Over the past year we have been working hard at SugarSync on a complete redesign of the products and service. I started with an identity redesign–which rolled out in February–and the work on the desktop, mobile and web apps is due to launch (public beta) in mid November.
I will be adding many more posts and screen shots of the work as soon as I can after the press launch. In the meantime here is one of my designs for the (marcom) website.
Staying true to the commitment to be available on every platform and device, SugarSync launched an app for Windows 8 and Windows RT last week.
The design turned out pretty nicely (see below) and we were able to accommodate some new UX paradigms quite seamlessly (there’s a company blog post here).
The many, many dialogs that underpin an application like SugarSync can seem, at times to be the very essence of the designed experience. They guide, reassure, inform, sell, etc. enabling customers to make the most of this high productivity app.
All the universal rules apply to dialog design–restrictive canvas, end user prejudice, technical limitations, ever-shifting UX models, varying platform/purpose, etc. This is a microcosm of screen design that requires all the skills at a designer’s disposal.
Here’s what I’ve learned: if you make your dialogs consistent, inviting, simple, engaging, satisfying, considerate, comprehensible and ultimately very useful they will not get dismissed as unnecessary UI noise.
Here are some on-boarding dialogs from our desktop app installation flow:
