Over the following years, Readymag’s user interface changed. Hundreds of new features were being added, just as hundreds of flaws were being fixed. Weak points were rethought and redesigned. This process is ongoing. Today, Readymag's UI is still far from our ideal; but there’s something there that many users have fallen in love with. Perhaps, it can be called a human touch. In a world where every product claims to be a problem-solving tool with copycat interfaces, Readymag stands out.
Readymag came out in 2013, when designing a freeform layout in your browser without coding was still brand new. The interface was designed completely in Photoshop. Can you imagine that today? With colorful buttons and interactions, it looked fresh and unique. It didn't look like anything designers were using day-to-day at that time. In many ways, it was a brave experiment.
Readymag user interface in 2012, designed by Anton Herasimenko.
What is special in the Readymag user interface? It’s hard to say for sure, but we all feel it. I made an attempt to deconstruct the way Readymag is designed, over time, by breaking our philosophy down into small chunks — a handful of design principles for you to explore below.
Stas Aki, product designer
Readymag user interface in 2016