Frame of preference

This fascinating, nostalgic deep dive explores the 20-year history of Mac's Control Panels and Settings (1984–2004), arguing that the journey shows the best and worst of UI design.

A History of Mac Settings: From Susan Kare's Masterpiece to the Modern Mess

The Golden Age: The journey starts with the iconic, totemic 1984 Control Panel, designed by Susan Kare. It was a charming, visual "home appliance" with no text, filled with early UI experiments like sliders, reflecting the Mac's original, simple vision.

The Troubled Teens: That charm quickly gave way to the messy 1990s, where settings outgrew the screen, turning into "Control Panel Radio Button City." The shift introduced a Finder-like sidebar hierarchy, which the author calls a "UI blank check" that designers couldn't resist filling with endless, complex options.

The Design Peak: After the move to Mac OS X, the article pinpoints Mac OS X 10.3 Panther (2003) as the best its settings will ever look. This "third-revision-of-the-second-version" was refined, consistent, and expertly laid out.

The Modern Mess: The pace of change slowed until 2022, when macOS Ventura delivered an unloved redesign that the author calls a confused, double-hierarchical "mess." It suggests Apple has run out of organizational ideas, returning to an awkward version of a very early Mac structure, sacrificing the bespoke beauty of its origins.

The entire page is an interactive history, letting you use a working emulator to try out the classic Control Panels yourself!