The International Move Database site is the home to all of the information you could ever need for past, present and future films, actors, trailers and pictures. What this doesn’t mean is that the site is a joy to use. Often enough, the site is a confusing mess of links, information, bad UX and altogether poor to use. It doesn’t come as a surprise then that someone has redesigned it, and what a job Filip Slovàĉek has done with his version.
Inspired by the trend of sites looking like web apps, the IMDb design has this feel, and it makes the site all the better for it. Not only does this improve the overall design aesthetic, but also prioritises and condenses the information on display. With each individual section scrollable, the site would be a joy to use, and I could imagine spending hours searching films, information and media using this version. Going even deeper into the design, the amount of detail on display is astounding, and really shows the care and attention that Filip puts into his work. A job well done!
With one post already on here, and with a range of efforts viewable across Dribbble, Behance and deviantART, Facebook is a prime target for a redesign. Another design by Claudio Sabatinelli shows a more minimalistic angle, more akin to Path or Tumblr, with less clutter and noise. The overall effect is a really well presented version of the site and app, and something a ot of designers would be more happy about using.
The joy of being one of most used and popular things out there, is that everyone has an opinion or thought on how they would like it presented. We’ve already seen one Spotify app redesigned by Maxwell Barvian but this one concentrates on the mobile app.
The mobile app tries to follow the desktop app as much as possible, for ease of use across platforms and continuity, but this can be a detriment at times, trying to have the same experience across all devices.
From Robin Kenell himself:
One of the things I miss in the current Spotify app is the ability to quickly share, star and add music to your playlists. The thing that I miss the most is the repeat and shuffle buttons, they are currently placed in the “more” tab. Personally I think that is way to far away. By making the album cover smaller I made more than enough space to add repeat, shuffle and volume controls.
WhatsApp is a great little paid-for app for iOS and Android, which allows you to send messages and pictures to friends numbers on tons of mobile networks and other platforms for free via your data plan. This a great little ad-free service which saves on your SMS allowance and expensive MMS charges, and has cited interest in being taken over by Google and Facebook.
The actual design of the app does its functions well. There’s no focus on exemplary design as what it does, it does well and with 10 billion messages sent per day as of August 2012, users clearly agree. That didn’t stop Dora Szabo though!
From Dora herself:
I tried to design a better looking version of the app by incorporating more of the visual identity of WhatsApp. I also tried to make the interface friendlier, more engaging and more logical, taking out some of the tabs in the tab bar and adding them on views that made more sense to me, an active WhatsApp user. I believe WhatsApp is used because of its simple interface but adding a little spice to it while still keeping its elements homogeneous throughout all the screens just might add more balance and rhythm to it.
With iOS, Apple brought a lot of design changes to its premier mobile application, some of which were applauded – the App Store, Passbook – and some of which were critically panned, namely Maps. iOS 6 brought in a few revamped screens including the keypad screen for dialling a number, which I believe was a great a turn.
Hugo França redesigned the new iOS 6 screen to be more like the App Store design, and I have to say, as much as I love the Apple version, this version stands out a lot more with the blue highlight on the bottom taskbar and the feel of the keypad itself. The pressed effect is particularly great, and brings a great highlight to the keypad design.
