New UI - Experiences Bad and Good

[bmcl26 488]

I was in the middle of cleaning out some files when the screen changed, and I thought I was back in Legacy.  If this is the New UI I am not a fan it it too light making it difficult to read.  There does not appear to be a settings button.   

[surfshark 11]

Note thumbnails are not displayed properly...

[agsteele 2,951]

I believe that this is a slow release.  The first folk to receive will be able to feedback their ideas and responses before a wider release.

[cert712 8]

I am using evernote since it's bin released, I had like 5 accounts, which I am exporting all notes now to one of evernote accounts. No complains about that. you made a good product, you choose price. But what a hell is happeing with GUI collors?

Guys if you need to give developers a job and just pay salary that's ok. Just give pople money. Or just buy another pool table or Grant Turismo simulator in the office.  No need changes!

Looks like "yellow snow" if you know what I mean.

[MichaelvT 18]

Just seen the UI coming to my desktop version (Windows) myself. Looks nice. Was hoping for a bit more to be honest, but no big issue. The changes appear nice to me. Have sent some feedback to the Evernote team via the feedback email address. One flaw I noticed is that with tables set to Note Width and view set to Optimize for Readability the right side of the last column, including the arrow to change the table settings, fall out of view for a bit. Nothing huge. 

[Abdrey 20]

Terrible interface after updating to version 10.71.2.! Huge fields have appeared in all interface elements and now there is much less useful space! Why these huge empty white spaces??? A lot of useful screen space is wasted! Bring everything back the way it was before!!!

[MvdH 407]

 

2 hours ago, agsteele said:

I believe that this is a slow release.  The first folk to receive will be able to feedback their ideas and responses before a wider release.

The roll out was not slow enough to my taste! 

Two bugs I encountered the second they flipped the switch on the featureflag for the new UI: I cannot change the width of columns in the view of notes of Evernote anymore on 2 of my computers. And my tags column got SCROLLBARS-per-row in the note list/view itself...

I hope they fix this SOON, cause my workflow is being damaged (again) by changes Evernote did not test thouroughly it seems.

⚠️ @Federico Simionato Due to these 2 big bugs in the new UI, I am currently SERIOUSLY handicapped by SERIOUS bugs in the this product right now, for which I pay SERIOUS money. It's my main business productivity tool. Not amused! I didn't even install this update myself, it decided itself that it was stable enough to update.

I reported it, and it got Ticket Id #3812925

[bmcl26 488]

1 hour ago, agsteele said:

I believe that this is a slow release.  The first folk to receive will be able to feedback their ideas and responses before a wider release.

I certainly will be giving them feedback. It's absolutely horrible. Far too much white with no contrast.  I suffered a detached Retina a few years ago and find this very difficult to read.

[bmcl26 488]

Now Found the Settings, it is on the Tools Drop Down Menu  Only option is Full White or Full Dark.  I am afraid this might be a game-changer for me.

[MvdH 407]

2 minutes ago, bmcl26 said:

Now Found the Settings, it is on the Tools Drop Down Menu  Only option is Full White or Full Dark.  I am afraid this might be a game-changer for me.

Maybe you can make the fonts larger with Ctrl + +  (and back smaller with Ctrl + - ) in Windows. Mac probably also has keys for that? Does that help you?

[Mike P 2,643]

I'm also not a fan mainly because of the gray on gray.

A more minor irritation is that the drag handles to change the size of the panes are just not where I expect them to be. So to increase or decrease the size of the note preview pane the boundary is not the line between the white of the note and the gray of the note list. 

 

 

[PinkElephant 8,126]

On the Mac enlarging uses cmd-*, reducing cmd- - (minus).

[Der Eisgraue 32]

I have now also received the new UI on Win11. For me it is like that only the sidebar has turned from black to light-grey. Do not see yet another big change. But I like the view.

 

cheers,

Peter

[Mike P 2,643]

As I continue to use it I've found the following - again fairly minor compared with the general gray on gray theme.

- Unnecessary space now introduced in allmost all lists - tasks, tags, sidebar etc. - even more scrolling required

- Tiny text for some elements. e.g. the number of tasks in a filtered list of tasks and the clear button in a search list

[bmcl26 488]

1 hour ago, MvdH said:

Maybe you can make the fonts larger with Ctrl + +  (and back smaller with Ctrl + - ) in Windows. Mac probably also has keys for that? Does that help you?

It is not so much the size of the Font; it is the bright light background with washed-out colours; items in the Calendar Widget are so insipid they look like past items.  The only options in settings are all white, or all Black, and I don't like either.

[gazumped 11,677]

? Maybe suggest that they should add more colour options ?  I actually like it - have already reported that I have a ToC with lots of one-word links;  the pop-up tool tip completely blocks the link when I try to select it... 

[maxkxkx 7]

Pro:

1. Finally Code Blocks are bigger and better to read! Would be cool to be able to change background, font and color of those, too.
2. I like the new bigger font in the Notes List.

Contra:

1. Bring back the "Grey" Mode. Was Dark Mode before. Now there is only black and white available.
2. Still no option to press P and jump to my Notes with P. I know its not trivial about how evernote works. But for an app that costs siginficant amount of money this must be possible... so annoying.
3. The space in the picture is so useless. Please make it removable.. f.e combine it with the bar down below. 

[Mike P 2,643]

9 minutes ago, maxkxkx said:

Finally Code Blocks are bigger and better to read!

Not sure I like it and it doesn't seem like industry standard but I'm not going ot lose sleep over it. At least it's a better size than the old version.

[konsultisto 1]

Color scheme of version 5.71.2 cannot be changed to light color scheme, This is annoying.

[bmcl26 488]

I found another Bug in the New UI. All the icons in the collapsed left-hand panel disappeared.  I thought I would quit EN and Log back in to see if that made any difference.  Delighted to say that on opening EN again, it has reverted to the original UI, which is much improved and easier to read.

[Mike P 2,643]

It's possible I'm going crazy but they seem to be playing with this in real time. My sidebar looks completely different to how it did originally when the new UI came out. Sadly I didn't screenshot it but the gaps between items in the sidebar has now closed up again and the layout of the tag hierarchy seems to have changed.

Am I a lab rat or a valued paying customer?

[Mike P 2,643]

9 minutes ago, bmcl26 said:

Delighted to say that on opening EN again, it has reverted to the original UI, which is much improved and easier to read.

Same. We are definitely lab rats!

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,968]

What (almost) everybody previously has said: light text on gray background is hard on the eyes (unless you force dark mode, which is, amazingly, even uglier and harder to use); extra space everywhere. It just appeared in the 10.71.2 Windows app without an update. Sadly, I have not been selected for lab rat status yet, and it is still wildly ugly and inefficient, though I'm sure completely in keeping with principles of "modern" UI design, which promote ugliness and inefficiency. The basic principle seems to be to avoid anything that would differentiate one item in the window from another. I got a feedback banner, which I used vigorously.

50 minutes ago, maxkxkx said:

I like the new bigger font in the Notes List.

Eh? It's actually very noticeably smaller.

And this: all lists (notes, tagged notes, etc.) now have teeny tiny separators with month and year. That would be nice--if the notes didn't scroll right through the separators, jumbling up the two different texts! One more: I kind of liked the "Good morning/afternoon/evening" in the Home page; now replaced by the generic and useless "David's Home," which if it really were my home I would run away from and join the circus.

My Web client hasn't "updated" yet, so here are comparison screenshots, the old one from the Web client first. Which one do you think is easier to find your way around in?

[eric99 980]

3 hours ago, MvdH said:

 

Not slow enough to my taste! 

Two bugs I encountered the second they flipped the switch on the featureflag for the new UI: I cannot change the width of columns in the view of notes of Evernote anymore on 2 of my computers. And my tags column got SCROLLBARS-per-row in the note list/view itself...

I hope they fix this SOON, cause my workflow is being damaged (again) by changes Evernote did not test thouroughly it seems.

⚠️ @Federico Simionato Due to these 2 big bugs in the new UI, I am currently SERIOUSLY handicapped by SERIOUS bugs in the this product right now, for which I pay SERIOUS money. It's my main business productivity tool. Not amused! I didn't even install this update myself, it decided itself that it was stable enough to update.

I reported it, and it got Ticket Id #3812925

yes, a variable title width in the note list is absolutely essential!

The font size of the note list which was perfect before, has been reduced. Please make it configurable.

Zooming should go in much smaller steps, I can't use it to solve the fixed font size problem.

 

[maxkxkx 7]

56 minutes ago, Mike P said:

Not sure I like it and it doesn't seem like industry standard but I'm not going ot lose sleep over it. At least it's a better size than the old version.

nah I dont mean the single ones which are red now. I mean the whole blocks.

 

5 minutes ago, Dave-in-Decatur said:

Eh? It's actually very noticeably smaller.

For me its bigger atm. But I have Title only shown.

 

[Mike P 2,643]

3 minutes ago, maxkxkx said:

nah I dont mean the single ones which are red now. I mean the whole blocks.

 

I realise that, I was just adding my observation of a related change. Sorry I didn't make that clear.

[ferol 441]

It almost knocked me over when the new interface came up...
I also didn't notice how it was better than the previous one. Rather the opposite. It was totally pulling my eyes... and even more wasted monitor space.
I used to use a 24 inch monitor in portrait with the Legaci. With version 10, I resigned myself to a 32 inch portrait...

As if a modern interface means wasting space, I'll calmly call myself an old man, but I obviously don't understand this modern stuff ...

[Federico Simionato 1,022]

Hey folks! Thank you all very much for your feedback!

We only wanted to enable the new UI for those who opted in to test it, but mistakenly enabled it for many more users. Apologies, we've now reverted that and you should see the old version unless you opted in. We'll use feedback from the beta testers to improve it.

If you want to keep exploring the new UI, you can put your email address here (needs to be the one linked to your Evernote account): https://waz9zvkd1f2.typeform.com/to/tvTldYzV#source=forum

[eric99 980]

yeah, I loved the 'old' V10 dark theme : it had the proper font size, proper note background color, resizable column sizes for the note list

I hope that different themes will be available with configurable fontsizes, otherwise please bring back the old GUI

[eric99 980]

2 hours ago, Federico Simionato said:

Hey folks! Thank you all very much for your feedback!

We only wanted to enable the new UI for those who opted in to test it, but mistakenly enabled it for many more users. Apologies, we've now reverted that and you should see the old version unless you opted in. We'll use feedback from the beta testers to improve it.

If you want to keep exploring the new UI, you can put your email address here (needs to be the one linked to your Evernote account): https://waz9zvkd1f2.typeform.com/to/tvTldYzV#source=forum

Thanks for bringing back the old dark theme: it is so much easier on the eyes...

[ferol 441]

5 minutes ago, Federico Simionato said:

Hey folks! Thank you all very much for your feedback!

We only wanted to enable the new UI for those who opted in to test it, but mistakenly enabled it for many more users. Apologies, we've now reverted that and you should see the old version unless you opted in. We'll use feedback from the beta testers to improve it.

If you want to keep exploring the new UI, you can put your email address here (needs to be the one linked to your Evernote account): https://waz9zvkd1f2.typeform.com/to/tvTldYzV#source=forum

If I want to test and then stop testing after a while, will there be an option to opt out of testing as well?

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,968]

Grazie, grazie, grazie, @Federico Simionato. But I hope the feedback in this thread will be taken into account.

[DougLietz 4]

12 minutes ago, Federico Simionato said:

Hey folks! Thank you all very much for your feedback!

We only wanted to enable the new UI for those who opted in to test it, but mistakenly enabled it for many more users. Apologies, we've now reverted that and you should see the old version unless you opted in. We'll use feedback from the beta testers to improve it.

If you want to keep exploring the new UI, you can put your email address here (needs to be the one linked to your Evernote account): https://waz9zvkd1f2.typeform.com/to/tvTldYzV#source=forum

How do I revert back? The new UI is still showing in my Windows Desktop machine. I have tried opening and closing the app several times and the new UI won't go away.

One point of feedback to please consider...

[agsteele 2,951]

Go to the File menu, choose Quit Evernote. When you log back in you will be back on the old UI unless you have the fortune to be in the beta test.

[Federico Simionato 1,022]

6 minutes ago, Dave-in-Decatur said:

But I hope the feedback in this thread will be taken into account

For sure, for instance we will definitely bring back the customizability of note-view columns

7 minutes ago, ferol said:

If I want to test and then stop testing after a while, will there be an option to opt out of testing as well?

Yes, in that case you can just send a ticket to customer support or write in this thread.

[bmcl26 488]

13 minutes ago, Federico Simionato said:

Hey folks! Thank you all very much for your feedback!

We only wanted to enable the new UI for those who opted in to test it, but mistakenly enabled it for many more users. Apologies, we've now reverted that and you should see the old version unless you opted in. We'll use feedback from the beta testers to improve it.

If you want to keep exploring the new UI, you can put your email address here (needs to be the one linked to your Evernote account): https://waz9zvkd1f2.typeform.com/to/tvTldYzV#source=forum

It certainly was an experience, but not a good one; it was very difficult to read and had insipid colours, but it was definitely in the realm of being a game changer for me.  I doubt that I would be happy to remain after 12 years and am very disappointed to have to consider an alternative if the atrocious mess is foisted on to us as the the new UI.

[agsteele 2,951]

@bmcl26 join the beta test and submit your feedback as part of the trial. Perhaps that could be done from a Free account.  That seems to be the more realistic way of getting your voice heard.

[janndk 500]

[gboyd 16]

22 minutes ago, Federico Simionato said:

Hey folks! Thank you all very much for your feedback!

We only wanted to enable the new UI for those who opted in to test it, but mistakenly enabled it for many more users. Apologies, we've now reverted that and you should see the old version unless you opted in. We'll use feedback from the beta testers to improve it.

If you want to keep exploring the new UI, you can put your email address here (needs to be the one linked to your Evernote account): https://waz9zvkd1f2.typeform.com/to/tvTldYzV#source=forum

Thank you, I logged out and back in. The old version appeared!

[janndk 500]

[DougLietz 4]

5 minutes ago, agsteele said:

Go to the File menu, choose Quit Evernote. When you log back in you will be back on the old UI unless you have the fortune to be in the beta test.

Thanks... doing "Quit Evernote" by itself did not actually get me back... I had to also sign out and then sign back in. So I'm all good now. My Evernote is no longer displaying the new UI... phew!

And just an FYI... even though the new UI is no long showing, my app remained at the latest 10.71.2 version...

[bmcl26 488]

10 minutes ago, agsteele said:

@bmcl26 join the beta test and submit your feedback as part of the trial. Perhaps that cold be done from a Free account.  That seems to be the more realistic way of getting your voice heard.

Thanks, @agsteele; I have already submitted three feedback notes.  My main problem is I had a detached Retina in my left eye a few years ago and found it extremely difficult to read with the grey background.

[janndk 500]

[Jon/t 1,293]

5 minutes ago, janndk said:

Have you tried a log out and back in again as I've not seen this one before, not seeing it myself.

[janndk 500]

[Jon/t 1,293]

5 minutes ago, janndk said:

I think I spoke too soon. Some others seeing it. Are you on Mac as they are. I'm not.

[janndk 500]

42 minutes ago, Jon/t said:

I think I spoke too soon. Some others seeing it. Are you on Mac as they are. I'm not.

Windows.

I restarted Evernote, and got the old UI back. But now knowing what is coming, i'm certainly not happy.

[Jon/t 1,293]

7 minutes ago, janndk said:

But now knowing what is coming, i'm certainly not happy

I've been using it on Windows for about a month and haven't had these issues so I think something has gone wrong with the roll out. Maybe 2 versions clashing or something.

Most of the issues I've noticed over the last couple of weeks have been small like misaligned buttons/elements etc. I think column dragging is being sorted though.

[eric99 980]

42 minutes ago, Jon/t said:

I've been using it on Windows for about a month and haven't had these issues so I think something has gone wrong with the roll out. Maybe 2 versions clashing or something.

Most of the issues I've noticed over the last couple of weeks have been small like misaligned buttons/elements etc. I think column dragging is being sorted though.

I’m glad to hear that, but it would be great if there were more options for font size and themes beyond just light and dark...

Actually, the current V10 dark theme could be one of these...

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,968]

1 hour ago, DougLietz said:

And just an FYI... even though the new UI is no long showing, my app remained at the latest 10.71.2 version...

I actually already had 10.71.2, without the new UI, which just "magically" appeared this morning, and then disappeared when I quit and restarted. So I don't think the version number is connected to the UI.

[agsteele 2,951]

The UI is a server side setting.

[eric99 980]

I'm wondering who needed this new GUI, and are there any benefits to these changes? Are there no other priorities that need to be addressed?

[janndk 500]

1 hour ago, janndk said:

I restarted Evernote, and got the old UI back. But now knowing what is coming, i'm certainly not happy.

EN Web still has the new UI ...and new bugs 😕

[Bill Myers 458]

I'm glad I saw this thread. I'm one of the non-beta-testers who accidentally got the new UI, but I quit and restarted. I have the old UI again.

I'm not having the violent reaction some people are having. If this becomes the new UI (sans the bugs I experienced, presumably) I'll still be a happy Evernote user. Nevertheless, @Federico Simionato, FWIW from this one Evernote user, I'm not sure how what I experienced (briefly, admittedly) would be an improvement. If anything, it seems like a lateral move to me at best. No real harm other than some irritation on my part, but no benefit either.

Maybe I should sign up to be a beta tester. I guess I do have some opinions about this. 

@Federico Simionato, maybe you'd at least be willing to clue us in as to what this UI redesign is supposed to accomplish? It could help us in providing feedback to you.

[Bill Myers 458]

1 hour ago, eric99 said:

I'm wondering who needed this new GUI, and are there any benefits to these changes?

I'm not going to join anyone in asking "who needed this" because it's possible there's a new UI movement afoot I'm unaware of. Maybe this will make EN more palatable to potential new users. I remember when abandoning skeuomorphism became all the rage across just about all major software products and I got cranky. Over time, however, I learned to like the new design aesthetic and I don't miss skeuomorphism at all. 

People tend to resist change, and I don't want to be the equivalent of Grandpa Simpson yelling at a cloud. This could be something that will cause a great hue and cry that will die down and be forgotten.

But I have to confess, I'm not sure what Bending Spoons is hoping to accomplish. From what I saw, there was just enough change to be a bit jarring, but not nearly enough to change my user experience positively or negatively. 

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,968]

1 hour ago, eric99 said:

I'm wondering who needed this new GUI, and are there any benefits to these changes? Are there no other priorities that need to be addressed?

This. The blog post speaks of "A stunning new user interface ... the in-app experience [users] know and love, but repackaged into a lightweight and contemporary design. But don’t worry, we’re not moving buttons, rearranging features, or disrupting existing workflows." @Bill Myers, I think that's all the indication we've gotten of what the redesign is trying to do. "Lightweight and contemporary" I take to mean darker-gray-on-lighter-gray text, small fonts, and extra blank space, which seems to be the current iteration of the "Modern" UI movement. At any rate, that's what I saw in my brief accidental exposure.

This will only make Evernote harder to use for me, not impossible or unhealthy, as it will be for some people. (I wonder if the EU has an equivalent of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and if these types of UIs violate it for people with visual difficulties.) For the life of me, I can't understand the point in making it harder to distinguish, find, and use different elements on what is basically a Web page. If anyone here has any experience in this kind of design, please enlighten me. In particular, please point me toward any documentation of users actually liking such redesigns, either for aesthetic or practical reasons. And yeah, call me Grandpa Simpson if you want to. But back up this aesthetic with something concrete.

[Bill Myers 458]

2 minutes ago, Dave-in-Decatur said:

And yeah, call me Grandpa Simpson if you want to.

Well, I wouldn't do that. I was referring to my own desire to avoid what I feel would be my own knee-jerk reaction to change. Because I sometimes have such reactions. Your responses are your own and not mine to judge.

My own thinking is this: a lot of people declared the jarring transition to v10 to be the death knell of Evernote. It's still kicking. This new UI appears to be a very minor change in comparison. If anything's going to kill Evernote, or my relationship with it, it won't be this.

On the other hand, if what I saw is close to the final product, I don't get it. The change isn't "stunning," it's not dramatic, it's just... a little different. I guess my initial feeling is that the blog post heralding this new UI is a little tone-deaf. I was expecting something... bigger.

But it's very possible I'm just having a Grandpa Simpson moment, and a year from now I'll be whistling a different tune. Time will tell.

[ferol 441]

@Federico Simionato

I'm not joining the beta test yet due to time constraints, but I'll post my findings from the current interface right here. I hope this will be understandable.. because transaltor....:

What would I consider a UI change?

The color scheme and layout bother me minimally.
Evernote is a tool, not a fashion accessory. And I expect efficiency from a tool. In the same way, I wouldn't buy a fancy chainsaw if I had more trouble sawing with it than with a plain-looking one..

So let's get down to what I mean by streamlining:

1. The ability to change the order and the ability to turn off/on some tools in the editor.  For example, strikethrough text is almost completely at the end, and on certain views it's on the "More" button. Or I often use Divider and have to go to the "+" because of it.  Simply being able to user customize this toolbar will be a rapid benefit.

2. It explicitly bothers me that if I have, for example, a specific note directly in Shortcuts and I click on it, the Cards/Snippets/Side list  is disappears. Because of this, I have started using "Top list" exclusively
This behavior is pronouncedly annoying on a wide monitor. 

I have the Note width setting set to "Fit to window" because the "Optimize readability" setting doesn't make meaningful use of the monitor area

3. I want to be able to change the order of the top and bottom of Shortcuts, Notes, Tasks, Notebooks, Tags in the Sidebar. I use a lot of Shortcuts and often I want to click through to all the notes - NOTES and it's always elsewhere this button.. Going to it via Home-Notes is unnecessary extra clicks, especially when evernote is still slower than v.6

Or only move NOTES between NEW  and Shortcuts fof fix it possition...

4. It bothers me that when scrolling in a note, the title of the note scrolls at the same time and I don't actually know which note I'm in. Because I often work with notes by copying parts of text from one to another.. but I still have to scroll up and see which damn note I'm in...
This note title should just be permanently in its fixed place like it was in the old Evernote, or this title could appear somewhere in the bar next to/above/below Last edited in small letters say... and then it can also scroll..

5. Possibility to customize the New button. I don't even remember when I added Attatchment, Audio or Sketch directly in Windows. And I don't use Task at all. So for me adding a new note again means 2x clicking NEW and then Note.
So I would suggest to do those 2 most common items separately on top of each other:
New Note
New Task
New other... 

Or you can customize this somehow..

6 . Add shortcut for "Open in new window"
 

7. Ability to independently change the background color for Sidebar from the main theme (Light, Dark), or make 4 themes:

Dark Sitebar + Light notes
Dark Sitebar + Dark notes
Dark Sitebar + Light notes
Light Sitebar + Light notes

The color contrast is now fine. You just need to make those combinations... no need changes in colours and contrast..
 

8. Tabs for more opened notes will be perfect. But also capture the possibility  "Open in new window". And that when you close and open Evernote, the tabs are equally open (or have the option to set this in the settings).

[bgolden126 28]

Lack of contrast in the new UI is terrible. The white sidebars distract from the note.

I didn't appreciate how well the dark sidebars gave me so much more focus on the note.

...and now they're gone.

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,968]

37 minutes ago, ferol said:

What would I consider a UI change?

The color scheme and layout bother me minimally.
Evernote is a tool, not a fashion accessory. And I expect efficiency from a tool. In the same way, I wouldn't buy a fancy chainsaw if I had more trouble sawing with it than with a plain-looking one..

This.

29 minutes ago, bgolden126 said:

Lack of contrast in the new UI is terrible. The white sidebars distract from the note.

I didn't appreciate how well the dark sidebars gave me so much more focus on the note.

...and now they're gone.

Also this.

@ferol, a number of the improvements you look for involve mouse clicks, but there are keyboard shortcuts available for some (such as Ctrl+T for strikethrough, --- [Enter] for a divider, Ctrl+N for a new text note). But I agree that better or more customizable arrangement of the various toolbar and sidebar elements is far more important than visual changes (such as making things invisible altogether with lack of contrast).

[mackid1993 732]

7 hours ago, Federico Simionato said:

Hey folks! Thank you all very much for your feedback!

We only wanted to enable the new UI for those who opted in to test it, but mistakenly enabled it for many more users. Apologies, we've now reverted that and you should see the old version unless you opted in. We'll use feedback from the beta testers to improve it.

If you want to keep exploring the new UI, you can put your email address here (needs to be the one linked to your Evernote account): https://waz9zvkd1f2.typeform.com/to/tvTldYzV#source=forum

Signed up both my personal and work account. Looking forward to testing.

[ferol 441]

6 hours ago, Dave-in-Decatur said:

This.

Also this.

@ferol, a number of the improvements you look for involve mouse clicks, but there are keyboard shortcuts available for some (such as Ctrl+T for strikethrough, --- [Enter] for a divider, Ctrl+N for a new text note). But I agree that better or more customizable arrangement of the various toolbar and sidebar elements is far more important than visual changes (such as making things invisible altogether with lack of contrast).

I used many shortcuts... Ctrl+T, I have custom for Divider (Ctrl + Shift + -) ... but sometimes is better use buttons..

 

[Der Eisgraue 32]

Got that strange bar in the header too:

 

Anyway, I submitted to be part of the new ui testers 🙂

 

[cyrixsimon 0]

Yesterday I had the new UI in der Webversion. Today the UI switched back to the old style. Is there a way to re-enable the new style again in order to do further testing?

[Mike P 2,643]

3 minutes ago, cyrixsimon said:

Yesterday I had the new UI in der Webversion. Today the UI switched back to the old style. Is there a way to re-enable the new style again in order to do further testing?

Perhaps reading this thread might help.

17 hours ago, Federico Simionato said:

If you want to keep exploring the new UI, you can put your email address here (needs to be the one linked to your Evernote account): https://waz9zvkd1f2.typeform.com/to/tvTldYzV#source=forum

[eric99 980]

17 hours ago, Dave-in-Decatur said:

This. The blog post speaks of "A stunning new user interface ... the in-app experience [users] know and love, but repackaged into a lightweight and contemporary design. But don’t worry, we’re not moving buttons, rearranging features, or disrupting existing workflows." @Bill Myers, I think that's all the indication we've gotten of what the redesign is trying to do. "Lightweight and contemporary" I take to mean darker-gray-on-lighter-gray text, small fonts, and extra blank space, which seems to be the current iteration of the "Modern" UI movement. At any rate, that's what I saw in my brief accidental exposure.

This will only make Evernote harder to use for me, not impossible or unhealthy, as it will be for some people. (I wonder if the EU has an equivalent of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and if these types of UIs violate it for people with visual difficulties.) For the life of me, I can't understand the point in making it harder to distinguish, find, and use different elements on what is basically a Web page. If anyone here has any experience in this kind of design, please enlighten me. In particular, please point me toward any documentation of users actually liking such redesigns, either for aesthetic or practical reasons. And yeah, call me Grandpa Simpson if you want to. But back up this aesthetic with something concrete.

Yeah, it seems that the UI 'artists' at BS prioritize aesthetics over ergonomics, which is becoming a real plague these days.

In fact, I even wonder if anyone has beta tested the new dark theme at all. I can't believe this is considered an improvement, neither aesthetically nor erogonomically.

For instance the note background color in the new dark theme is fully black which looks ugly and less readable. Please take the 'old' theme's background colors which were perfect for optimal vision.

@Federico Simionato Please give us access to (some) stylesheets so that we can configure the colors and fontsizes ourselves.

Edited January 16 by eric99

[cyrixsimon 0]

4 hours ago, Mike P said:

Perhaps reading this thread might help.

I was not able to reenable it. It would be nice to have a clear procedure to use a new UI or not.

[ChristianJB 92]

https://evernote.com/blog/new-ui-2024

[Mike P 2,643]

11 minutes ago, cyrixsimon said:

I was not able to reenable it. It would be nice to have a clear procedure to use a new UI or not.

Please read the bit of the posting from Federico Simionato that I included in the previous post:

22 hours ago, Federico Simionato said:

If you want to keep exploring the new UI, you can put your email address here (needs to be the one linked to your Evernote account): https://waz9zvkd1f2.typeform.com/to/tvTldYzV#source=forum

 

[LazParis 8]

I've been waiting for a light sidebar for ages! Quiet happy with this UI. Certainly needs some improvement but I home it will stay that way!

Unfortunately it went back to the old version but I opted to be included in the beta test.

[Loyal Evernote User 10]

The light/dark needs to be customizable.  For example, I prefer the dark sidebar.  I have vision accessibility issues and the dark makes it easier for me to read.  I often change from light to dark in the notes section depending on the type of content.

Please consider visual accessibility before making the light/dark changes permanent!  Having individual control based on each person's vision needs is important.

[LazParis 8]

Just now, Loyal Evernote User said:

The light/dark needs to be customizable.  For example, I prefer the dark sidebar.  I have vision accessibility issues and the dark makes it easier for me to read.  I often change from light to dark in the notes section depending on the type of content.

Please consider visual accessibility before making the light/dark changes permanent!  Having individual control based on each person's vision's needs is important.

Good idea to make it customizable!

[maggiemay 3]

I've got the new interface since yesterday, will try for a bit.   And I'm seeing something strange when I hide the side bar.

It looks like the image below, with no icons showing for shortcuts, notebooks, tags, etc. that I had with the previous interface when the sidebar was hidden.

Is anybody else having the same issue ?   Thanks !

 

[mackid1993 732]

Has anyone been added to the beta yet. I'm patiently waiting after filling out the form.

[WilliamL 654]

The blog is the first proper pictures I’ve seen, personally I think it looks good, clean, I think the text on the navigation pane needs to be darkest black possible tho for accessibility. Look forward to testing it out! 

[eric99 980]

1 hour ago, LazParis said:

Good idea to make it customizable!

If the stylesheets were accessible, the EN community could build and provide specific themes themselves...

[eric99 980]

27 minutes ago, WilliamL said:

The blog is the first proper pictures I’ve seen

Which blog?

[agsteele 2,951]

51 minutes ago, maggiemay said:

I've got the new interface since yesterday, will try for a bit.   And I'm seeing something strange when I hide the side bar.

It looks like the image below, with no icons showing for shortcuts, notebooks, tags, etc. that I had with the previous interface when the sidebar was hidden.

Is anybody else having the same issue ?   Thanks !

 

Yes this is common. Presumably it will be something noted and resolved through the beta test process.

[Sayre Ambrosio 520]

I'm loving the new UI. I'm a minimal girl and was pleased to see it. I might be in the minority but it made a rough morning kind of fun checking it out.

[agsteele 2,951]

2 minutes ago, eric99 said:

Which blog?

https://evernote.com/blog

[eric99 980]

12 minutes ago, agsteele said:

https://evernote.com/blog

Thanks, I know this link but I don't see any screenshots of the new UI..

[s2sailor 2,207]

7 minutes ago, eric99 said:

Thanks, I know this link but I don't see any screenshots of the new UI..

Click on read more - there are before and after shots.

[eric99 980]

Thanks, it was hidden by my dark theme viewer

 

edit: looks good, apart from the grey font. But I don't see any dark theme screenshot 😞

[TK0047 422]

I had the new UI yesterday but today it looks like it went back to the previous UI ?!?!?! Am I seeing things?

[panpiotrs 12]

IMHO, the new UI looks 1000 times better. I can understand that such changes may be annoying for some/many people, so having a "legacy" option (simply an additional stylesheet for new UI with previous colors and smaller padding) for current users wouldn't be a bad idea.

[s2sailor 2,207]

25 minutes ago, TK0047 said:

Am I seeing things?

No, it was accidentally enabled for everyone yesterday and then removed.  You can sign up to be part of the beta if you want.  See Federico's post above.

[s2sailor 2,207]

With any UI change a percentage will love it and others will hate it.  I'm somewhat indifferent, but I prefer denser data than white space, so I hope options are provided.

[surfshark 11]

Although the new interface still has some bugs, it's a good start
(I hope the interface is as beautiful as the note-taking software BEAR)

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,968]

Several people have expressed appreciation for the new UI (e.g. @LazParis, @WilliamL, @Sayre Ambrosio, @panpiotrs), including some whose opinions on the forums I highly respect. Respectfully, then, I disagree, and want to offer some rationale for that, beyond "Ack! It's new! I hate it!". @Federico Simionato, this is meant for your attention as well. I may actually have to join the UI beta test, time suck though it would be; but I fear I would probably be too late.

The blog post (https://evernote.com/blog/new-ui-2024) offers helpful details about the new design, so I'm interacting with those as well as with some posts here. First of all, descriptions such as "clean, light," etc., seem vague to me, maybe because I'm not a design professional. Claims like "enhanced readability" and "visually satisfying," though, are more verifiable, and I believe they are almost entirely incorrect. Smaller, lighter type on a light background degrades readability--no particular evidence is offered in the blog that it is "enhanced"--and while "visual satisfaction," like most other things in this discussion, is subjective, it's clear that such satisfaction is very far from a universal experience. Those with older eyes or specific ophthalmic disabilities will find no satisfaction, and are likely to experience tiring eyes and poor readability. Thus the "modern" basis that is claimed for the new look apparently incorporates some bias against certain age and disability groups, which I would hope would be deprecated rather than celebrated. The only two places where I see improved readability are the column headers in the notebook lists (which are darker, not lighter, than before), and in the new default font for notes themselves (which is larger, not smaller).

Regarding the 4 "key principles" at the center of the redesign, the first 2, I believe, are definitely, perhaps even objectively, falsified by the example screenshots in the blog post.

Quote

1. Respecting existing workflows. Instead of rearranging buttons or features, we introduced subtle UI adjustments to enhance the user experience without disrupting familiar workflows.

2. Enhancing focus. In the past, visually intrusive elements like a dark sidebar inadvertently drew attention away from the content you were working on. With the essential, unified design of the new interface, you’ll still have immediate access to all the tools you need, while staying focused on the only thing that matters: your work. 

I appreciate that they didn't rearrange anything. But take a look at the items in lists and in formatting toolbars in all of the screenshots: in every single one of them, there is less information on the screen in the redesign. It will take more work to get at listed items and formatting buttons now, which will damage (though not completely break) everyone's workflow. This is because one of the main, and not very subtle, UI adjustments is the addition of extra padding throughout. This can, perhaps, make for a more relaxed, open appearance. But in no way does it respect workflows. There is a choice to be made between openness and efficiency. And as @ferol said earlier in this thread, "Evernote is a tool, not a fashion accessory."

As for focus, the dark sidebar was not an intrusive distraction from content, but a means of distinguishing navigation tools from content (lists and editing space), thereby highlighting content, not drawing attention away from it. I don't know what "essential" means in this context, but a "unified" design is exactly what is not wanted here, as others in the thread have already pointed out. I want to know where to go for navigation and where to find my content, and giving everything the same "insipid" (in @bmcl26's apt expression) appearance makes that harder to do. It hides my work rather than focusing it.

As for the 3rd principle, "Infusing modernity" (I can't speak to the 4th one on future iteration), the notion that the "cohesive" design creates an experience that "feels as precise and fluid as the technology that powers it" is again mistaken. Fluid washes things away or lets them swirl around; it is the opposite of precise, and the "cohesion" that has been achieved, as I've pointed out, does indeed accomplish just that. As for being "at the forefront of contemporary industry standards" in order to "fit in seamlessly with your other productivity tools," what this means is that Evernote will become as difficult to read and hard to use as other software that has gone down this path of vagueness and indistinguishability. "Modern" means essentially 20th-century (well rooted in the 19th). It is not that century anymore. I would love for @Federico Simionato to bring in some documentation to show that these types of design actually result in an enhanced long-term user experience and more efficient usability (a core modern value!).

I truly want to respect the work of the design professionals behind the beta interface. I'm actually much more an artsy type than an efficiency fiend myself, TBH. I use Evernote to gather ideas and information for my writing, even to draft poetry sometimes. But I need a tool that lets me do that without squinting. Truthfully, I'd love to see some of the "warm, vibrant ... fun and creativity" that appears in the redesign of the evernote.com/ Website show up in Evernote's actual software interface, instead of the bland, insipid, unreadable changes that we're getting.

[Bill Myers 458]

1 hour ago, Sayre Ambrosio said:

I'm loving the new UI. I'm a minimal girl and was pleased to see it. I might be in the minority but it made a rough morning kind of fun checking it out.

I suppose you could be in the minority, but I don't think the forum is any way to gauge that. Those of us who post a lot in forums are actually in the minority. Most people don't do that. 

Also, I remember a former colleague once pointing out to me that people don't tend to call the cable company to tell them, "Hey, my TV is working. Great job!"

And as a lifelong comic-book fan, I remember reading decades ago that even when a comic-book was selling really well the majority of fan letters would be negative. It seems the happy readers would just keep buying the book and being happy.

I am not going to go so far out on a limb as to say there is a silent majority at play here. But I think there could be. 

And if there is a new UI design movement that a lot of people are responding well to, Bending Spoons would be well-served to get on the bandwagon. I once ill-advisedly (as in, my own wife advised me not to) took a job to sell a business-focused mobile application with a UI that was at least 10 years out of date. It lacked design elements that had become part of the common visual language of mobile apps. To say the least, it wasn't my most successful sales assignment.

As for my initial reaction, it may well come from the fact that I'm 53 and it's getting harder for me to adjust to change. Soon I'll be yelling at the neighborhood kids to get off my lawn. 

But I got onto my work computer this morning and when I opened Evernote I saw the beta UI. Rather than restart to go back to the current production UI, I decided to play a bit in the new sandbox. I don't love the new look like you do, but I don't think it's ugly. And it's not impeding my work in the least bit. 

As for the volume of complaints in this thread, Bending Spoons' revenue is measured in currency and not forum posts. And it wouldn't surprise me to learn that there are still those who pine for the days when Evernote notebooks had icons that looked like little notebooks so you knew what they were. But those days are not coming back.

And I guess that's my long-winded way of saying that your reaction might be a better gauge than mine. Time will tell.

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,968]

6 minutes ago, Bill Myers said:

And it wouldn't surprise me to learn that there are still those who pine for the days when Evernote notebooks had icons that looked like little notebooks so you knew what they were. But those days are not coming back.

You mean like this?

And in the new interface:

[Duhtch 48]

 

Hi folks,

First, I don't want to be an EN "Guinea Pig"... just update me with real updates.

For the record, this was my "Tags" experience while using the new UI:

Thanks, Duhtch

 

[JREwing 20]

Paid Professional subscriber here. Evernote user since 2014. I am not a fan of the new update. I can't read anything on it. It's a maze of white. When I highlight something to move it, I can't even tell whether I've highlighted it. Dark Mode is a disaster. I can't even read my file names.

Evernote had better fix this mess, or I'm going to cancel when my plan is up in August. This new UI is not winning me.

UPDATE: It automatically took me back to the previous version. Thankfully. 

[panpiotrs 12]

There is a really simple solution to this "problem" - a high contrast / legacy theme. Nothing prevents Evernote from adding at least one optional theme that would be appreciated more by people with disabilities, with different tastes, or for whatever reason happier with previous style. It's a web app + web app packaged as desktop app, so things like colors and padding/margins for elements are easily modifiable. Adding one more option in the user settings is also not a big deal: it could be saved locally, with the new UI set as default, and it doesn't require changes in the backend.

[Bill Myers 458]

21 minutes ago, Dave-in-Decatur said:

You mean like this?

And in the new interface:

I was thinking more along the lines of these days:

It could just me be, but I think the interface has changed a fair amount since those days.

Anyway, I think it's going to be best if I disengage with you and maybe this thread altogether. I'll offer some parting advice, though. I'm the guy who derailed a thread accusing someone of using an ethnic slur by calling Bending Spoons a "greedy Italian mob," only to learn that where that person is from the word "mob" can have connotations that have nothing to do with organized crime. So I think I'm actually well-positioned to give this kind of advice: you're digging in and picking fights where there need be none, and I think the person you're hurting most is you. I've never found that lashing out in anger has ever actually made me feel better.

[s2sailor 2,207]

3 minutes ago, Bill Myers said:

you're digging in and picking fights where there need be none, and I think the person you're hurting most is you. I've never found that lashing out in anger has ever actually made me feel better.

Hmmm ... I viewed that post as basically made in jest, and TBH when you commented on notebook icons, I was thinking the same thing as @Dave-in-Decatur posted.

[Bill Myers 458]

4 minutes ago, s2sailor said:

Hmmm ... I viewed that post as basically made in jest, and TBH when you commented on notebook icons, I was thinking the same thing as @Dave-in-Decatur posted.

Possibly. Admittedly, I can't read his mind. Still, I've been reminded in the past that tone doesn't always convey well through text on a computer screen -- a little caution doesn't hurt.

Nevertheless if I was wrong about him lashing out at me, @Dave-in-Decatur can consider this a public apology.

Frankly, I've gotten so used to the little notebook icon thingies that remain that I honestly forgot they were there. Although now it occurs to me that someone from Bending Spoons might get the idea to take those away and then... 

But other than smarting off, I really don't have anything more to contribute. I meant what I said when @Sayre Ambrosio's reaction might be a better gauge than mine. When v10 came out I thought it was boiled garbage. Now I love it. Sometimes it takes me time to come around.

And at this point, having had my say (admittedly, I may have said more than I actually have to say), all I've got left is a shrug. If Bending Spoons wants to decorate Evernote like a brothel from the old American West, let them. As long as I can find all the buttons and menu items, I've exhausted what little ability I have to get excited about these things anymore.

[PinkElephant 8,126]

At least it would be nice to know from opening an app whether I'm now in EN - or is it GoodNotes - or EN - ...

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,968]

1 hour ago, Bill Myers said:

I was thinking more along the lines of these days:

It could just me be, but I think the interface has changed a fair amount since those days.

Anyway, I think it's going to be best if I disengage with you and maybe this thread altogether. I'll offer some parting advice, though. I'm the guy who derailed a thread accusing someone of using an ethnic slur by calling Bending Spoons a "greedy Italian mob," only to learn that where that person is from the word "mob" can have connotations that have nothing to do with organized crime. So I think I'm actually well-positioned to give this kind of advice: you're digging in and picking fights where there need be none, and I think the person you're hurting most is you. I've never found that lashing out in anger has ever actually made me feel better.

I'm reminded once again that when I'm joking a little 😁 emoji can help. There was no anger intended there at all, @Bill Myers. Generally I find you one of the most reasonable people around here. But the place can be exhausting, and I don't blame you if you want to take a break. Apologies if I came across wrong. And thanks for the blast from the far distant past--that's much earlier than any experience I've had with Evernote. Takes up a lot of screen space, but kind of cute in a way.

[Bill Myers 458]

40 minutes ago, Dave-in-Decatur said:

Generally I find you one of the most reasonable people around here.

Thank you. I've actually enjoyed our interactions and found that even when we disagree, I think you're a really reasonable guy yourself. In fact, you're usually good at talking people down when they're overheating. I'm sorry for overreacting.

 

41 minutes ago, Dave-in-Decatur said:

And thanks for the blast from the far distant past--that's much earlier than any experience I've had with Evernote. Takes up a lot of screen space, but kind of cute in a way.

I remember when they abandoned that in favor of the design that got us where we are today. I was like, "Whoa! That's NUTS!" Well, maybe not. Could you imagine anyone trying to resurrect that?

The truly funny thing is, I am so used to those little notebook and tag icons we have now that I totally forgot they were even there. I mean, when you posted those pics I was like, "What else am I missing that's right in front of my face?" Then I looked for my other blue sock and found it in the freezer. I may have problems.