iOS notification indicators that fill up

Happy Monday to everyone still reading this. Somehow, after two and a half years, I’m still plugging away at unhinged app concepts. I am surprised even myself at this point every time I come up with an idea. Thankfully, since I don’t make these concepts every day anymore, I can get some time to myself on weekends. Every weekend ends too quickly, but I’ll take any break at this point.

This got me thinking about all the emails, texts, and calls I’m constantly trying to stay on top of. What if there were a way to more aggressively visually indicate when you need to check a certain app? Imagine if the apps filled up with red rather than having little red dots. This would compromise legibility if you don’t have very many notifications, and would make apps indiscernible if you had too many.

I do think evejn the notification indicator as it stands to day is a bit visually overwhelming, yet it’s a design pattern that hasn’t substantively changed in the past 15 years, which, in retrospect, is amazing considering how much technology has evolved.

Have a friend who never clears their notifications? Send them this newsletter. https://sorens.beehiiv.com/