I Love Hue
Found in the App Store for iPhone (also compatible with Android)
One of my favorite apps on my phone is a game called I Love Hue, and its one of those games that you would never want to delete because of how interesting and fun it is. The goal of the game is to unscramble a color gradient. There is no time or move limit, and instead focuses on stress relief and relaxation. It uses a minimal, modernist design, a soothing color scheme, and a simple, easy to read sans-serif font. Every aspect of the app is successfully designed to be peaceful and calming.
The main aspect of the game is its color gradients for each level. Despite the vast variety of colors, no color on any level is too harsh and are instead very soft. The motion graphics on the game are very smooth, and each movement of a colored tile is paired with a gentle, satisfying click. Additionally, the gradients are divided into symmetrical shapes, from simple squares to hexagons, to equilateral triangles. Another pleasant part of the game is that once a round is completed, if the player finishes with fewer moves than the world average, the game gives the player a compliment such as “iridescent moonbeam,” “wondrous sunbeam,” and more. This increases the enjoyment of the game, and enhances the app’s goal of relaxation and stress-relief.
App found in App Store for iPhone (and Android)
One critique I have of I Love Hue is its ability to be played in the dark. Since the game is meant to help the player relax and unwind, it seems fitting to want to play shortly before going to bed. However, on certain levels, it is difficult to discern between colors when the screen is dark. To combat the issue, the player would have to turn the brightness of their phone up, which is uncomfortable and hurts the eyes. This defeats the game’s purpose of relieving stress.
I Love Hue is the epitome of what many people would call “aesthetically pleasing,” not just because of the satisfying goal of organizing a color gradient, but because of the success of the overall game design. Its soft color scheme, symmetrical layout, smooth motion graphics, and simple fonts all work in harmony to produce a game that is both pleasing to the eye and fun to play.
I love playing this game! My sister first introduced me to it a few months ago because we’ve both always loved color swatches, like the ones at Lowe’s. I also agree with the minimalist design contributing to the relaxations goal of the game. Not only are the graphics smoothed and muted, but the fonts are also simple, no part of game being too complicated. My question is, do you think they chose this minimalist approach just to show relaxation or do you think it’s because a lot of apps are going down the road of simple and minimalistic design? For example, apps like instagram and twitter and facebook changed their app design to be extremely simple.