Progress bars centred on launcher icons hide too much of the icons (should be at the bottom?)

[Daniel van Vugt]

Progress bar on launcher icon should be at the bottom, not the middle. I think that would make for a more visually pleasing design. Especially when you have small icons; the progress bar and badge cover so much of the middle of the icon that you can't really see what icon it is any more.

[Arthur Tan (artgtan)]

Currently, having the progress bar in the middle does cover up (small) launcher icons while the progress bar is active e.g. file transfers, downloads, etc.

However, one argument for keeping the progress bar in the middle, is it lines up nicely with the triangular pip that indicates which programs are active in the launcher.

I can submit a screenshot if this is unclear.

[Stéphane Guillou (stephane-guillou)]

I agree with the facts that it disrupts the icon. It does look too bulky/toyish IMHO.
What about "filling" the background of the icon? It would look very neat and would fix every problem. Or is it too M$ to our taste? :)

[Arthur Tan (artgtan)]

"Filling the icon" sounds like an interesting solution. (Is that the way M$ does it now?) How would the progress be shown? From the bottom to the top of the icon? Or from the left to the right?

[Stéphane Guillou (stephane-guillou)]

I think M$ does this (something like a green filling from left to right).
As the filling process seems more natural from bottom to top, maybe this could do it? Furthermore, it would slightly differentiate us from M$ :)
It's also true that when an icon has the "number bubble" AND the progress bar, it looks very bulky and the icon is often unrecognisable.

[Stéphane Guillou (stephane-guillou)]

Should we change the title to "Progress bars on launcher hide too much of the icons - there should be a more visually pleasing alternative" or som'ng lie tha?

[Arthur Tan (artgtan)]

On Wed, Oct 24, 2012 at 10:55 PM, Stéphane Guillou
<email address hidden> wrote:
> Should we change the title to "Progress bars on launcher hide too much
> of the icons - there should be a more visually pleasing alternative" or
> som'ng lie tha?

Yes. That description leaves the design open to discussion.

[Mark Shuttleworth (sabdfl)]

The issue was the way icons folded. If the progress bar can be at the
bottom when unfolded, and then move to the center as icons fold in the
launcher, then +1

[Daniel van Vugt (vanvugt)]

Wouldn't a progress bar at the bottom of a folded icon be more visible/useful when folded than a centred one? The bottom is closer to the user/camera than the middle when folded.