Evernote Clean GUI vs Power Features -- How to Have Both

[JMichaelTX 4,117]

Evernote Clean GUI vs Power Features -- How to Have Both

There have been many times that some of the Evernote UI designers have cited their goal of providing a "clean UI" as the reason for not providing features that many users would like, like more choices in the Options or Preferences section.  I have always believed that it is possible to provide both.

Ghostery (a browser extension) has provided this.  Perhaps the Evernote UI design team could learn something from them.

From Ghostery 7

Quote

All sorts of users - from first time users to casual users to experts - wanted a browser extension that fit their individual needs and levels of use. Well, we heard you loud and clear! The result is an extension that combines a cleaner, simpler, and easier-to-understand interface with powerful new and enhanced features, the best of both worlds.

With Ghostery 7, we created a user interface that is simple and easy to understand for beginners, but that still offers advanced functionality and data points for more knowledgeable users. 

Over the years, I have observed a number of other apps that have achieved this goal of providing both a clean UI and powerful features/options.  I think most of these were designed by previous generations that were not constrained by the design approaches that some deemed to be "cool".

Evernote designers:  Don't let your imagination and skills be constrained by what someone else thinks is "cool" or "desired (by designers)", even if it comes from companies like Apple, Adobe, Google, or even Evernote.  ?

[JMichaelTX 4,117]

BTW, Ghostery is a great tool. Checkout this video (and others) for a short, but very helpful intro: