As promised, here are fullscreen shots of my Reminders for Messages on iOS concept. Check out the original Dribbble post for full details.
Here are the fullscreen images for my Actions Widget concept plus an example Calendar view on Dribbble.
Original posts:
I recently added my AIM account back to Messages for Mac for the first time in a while. After signing in and everything was squared away, I realized two things:
1) The buddies list and other controls are still its own window (a “problem” I noticed since beta)
2) At the bottom of the main window in Messages for Mac, your AIM status is shown
As mentioned in number one, I noticed that the window was separated in beta and was puzzled because I felt that there could be a great way to integrate it into one view without having two open windows. At the time, I didn’t really think of a solution but it’s been jostling in my head. After reviewing this again and getting my thoughts together, I came up with a solution: a Show/Hide view.
A Show/Hide button would be added to the current view along with your AIM online status. Clicking the icon would expand the view showing all the same info that the regular list has but in that view. It’s scrollable just like normal, and even the buttons at the bottom are visible. To hide it, simply click the Show/Hide button again. The amount of content in your list will determine the height of the view (unless otherwise specified — read further). Even when this view is open, you can still scroll through your iMessages just fine. You can even change the height of the view at anytime when it’s open by simply dragging the border (just like any other similar view).
Since I don’t have any other social networks to add, I can’t test this, but, if there were multiple status cells at the bottom of the window, each and everyone one of them would have a Show/Hide button.
In light of this implementation, I don’t see any reason to still have the option show a separate window. If you wish to have it in a separate window, you could click and drag the view off the window.
Feel free to comment! Look forward to hearing from you.
© 2012 Joshua Tucker
This project is in progress.
iOS (and I believe OS X - can’t confirm at the moment) places each iMessage address conversation, even from the same contact, into its own thread. This can be confusing and de-segmenting especially when having to switch to a different iMessage address during a conversation with someone. As a result, current handling splits up conversation views into their own threads based on the address you’re sending to. I propose that all messages (text messages and iMessages) from one user be merged into one thread. With that, within the conversation view, it will show the starting point of whichever address you’re now sending to, similarly to how iOS currently displays when a conversation switches from text message to iMessage (or vice versa).
As noted in the photo, it shows that I switched to sending an iMessage to myself (in this case) using my Home address as set in my contact. It displays just like when you can see that a conversation switches from text message to iMessage (or vice versa), you can scroll through and see where it sections off different iMessage addresses, if applicable.
© 2012 Joshua Tucker
Earlier this morning, I posted an idea for scrolling text on iOS notification banners. I made note of the fact that the lock screen is a viable place for this implementation as well. However, there are two significant differences between lock screen notifications and the banners.
- Notifications on the lock screen do not clear until the device is unlocked
- Lock screen alerts show more than one line of text.
With this in mind, I feel the best way to go about scrolling in this view is to do it like native iOS - vertically.
In this post, I will be discussing my thoughts on how to go about this when in the bubble view.
Note: All measurements are rounded to the nearest whole pixel.
Analysis
Here are some important figures to note:
Number of Characters Visible (Unexpanded) = 130 (including whitespace)
Full Size Bubble Dimensions (Unexpanded - Max Characters) = 262 pixels by 592 pixels
Evaluation
I find that the best way to alert the user that the bubble is selected for scrolling is by expanding it. This can be done by simply tapping it. Upon tapping it once, it will expand and show more text (three new lines). However, if you scroll your finger through the bubble, you can move up and down through the message. To exit the selected bubble view, tap it again and it will resize.
Note: The scrolling bar on the side of the bubble in the picture is only viewable when you scroll (just like native iOS).
Here are some more important figures to note:
Number of Characters Visible (Expanded) = 225 (includes white space - scrolling allows the user to view the entire message thus making it an infinite amount of characters that can be viewed)
Full Size Bubble Dimensions (Expanded - Max Characters) = 297 pixels by 592 pixels.
The reason why I chose it to be these dimensions and allow three new lines is because, if resized evenly, it expands just a tiny bit but allows three more lines of text. It will look clean and still won’t completely cover the screen. Plus, the importance of the expansion is to alert the user that they can scroll in this view. Making it any larger would surely make the bubble obtrusive in my opinion.
Conclusion
As all the core information is above, here’s the full message I sent myself.
“Tap to select the bubble. It will expand at that point and will allow you to scroll through the message from top to bottom and back again. Tap the bubble again to bring it back to normal. This will still allow full compatibility with Abstergo.”
-Josh
UPDATE
This concept has been brought to life. Check out my project Reveal with Conrad Kramer on Cydia today! Watch this video to see how Reveal works.
© 2012 Joshua Tucker
This project is in progress.
With this concept, you can have access to certain tasks right from your lock screen. Since notifications come onto the lock screen as well, simply page to the second page to view all the sliders. Sliding any of the icons will perform what is displayed on the cell. If there are more icons/sliders that can fit on the page, the table will also be scrollable, allowing you to potentially have more options that what can be viewed at once.
This can come in handy if you want quick access or it’s not an appropriate time to use Siri (sliders will be a faster alternative). There will be a list of tasks that can be added to the lock screen and can be enabled or disabled from view (inside Settings). The ones shown in the image are not the only options that could be available.
Note: If a passcode is set, it will require the user to enter the passcode before continuing (thanks Mike for reminding me).
Now let’s take this a step further. Imagine being able to perform some of these tasks on the lock screen without leaving the environment?
Well, there’s my next mission. I’m working on this until it’s perfect and comprehensive.
-Josh
© 2012 Joshua Tucker
I have been vigorously working today on Pushpin to design a better pin. After many hours of saving Photoshop images and comparing them on my iPhone, here’s what I’ve come up. I accept all respectful and constructive criticism so please feel free to express your thoughts. Below is the concept link if you haven’t seen it yet.
Let the process continue.
Twitter: Joshua Tucker, John Heaton
© 2012 Joshua Tucker
Everything, including the name, is subject to change.
This project is in progress.
Pushpin will allow you to pin notifications from certain applications (i.e. Messages or Mail) or even existing notifications to the Notification Center. This will keep them from ever clearing as well as being a reminder to you to do something.
Note: Pins of different colors may play an important role.
I won’t speak any further on how it will work but this is a runner up. This is a project John Heaton and I will tackle together.
Stay tuned as always.
© 2012 Joshua Tucker
All aspects of Pushpin, including the name, are subject to change.
This project is in progress.
Twitter: Joshua Tucker, John Heaton
Here’s Part Three of my multitasking interface. Recap below to get yourself back up to speed if need be:
SpringBoard Launchpad - Multitasking
Let’s break it down:
Settings:
If you launch the multitasking/Launchpad interface and select the Settings tab, this will display. As you can see from the images, the settings that are displayed are the ones that I believe to be the most important and “essential” for users to have direct access to. It is scrollable and will allow more settings to be accessed. Three that are not shown include:
- Rotation Lock
- Vibrate
- Data / 3G
Enabling/Disabling:
To enable or disable the different toggles, simply swipe the row area of your choice and it will change from on to off (or vice versa). The text “On / Off” will change respectively and the color of the button will change from green to red (whichever). Once again, it doesn’t matter how you swipe in that area, it will make that change. However, it does have to be a vertical swipe.
The Brightness and iTunes Wi-Fi Sync areas work differently so they are explained below:
Brightness:
Since there’s no on/off switch, it works differently. When you start swiping in that area, it switches to the slider so that you can change it and what not. The brightness icon on the far right changes shape based on how bright it is. As soon as you change the slider area, it changes. It is important to note that the direction of your swipe is key - swipe and hold right to increase brightness, and swipe and hold left to decrease.
iTunes Wi-Fi Sync:
If you swipe in this area, it will start WiFi Sync (if applicable). It will change to the “Syncing” word and the icon. Obviously, it will also show the native icon on the Status Bar.
Now to go back and touch up things — stay tuned!
© 2011 Joshua Tucker
Added the ability to blacklist contacts from iMessage. If the particular handle is added (email, phone number), you will not receive any messages from them.
You can also check out my whitelist concept for iMessage.
© 2011 Joshua Tucker
