Behind the horizon

Just a few days ago, I shared an example of what to me felt like a crammed interface. Here’s a look into an adjacent problem, into how apps deal with making room for your stuff. Let’s say I have two pages on my home screen in iOS: (The third “app library” page is kind of an overflow page – automatically generated, and always following whatever pages I create.) Whenever I enter the customization mode (e.g. “jiggle mode”), iOS thoughtfully adds a third, empty page: This is a nice gesture that creates extra breathing room ahead of the user, and avoids having to have an explicit, and perhaps flow-breaking “add page” action. And it feels useful not just if you literally want to add a new page, but also if you want to test or experiment. It’s a nice playground – otherwise you might be tempted to add a new widget on an existing page, and perhaps mess up the existing layout by accident. If you fill out this page with something, another empty page will be quietly added. And, if you leave any…

Commenting on Bubbles has been removed. Why? If you want to talk about this post, write to the author, use the comments on their blog if it has them, or reply with a "RE:" post on your own blog. Suggestions? feedback@bubbles.town