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Icon Style in Affinity Photo v2 + more...


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Is it only mine impression that the Icon Style in Affinity Photo v2 are not very readable...
If they are also to be "new" then it would be useful to have an option in the Preferences, to be able to change to the set of Icons from version 1 (like existing option to choose monochrome/colour Icons).

Additional very useful quick first summary from Olivio Sarikas here:

 

Affinity Photo 2.0.4.1701, Affinity Photo Beta 2.1.0.1781; Affinity Photo 1.10.6.1665,
Affinity Designer 1.10.5.1342, Affinity Designer customer beta 1.10.5.1342;
Affinity Publisher 1.10.5.1342; Affinity Publisher customer beta 1.10.5.1342 + GIMP 2.10.22,  RawTherapee 5.8,  Darktable 3.2.1;

Win10Pro (v. 10.0.17763), IntelCore i7-4790-3.60GHz, ram 8GB, , ssd 256GB, Huion new 1060plus;
Monitor 2D FHD LG 1920 x 1080 px, Onboard Intel Graphics HD 4600.

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Any idea to make possibility to choose V1 Icon Style in v2 ??

Affinity Photo 2.0.4.1701, Affinity Photo Beta 2.1.0.1781; Affinity Photo 1.10.6.1665,
Affinity Designer 1.10.5.1342, Affinity Designer customer beta 1.10.5.1342;
Affinity Publisher 1.10.5.1342; Affinity Publisher customer beta 1.10.5.1342 + GIMP 2.10.22,  RawTherapee 5.8,  Darktable 3.2.1;

Win10Pro (v. 10.0.17763), IntelCore i7-4790-3.60GHz, ram 8GB, , ssd 256GB, Huion new 1060plus;
Monitor 2D FHD LG 1920 x 1080 px, Onboard Intel Graphics HD 4600.

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28 minutes ago, Chris B said:

There are currently no plans to change this

But making icons understandable / easy readable with the Light UI is on the agenda? E.g. cell strokes at the Table panel.

----------
Windows 10 / 11, Complete Suite Retail and Beta

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I have mild vision issues and absolutely deplore the current design trend towards "form over function" when it comes to GUI's and websites in general. There are a bunch of things in the new GUI that make it really hard for people with mild vision problems (which includes many otherwise healthy seniors) to use the product (V1 was bad enough). (In)ability to use the GUI is a make-or-break feature of a product like this. Hoping that some of the serious workflow issues had been addressed in Photo v2, I was considering a more serious trial of v2, but if other people are already complaining about the GUI, I am less inclined to slog thru the process of learning a new GUI and new program. It doesn't help that there's no option to export a document for use in v1. I'll be getting a new computer that will require a Photoshop subscription and sadly, looks like I will have to bite the bullet and pay Adobe.

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@hm933: I use glasses but also cannot separate it, the icons makes no sense in this way they are used. 

In the toolbar i am searching also after 2 weeks the icons i use, some of them are simply not recognizable or visually separable.  

 

@ChrisB: "They took me a while to get used to but now I cannot go back" Really? and no thought of giving the designer a tip to improve something? Do the devs know what the meaning of an icon is?  (Wikipedia: "The icon itself is a quickly comprehensible symbol of a software tool, function"). 

 

 

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The description of the layers should be used to the organization in layers stack, not to name the type of layers.
Naming the type of layers only enlarges and makes their description less clear and thus complicates the organization of layers with unnecessary information.
The icons are very suitable and handy for expressing the layer type - thanks Serif.
If I have a problem understanding the symbol on the icon, Hint/Tooltip will help - thanks Serif.

image.png.350b169e10a8b2fe5959559fab97ddec.png

Affinity Store (MSI/EXE): Affinity Suite (ADe, APh, APu) 2.4.0.2301
Dell OptiPlex 7060, i5-8500 3.00 GHz, 16 GB, Intel UHD Graphics 630, Dell P2417H 1920 x 1080, Windows 11 Pro, Version 23H2, Build 22631.3155.
Dell Latitude E5570, i5-6440HQ 2.60 GHz, 8 GB, Intel HD Graphics 530, 1920 x 1080, Windows 11 Pro, Version 23H2, Build 22631.3155.
Intel NUC5PGYH, Pentium N3700 2.40 GHz, 8 GB, Intel HD Graphics, EIZO EV2456 1920 x 1200, Windows 10 Pro, Version 21H1, Build 19043.2130.

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@Pšenda

it's not that I don't understand the icons or understand their purpose. I can't see them well enough to tell at a glance what's what - and having to hover over the icon to get the tool tip is a huge time-waster. Same with the lock/unlock icons - it's not that I don't understand what they mean - but they're so small and similar I can't tell the lock from the unlock at a glance.

Please have your designers study this document from W3C, "Accessibility Requirements for People with Low Vision" https://www.w3.org/TR/low-vision-needs/

They needn't adopt all the recommendations in the document, but they are leaving many people behind with their design choices.

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1 hour ago, hm933 said:

but they're so small and similar

But then it makes sense to request an enlargement of the icons (or use a larger Scale factor in the OS settings), possibly their modification and easier distinguishable/readability, but definitely not to request the previous one, given the purpose of naming the layers in a completely inappropriate way, when the "type" of the layer will be indicated in its "name".

 

1 hour ago, hm933 said:

but they're so small and similar I can't tell the lock from the unlock at a glance

I don't understand which application you are using, but in my Layers panel, either the lock symbol is included in the layer item, then the layer is locked, or it is not, and then the layer is unlocked. There is no need to recognize the locked/unlocked lock symbol - either it is present or it is not.

 

P.S. It should definitely be required that the icons representing the layer type scale according to the thumbnail size option. It is pointless for them to remain the same size even if the largest thumbnail size is used.

Affinity Store (MSI/EXE): Affinity Suite (ADe, APh, APu) 2.4.0.2301
Dell OptiPlex 7060, i5-8500 3.00 GHz, 16 GB, Intel UHD Graphics 630, Dell P2417H 1920 x 1080, Windows 11 Pro, Version 23H2, Build 22631.3155.
Dell Latitude E5570, i5-6440HQ 2.60 GHz, 8 GB, Intel HD Graphics 530, 1920 x 1080, Windows 11 Pro, Version 23H2, Build 22631.3155.
Intel NUC5PGYH, Pentium N3700 2.40 GHz, 8 GB, Intel HD Graphics, EIZO EV2456 1920 x 1200, Windows 10 Pro, Version 21H1, Build 19043.2130.

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I apologize for not knowing the correct terms for the symbols in the GUI, but I have fiddled enough with the preferences to do all I can (or at least all that's obvious that I can) to support my vision issues. My point is that in general, tiny symbols with low contrast that can't be picked out from the background or easily distinguished from one another are a real problem for folks with vision issues - and this is not just a matter of "getting used to" a new GUI. I think your designers need to have a hard look at the entire product line with this issue in mind.

test.png.35cdce93d8368d123c2551396a2c8813.png

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@fotomak and @hm933 I agree. It often takes time to adjust to, and even appreciate, UI changes — I understand that, and I’m getting used to some of the changes — but there are a number of things that make V2 difficult for me to work with. Some UI elements are too small, contrast is poor, etc. The change to the Lock Aspect Ratio icon really surprised me — I could easily recognize it in V1… now I have to stare at it to determine if aspect ratio is locked or not. 

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On 11/22/2022 at 3:50 PM, Chris B said:

Hey fotomak,

They took me a while to get used to but now I cannot go back. There are currently no plans to change this or to implement a function to revert back to V1.

Hi Chris, thanks a lot for your answer.. yes, it takes some time and knowing where, which and what previous icones mean this is not so great challenge... just wanted to know if it would be a big trouble to make possibility to choose icons layout (as it is colour/monochrom or as it is in GIMP..)

Affinity Photo 2.0.4.1701, Affinity Photo Beta 2.1.0.1781; Affinity Photo 1.10.6.1665,
Affinity Designer 1.10.5.1342, Affinity Designer customer beta 1.10.5.1342;
Affinity Publisher 1.10.5.1342; Affinity Publisher customer beta 1.10.5.1342 + GIMP 2.10.22,  RawTherapee 5.8,  Darktable 3.2.1;

Win10Pro (v. 10.0.17763), IntelCore i7-4790-3.60GHz, ram 8GB, , ssd 256GB, Huion new 1060plus;
Monitor 2D FHD LG 1920 x 1080 px, Onboard Intel Graphics HD 4600.

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  • 4 months later...

I just bought the Affinity V2 package for my colleague and myself... I figured from watching youtube videos and not quite being happy with Gimp as a Photoshop alternative, Affinity is a good choice.
I was not happy to encounter the silly installation in a hidden folder (Windows 11, it installs the programs, without asking! in a hidden User > AppData (sth like that) folder).
I had to figure out how to setup Desktop Icons as shortcut (Internet search, required me to go Run > Shell:AppsFolder

But now the User Interface! It's sooo small! What's going on? I have a nice new Monitor (3840 x 1600) and the icons are TINY! Why?!
Please, please fix this, Affinity team! I want a real Photoshop alternative. A large ui is a must have!

 

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17 hours ago, MikeWaz said:

I was not happy to encounter the silly installation in a hidden folder (Windows 11, it installs the programs, without asking! in a hidden User > AppData (sth like that) folder).

Why don't you instal MSI version?

Affinity Store (MSI/EXE): Affinity Suite (ADe, APh, APu) 2.4.0.2301
Dell OptiPlex 7060, i5-8500 3.00 GHz, 16 GB, Intel UHD Graphics 630, Dell P2417H 1920 x 1080, Windows 11 Pro, Version 23H2, Build 22631.3155.
Dell Latitude E5570, i5-6440HQ 2.60 GHz, 8 GB, Intel HD Graphics 530, 1920 x 1080, Windows 11 Pro, Version 23H2, Build 22631.3155.
Intel NUC5PGYH, Pentium N3700 2.40 GHz, 8 GB, Intel HD Graphics, EIZO EV2456 1920 x 1200, Windows 10 Pro, Version 21H1, Build 19043.2130.

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What do you mean, MSI version? When you purchase from Serif, you receive 3 .msix files for your Windows installation. When you click on those, it installs the programm. But you don't get a choice where you want them installed and if you go looking for them... they are not installed where the other programs are (in the normal program files folder). Instead you have to set View > Show Hidden, then find the obscure folder in your User folder (!) and then go down a rabbit hole of several nested folders. And then you don't even get nice large icons to use for your Windows desktop as a shortuct. And the app itself for some reason doesn't have a large UI option in 2023???

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2 hours ago, MikeWaz said:

What do you mean, MSI version? When you purchase from Serif, you receive 3 .msix files for your Windows installation. When you click on those, it installs the programm. But you don't get a choice where you want them installed and if you go looking for them... they are not installed where the other programs are (in the normal program files folder). Instead you have to set View > Show Hidden, then find the obscure folder in your User folder (!) and then go down a rabbit hole of several nested folders. And then you don't even get nice large icons to use for your Windows desktop as a shortuct. And the app itself for some reason doesn't have a large UI option in 2023???

In your Affinity Store account, you will also find .EXE installers, which you can use instead of the default .MSIX installers. If you've already installed the MSIX versions you should uninstall them before installing the EXE/MSI version.

-- Walt
Designer, Photo, and Publisher V1 and V2 at latest retail and beta releases
PC:
    Desktop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 64GB memory, AMD Ryzen 9 5900 12-Core @ 3.00 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 

    Laptop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 32GB memory, Intel Core i7-10750H @ 2.60GHz, Intel UHD Graphics Comet Lake GT2 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU.
iPad:  iPad Pro M1, 12.9": iPadOS 17.4.1, Apple Pencil 2, Magic Keyboard 
Mac:  2023 M2 MacBook Air 15", 16GB memory, macOS Sonoma 14.4.1

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13 hours ago, MikeWaz said:

What do you mean, MSI version?

Screenshot_2023-04-30-00-10-54.thumb.png.23b0b9a6dd689aa16ee70a6d40243a96.png

Affinity Store (MSI/EXE): Affinity Suite (ADe, APh, APu) 2.4.0.2301
Dell OptiPlex 7060, i5-8500 3.00 GHz, 16 GB, Intel UHD Graphics 630, Dell P2417H 1920 x 1080, Windows 11 Pro, Version 23H2, Build 22631.3155.
Dell Latitude E5570, i5-6440HQ 2.60 GHz, 8 GB, Intel HD Graphics 530, 1920 x 1080, Windows 11 Pro, Version 23H2, Build 22631.3155.
Intel NUC5PGYH, Pentium N3700 2.40 GHz, 8 GB, Intel HD Graphics, EIZO EV2456 1920 x 1200, Windows 10 Pro, Version 21H1, Build 19043.2130.

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1 hour ago, deeds said:

Does installing Affinity software differently alter the available options for the icons of the UI in any way?

Of the Affinity UI? No, as far as I know.

However, the application icons used by Windows may be different for the MSIX version as compared with the EXE/MSI version.

-- Walt
Designer, Photo, and Publisher V1 and V2 at latest retail and beta releases
PC:
    Desktop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 64GB memory, AMD Ryzen 9 5900 12-Core @ 3.00 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 

    Laptop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 32GB memory, Intel Core i7-10750H @ 2.60GHz, Intel UHD Graphics Comet Lake GT2 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU.
iPad:  iPad Pro M1, 12.9": iPadOS 17.4.1, Apple Pencil 2, Magic Keyboard 
Mac:  2023 M2 MacBook Air 15", 16GB memory, macOS Sonoma 14.4.1

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On 4/29/2023 at 12:31 AM, MikeWaz said:

But now the User Interface! It's sooo small! What's going on? I have a nice new Monitor (3840 x 1600) and the icons are TINY! Why?!
Please, please fix this, Affinity team! I want a real Photoshop alternative. A large ui is a must have!

@MikeWaz Don't be distracted by their fixation on your installation options:

3 hours ago, walt.farrell said:
4 hours ago, deeds said:

Does installing Affinity software differently alter the available options for the icons of the UI in any way?

Of the Affinity UI? No, as far as I know.

 

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On 4/28/2023 at 11:01 AM, MikeWaz said:

But now the User Interface! It's sooo small! What's going on? I have a nice new Monitor (3840 x 1600) and the icons are TINY! Why?!
Please, please fix this, Affinity team! I want a real Photoshop alternative. A large ui is a must have!

Hello @MikeWaz, welcome to the forums.

Your complaint is as old as the dawn of Affinity products. For a brief review of Affinity UI issues with font and icon sizes, see my April 15 post that will also lead you to some older posts surveying the problems. Do not expect any improvement in UI usability. You have to take it as it is and hope it doesn't get even worse, as happened with the release of Affinity 2 products.

https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/171054-accessibility-customising-the-ui-font-size/#comment-1075020

 

Affinity Photo 2.4.1 (MSI) and 1.10.6; Affinity Publisher 2.4.1 (MSI) and 1.10.6. Windows 10 Home x64 version 22H2.
Dell XPS 8940, 16 GB Ram, Intel Core i7-11700K @ 3.60 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060

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1 hour ago, deeds said:

Don't be distracted by their fixation on your installation options:

The context between the UI and the type of installation is not mentioned by anyone here except you - so please do not confuse the user unnecessarily.

The installation type is listed here in response to the issue listed here,

On 4/28/2023 at 5:01 PM, MikeWaz said:

I was not happy to encounter the silly installation in a hidden folder (Windows 11, it installs the programs, without asking! in a hidden User > AppData (sth like that) folder).

which is obvious to everyone from the context of the posts and their continuity. 

Affinity Store (MSI/EXE): Affinity Suite (ADe, APh, APu) 2.4.0.2301
Dell OptiPlex 7060, i5-8500 3.00 GHz, 16 GB, Intel UHD Graphics 630, Dell P2417H 1920 x 1080, Windows 11 Pro, Version 23H2, Build 22631.3155.
Dell Latitude E5570, i5-6440HQ 2.60 GHz, 8 GB, Intel HD Graphics 530, 1920 x 1080, Windows 11 Pro, Version 23H2, Build 22631.3155.
Intel NUC5PGYH, Pentium N3700 2.40 GHz, 8 GB, Intel HD Graphics, EIZO EV2456 1920 x 1200, Windows 10 Pro, Version 21H1, Build 19043.2130.

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16 hours ago, Pšenda said:

The context between the UI and the type of installation is not mentioned by anyone here except you - so please do not confuse the user unnecessarily.

 

Not doing that.

 

Would you  like to address the title of the thread?

And this user's concerns about the size of the UI interface operability icons on a high resolution Windows monitor?

Or are you, as it appears, trying to avoid that?

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