{"id":585,"date":"2026-05-05T12:22:32","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T11:22:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goesselgold.de\/blog\/?p=585"},"modified":"2026-05-05T12:44:32","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T11:44:32","slug":"babylon-adobe-2021-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goesselgold.de\/blog\/2026\/05\/babylon-adobe-2021-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Babylon Adobe 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This article from 2021 is the fourth out of four that I wrote on this topic over ten years. For the other three, see the links below.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How consistently does Adobe design the interfaces of its programs? Not very consistently: back in 2017, the last time I checked, even a basic UI element like the Save dialog didn’t look the same across all of Adobe’s programs on MacOS. No two dialogs were identical in every property \u2014 which is actually quite an achievement. And only one of them stuck to the MacOS system standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four years later: the apps come in new versions, and MacOS has also significantly redesigned its interface with Big Sur. What’s changed? We’re looking at a slightly different selection of programs this time, but the heavyweights of the CC Suite \u2014 Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign \u2014 are back in the mix, along with an interesting newcomer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See for yourself. Spoiler: it doesn’t get better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A few observations: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

No app uses the dialog that Apple provides and uses in its own apps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photoshop and Acrobat use the alert modal that Apple introduced with Big Sur. That\u2019s something, at least, because it means the buttons look like Big Sur buttons rather than badly imitated MacOS buttons. The new Apple dialog has its own issues, but the apps would automatically pick up improvements with system updates. So everything\u2019s fine otherwise? Of course not: even the two dialogs from Photoshop and Acrobat don\u2019t do everything the same way. It\u2019s amazing what differs between them: large app icon vs. warning icon with overlay, informal vs. formal address, correct vs. incorrect quotation marks, extra text or no extra text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The dialogs in Illustrator and InDesign haven\u2019t changed since last time (that\u2019s four years ago now), except that the window titles are now the same shade of gray, because they inherit it from the system. The buttons are still poorly hand-drawn \u2014 and each in its own different way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After Effects has colored the default button blue. The secondary buttons still don\u2019t look like any of the others. Recoloring one button was apparently change enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Adobe XD there’s no Save dialog at all anymore. Every document is constantly saved to the cloud, including new ones. On the one hand, that\u2019s good: in principle, data can no longer be lost. On the other hand, it\u2019s a shame, because back in 2017, XD was the only app that followed Apple\u2019s guidelines, right down to the \u2018Save\u2019 label on the default button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then there\u2019s Substance 3D, Adobe\u2019s latest acquisition. Once you look at its dialog design, all the others \u2014 with their flaws \u2014 don\u2019t look so bad anymore. Buttons labeled Yes, No, Cancel, and the giant question-mark icon \u2014 wow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Save, HIG style<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Here’s Apple’s dialog \u2014 the one Adobe doesn’t adhere to. You could debate whether this dialog is overly complex, since it already folds in the next step \u2014 but if Adobe were to adopt it, they’d at least be free of any consistency problems and ugly imitation interface elements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Et tu, Microsoft?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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At first glance, not bad at all \u2014 but Microsoft doesn\u2019t harmonize its dialogs either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a color system, and the basic dialog is at least the same, even if it strikes me as odd that it isn’t a single window (one you could select individually for a screenshot). Photoshop handles this differently. But:<\/p>\n\n\n\n