Q: I hate the new tags in Mavericks, need coloured folders!!

Thanks.  Your use is very interesting and not near as demanding or far reaching that I expect some of the users make of them, hence their chagrin to their loss.

I'm a graphic designer.

Red=(working file within client folder, be it Adobe AI, PSD or ID)

Blue=Edits/Instructions (provided by client)

Yellow=Pix (images to be placed within vector file)

Orange=Printer (final product of job)

Purple=Proof (organizing all the proofs sent to client(s))

Green=Invoice

I've made conspicuously, eye-catching icons to replace folders for every year since 2002, with distinctive colors and with the year number emblazoned in the center. Between colored labels and custom icons (replacing folders) I could quickly glance at a wall of text without having to read, read, read and add to eye fatigue. The loss of color labels has been truly felt... which is why I'll continue coming to this thread with hope for good news.

As a designer, I use colored labels differently for different folders, applications and documents.

For all locations, Red is important.

In CAD locations, Orange is for 3D CAD Documents and Green is for 2D. Yellow for 3D printing files.

In Home Design, Green is for all general files. and Orange for 3D CAD files.

Purple is for all Personal files and Blue for Company files.

In Downloads, I cycle through each Label color to provide groupings based on date. Those downloads that I have installed are changed to Grey.

On my Desktop, Blue is reserved for Images, Yellow for URL's, Green for Health topics

Essentially, I don't have specific titles for the colors, just use them to provide quick identification of files and folders in differentl locations. It takes a little getting used to, but I have been able to use Colored Labels to set up a variable system that covers a number of situations.

I also use colored Labels in Entourage. But those I have designated with actual titles. But in that limited situation, they work. Unfortunately, Microsoft removed their colored Labels in Outlook, which makes using that application less efficient.

Wow, you really took advantage of the colors to make them work for you.  You put your creative juices to work to make your work easier and more efficient. Judging by your description your files must have really popped. A really creative use of every tool in your designer's tool box. I can see why you want Apple to come through and do something.  You probably really don't have time to be detoured away from your work and your clients to come up with your own solution that's a software Guru's job and it seems they might have fallen on their swords.  However I really can't put the blame on the technical people because from my own experience in my other life it has always been management that has put the brakes and limits on the features and capabilities of a product and needs of the customer and put the so called bottom line and self imposed schedule ahead of everything else.  One of my bosses used to tell me, when the deadline was fast approaching, "It's time to shoot the engineer and get it (the product) out the door." Others have said that words to the effect that (I'll use the single ' since the quote isn't exact, ' Software people spend too much time making it elegant, just get it working'.  I have to share some of that blame myself since I eventually moved up to first line supervision, but was always in favor of keeping most of the bells and whistles.

I'm keeping your's in my colored folders notes.  Thanks again for your reply.

Grrregerrr,

Thanks for the response.  I wasn't sure if anyone wanted to part with their secrets of organization with color, and I'm glad you did.  Your computer files must really pop.  Since you are a creative designer I think I can understand your creative use of color and making it work for you.  It's an eye opener, especially to me who spent so much of my other life as a black and white engineer.  I used to be somewhat organized with main file headings and sub-headings and sub-sub-headings, even down to sub-sub-sub headings. Color wasn't available so I didn't miss it, but I can see from your use it would have made my computer files much more efficient and elegant.  My hard files (real paper), however, are somewhat tragic.  A heading for each folder category with everything for that just dumped in.

Your ideas are keepers are are already in my notes and will go in Tags and Folders mailbox .

I wish the replys to posts would go immediately under the post being replied to rather than to the bottom of the Q, at least while I'm composing them! :^)

Thanks and best regards,

Peohguy

Steve, Me again.

I forgot to thank you for your response and, not that it probably maters, I do like the simplicity of your system, because couple with folder names, sub-heading and sub-sub headings they make for a efficient way of organizing files.

I'm putting yours in my keepers mailboxes and notes.

Best regards,

Peohguy

As my Avatar implys I'm still searching :^)

G. any chance you like the idea of sharing some of your year icons?

i use the labels as you indicate but this year-folder icon thing this looks like something i would really be interested in spending time applying to my projects. i could see it being /very/ useful now but also moving forward.

at the same time i totally understand if this is a bespoke item you would like to keep only on your HD.

nice...

Hotwheels, I appreciate your enthusiasm over the year icons I've created! This, however, wouldn't be the thread to transfer those files, and I think it would be best to have you research with "create custom icons mac" software (freeware) because I don't know what is best. Seriously, while mine are graphically involved, numbers within squares—with varying color combinations—is a basic (and, even fun) item to create within even the least "artsy" programs (even MS Word if you wanted, yikes!). Besides, if you're serious about this, you'll want to create icons for 2015 and beyond; you won't want to come to me every subsequent year; knowing how to fish rather than being handed a fish.

Your interest only furthers the impetus behind contributors to this thread that on-screen visual impact must be a widespread desire... at least for those of us who are aware of it demand it, and those who've never had it do not know what they're missing. I wish you well, and have fun with this... because it is fun to organize and make more efficient ones filing system! When you work 10-14hr days like me, eye fatigue and overall exhaustion is a serious matter. Learning/creating shortcut key-commands and building visual cuing are 2 of my efficiency-strategies to cut chunks out of my long days. 

Traffic Lights:

Red: Start

Orange: Progress

Green: Go

Grey is data

Blue is research

Yellow is I have processed and tidied up files eg Image files

Purple I have backed up that particular file/folder to an external drive

Most of the colors are temporary to indicate the state until something else is done, then they are removed.

The whole point of labels is they are LABELS and should stand out like Dog's Balls!

Apple has typically confused itself and its users by trying to be too smart and combine two things, labels with tags, which works for neither. Just because you can do something doesn't mean that you should, and it is a typical designer's mistake to overload the design and make it too complex for comprehension.

I had something years ago which caused me to break up with the client. It was flight paths for light airplanes taking off and landing at smaller airports. I hit on a great idea of indicating height on the path by offsetting a drop shadow from the plane icon. I used character styles for the various heights and it worked very well and was intuitively understandable.

The client liked it enormously but then they had a "stroke of genius", let's load on all the other parameters into the plane icon: 1 engine, 2 engine, color code, radio frequency etc, turning it into a muddied dog's breakfast of "information" that you needed a magnifying glass and a codebook to decipher.

This was supposed to be read from an A6 flipbook in the pilot's thigh pocket in a cockpit in flight in variable light.

I protested it was not working and in fact would ultimately be the cause of accidents or more likely just be plain useless. The client dug in and insisted. We parted ways.

Peter

Well stated. Wish that there was some way to get your message right to Jonny Ives, Apple's design guru. He might grok it.

Moral of story, you can make a lot more money in this world by stuffing things up and probably end up killing people.

But then I prefer to live with myself.

Peter

PeterBreis0807 wrote:

 

 

Apple has typically confused itself and its users by trying to be too smart and combine two things, labels with tags, which works for neither. Just because you can do something doesn't mean that you should, and it is a typical designer's mistake to overload the design and make it too complex for comprehension.

 

I'm sorry, but statements like this extend personal opinion far beyond its reach. Despite being in vocal opposition to Tags when they first appeared, I've since used them as a productive organizational aide more than I ever really used Labels (and I was, genuinely, a fan of Labels). There are three functions that have made Tags more genuinely useful for me in the short time I've had to work with them: 1) use as a sort criterion, 2) ability to apply multiple Tags, and 3) ability to assign both colours and text. These three things have made them incredibly useful organizational aides, particularly for short-term, project-based work. Yes, they are visually understated. But the above statement goes far beyond hyperbole. Tags work well for their intended purpose and are, imho, a welcome improvement on the old Labels system.

wheetabix wrote:

 

PeterBreis0807 wrote:

 

 

Apple has typically confused itself and its users by trying to be too smart and combine two things, labels with tags, which works for neither. Just because you can do something doesn't mean that you should, and it is a typical designer's mistake to overload the design and make it too complex for comprehension.

 

snip

But the above statement goes far beyond hyperbole. Tags work well for their intended purpose and are, imho, a welcome improvement on the old Labels system.

PeterBreis0807 wrote:

probably end up killing people.

It could have been worse.

Everybody lighten up, now

Yes, tags are very useful to some people, even me, and you C & Peter. Yes, lables are very useful to some people, including me. The point is, the two conventions need not be mutually exclusive-- for any Company in Cupertino that can manage to code its way out of a paper bag!!

45522 Views and 732 Replies further:

Maybe Apple should let the users decide if they want to use tags or labels/highlights,

instead of deciding for us and deleting the whole labelling system in Finder.

I wonder if all the comments and filling in feedback pages does work.

Does anybody have any clue about reactions on feedback by Apple?

Did Apple ever went back to previous designs when users asked to do so?