice on how to optimize memory usage while preserving the sidebar navigation and split view layout would be highly appreciated.
0
0
161
May ’25
New IOS APP Help
Hello, I am looking to develop a relationship with a developer that has experience running through the IOS build approval process. To elaborate, my team and I have designed and built a software application which is working through the Apple Developer review process to have the app approved and released to the App Store. Unfortunately, there has been some challenges, simple challenges in my eyes with our interface preventing Apple from approving our application. Happy to elaborate further. A primary problem and solution I have seen is the software build was testing solely on the iPhone but as recently directed it seem the application must be accessible on iPad as well. With this the case, I have experience some software platforms where on the ipad the interface is not displayed on the whole screen. I am looking for direction on how to implement this setup for the 1st IOS build. Another concern from Apples Developer Review team is the App Tracking Transparency kit may need to be implemented.
0
0
633
2w
When using the animation, the CPU usage rises to around 20-25%.
I'm new to developing with SwiftUI and I created a Pomodoro app for macOS that runs in the menu bar. I added 4 animations and when the user selects the snow animation, it starts snowing on the screen. But the app uses 20%-30% of the CPU and has high energy consumption. I can't reduce it and I couldn't find a solution. // snow animation import SwiftUI struct SnowflakeView: View { @State private var flakeYPosition: CGFloat = -100 @State private var isAnimating = false private let flakeSize: CGFloat = CGFloat.random(in: 10...30) private let flakeColor: Color = Color( red: Double.random(in: 0.8...1), green: Double.random(in: 0.9...1), blue: Double.random(in: 1...1), opacity: Double.random(in: 0.6...0.8) ) private let animationDuration: Double = Double.random(in: 1...3) private let flakeXPosition: CGFloat = CGFloat.random(in: 0...310) var body: some View { Text("❄️") .font(.system(size: flakeSize)) .foregroundColor(flakeColor) .position(x: flakeXPosition, y: flakeYPosition) .onAppear { if !isAnimating { withAnimation(Animation.linear(duration: animationDuration).repeatForever(autoreverses: false)) { flakeYPosition = 280 + 50 } isAnimating = true } } } } I also have how I run the animation below. ZStack { ForEach(0..<10, id: \.self) { index in if selectedAnimal == "Snow" { SnowflakeView() } else if selectedAnimal == "Rain" { RainDropAnimation() }else if selectedAnimal == "Leaf"{ LeafFallAnimation() }else if selectedAnimal == "Confetti"{ ConfettiAnimation() } } }
0
0
614
Nov ’24
Liquid Glass Navigation Bar
The system provided liquid glass background looks terrible with my companies navigation bar background color. The navigation background color is not up for discussion and cannot be changed. The clear liquid glass style looks great and I can apply that to buttons I add to the navigation bar, but that doesn't effect the system provided back button. I would prefer to maintain the default back button functionality. Please make it possible to set the liquid glass style that the system provides for navigation bar items.
Topic: Design SubTopic: General
0
0
301
2d
macOS 26 Beta Dark Mode Icons Fallback Removed
Post: In macOS 26 Betas 1–3, the system applied an automatic dark-mode fallback for app icons. This ensured consistency across the Dock and Finder even when developers hadn’t provided dark assets. Since Beta 4, this fallback was removed. As of Beta 7, icons now rely entirely on developer-updated assets. The result is mixed light and dark icons in the Dock, breaking visual consistency and making app recognition slower in dark mode. Observed behavior: • Icons without dark assets are displayed in their original light version. • Some apps (e.g. Final Cut Pro) show a gray border treatment that feels inconsistent with the rest of the UI. • The fallback applied in Betas 1–3 is completely absent. Expected behavior: System should provide a fallback rendering until developers supply proper dark assets, or offer a toggle in System Settings → Appearance (e.g. “Force Dark Icons”). This is still present in Beta 7. Is there any plan to restore the fallback mechanism or provide a user option?
Topic: Design SubTopic: General
0
0
202
Aug ’25
Spam 4.3 (a)
Hello everyone, I’ve reached out to Apple’s review team multiple times, but unfortunately, I haven’t received any clear or specific guidance on why my app was rejected. My app has been rejected several times with the reason “Spam” under guideline 4.3, and I still don't understand exactly which part of the app is problematic. Even after providing the necessary information about the data, I resubmitted the app, and after a few days, it quickly moved into "In Review" status, but then was rejected within seconds with the same “Spam” message. I have sent over 13 messages asking for specific feedback, and all I get are vague responses saying “It’s spam, refer to 4.3, fix your app, and resubmit.” However, when I review the guidelines, I don’t see any specific reasons for rejection that apply to my app. I’m particularly confused because my app is a VPN, and when I check the guidelines, I see that apps in categories like dating and others are saturated, but VPN apps are not. My app uses completely dedicated servers, and the IP addresses are not found in any other apps. Still, my app keeps getting rejected. If anyone has encountered a similar issue or has any insight into what might be causing this, I would greatly appreciate it if you could provide detailed guidance on what specifically needs to be changed to get the app approved. Thank you!
Topic: Design SubTopic: General
1
0
733
Mar ’25