[Faterson]

Originally Posted by democrite

some features show that more than others, and some perhaps should not even exist

Resident MobileRead "design guru" is at it again. I hope Kris will ignore your "advice". Marvin needs more features – certainly not fewer. If you need fewer features, just turn to dumb Apple, Amazon, etc. e-reader software.

Originally Posted by democrite

I think they likely will be cumbersome or confusing for the average user.

The mythical "average user" can go back to dumb Apple, Amazon, etc. e-reader software if they're afraid of being "confused". In reality, I'm convinced no such user exists. The fear of "confusing average users" is mostly used as a false cop-out by software developers unwilling to expand the functionality of their software. I trust Kris will never use any such excuse, and will stay well away from this entire line of reasoning. Any and all features can be nicely incorporated into any type of software – incorporated so that they are not confusing. A dedicated button of the "Advanced Settings" type is usually the best way to ensure that no one really will ever be confused (or they will have themselves to blame for it).

Originally Posted by democrite

I believe Kris learned programming so he could make Marvin. While the results are quite nice, it's quite evident that his skill in design is still lacking

Generally speaking, I don't care about the looks of software; yes, nothing can possibly look worse than a typical greyish Apple app, but I'd be willing to tolerate the terrible looks if only at least Apple software was capable from the point of view of functionality. Functionality is, really, all that matters to me. But Apple software not just looks terrible, but it's typically functionally lacking as well: bare-bones and/or buggy, and with with zero customization options. Just compare iCloud and Dropbox, for example.

Even so, some of my friends who, unlike myself, do believe that the looks of software are important as well, almost universally praise Marvin not just for its functionality, but also for its design. All Marvin versions – 1 to 3. By the way – can any e-reader software ever look more awful than iBooks's default library screen?

Originally Posted by democrite

I'd rate M3 not bad and decent, sometimes good, sometimes really bad, overall just ok and show's promise and shows promise that Kris might someday be good at design

And I say that design doesn't really matter. Yeah, it's your hobby-horse, democrite, and you keep harping about Marvin design in these forums. But for myself, I can't really think of anything more irrelevant at this stage of Marvin's development. Marvin especially needs to improve its functionality. In terms of functionality, Marvin 3 has improved in certain respects compared to Marvin 2, but in some respects, it's currently less (!) capable than Marvin 2 (see lost gestures, for example).

Originally Posted by democrite

I'd recommend some time just for the study of UX; grab a bunch of books and get reading.

I for one would welcome if Kris spent his precious and limited time on improving Marvin's functionality before "grabbing books on UX design".

Originally Posted by democrite

There are many aspects of design that few will notice.

Indeed. Could it be because they aren't really relevant?

Originally Posted by democrite

Not everyone has an eye for design.

Unlike you. I sincerely congratulate you on having an eye for design, democrite. I'm not being sarcastic. But I also sincerely believe that if we set up a MobileRead poll asking Marvin users if Marvin should, as a priority, improve its functionality or design, functionality would win hands-down.