Two Very Slick Interfaces on iPad
The emergence of the iPad with its seductively immersive potential for user experience design has produced some brand-new approaches to interaction, some of which are remarkably cool. Sure, there's also been a fair amount of garbage and some UXes that have been designed, it seems, merely to prove that one can break all the rules. But I've found two experiences that are decidedly worth noting and emulating.
Pulse is a newsreader app that uses a stack of sliding image panels to present feeds horizontally and stories in each feed as separate link boxes that have images if the posts themselves do. But the quality of the Pulse UX goes beyond the main screen. Back-navigation is intuitive and smooth and it is simplicity itself to share a post and to view it either as text or as a Web page. This UX is really well suited to the touch-screen interface of the iPad. It conveys an overall sense of fluid exploration and does a fine job of maintaining your context as you move around inside the Pulse space.
Flipboard converts your Twitter feeds and Facebook updates from plain text into a virtual magazine layout that is stunning in its layout and inviting in its approach. It is by far the best Twitter reader I've seen yet, on any platform. A couple of the folks I follow on Twitter upload lots of photos and Flipboard sprinkles them throughout the magazine-style layout it generates so that every page looks slick and polished. Given its name, it's not surprising that it uses a page-flip paradigm for moving around inside the content, so context isn't really a major issue. This is an extremely well-executed design.
I'm sure there are many other iPad apps out there that have elegant interfaces perfectly suited to the iPad format. I'd love to hear about others so if you know any, please post them in response here or send me an email note.
