Call log identifiers equaling each other are a poor scheme

[lCADMO]

Pictures with names seem an odd way to indicate who called who, because the picture refers to the name shown (with arrows in between the two) is redundant. Why not have the words "Call to " and the identifying photo, and "Call from" and that picture? And if developers really are enamored with using colors then why not make those words green or red, since the direction of the arrows tend to confuse some people, that is, as I stated above, it's confusing indeed!

As it is, it looks like (picture of) Tammy missed a call from (name of) Tammy--where am I in that scenario? OK, when put like that their scheme really does seem to be a bad design.

 

[Hadron]

Picture but no name wouldn't work because many people don't have pictures for all of their contacts, and of course won't have for incoming calls from people not in their contacts list or one-off people they call from the mobile. So you need the name or number (just showing these where there is no picture would just look plain odd).

Personally I don't find "Picture of Tammy, missed call from, name Tammy" confusing at all, because it's my phone's call log not Tammy's so of course the call was between Tammy and me. The only possible ambiguity is whether it was an incoming or outgoing call, and that, on most apps, could be clearer.

So as for arrows vs text, yes, text will always be clearer. But text only works if you have a separate entry in the call log for each call, or at least separate entries for incoming and outgoing calls. The phone app is one of the apps that most manufacturers include their own version of, so varies a lot between devices, but all of my recent phones have combined entries, so one entry in the log shows multiple calls to & from the same person if they were made the same day. So you could do that, but it would use up more space in your call log display, which is one of the choices developers must make: space vs information? This is the biggest weakness of my Pixel's phone app: for example I can see that I had multiple calls with my daughter yesterday, some successful, some missed, but no more information than that. Personally I'd like to have the option of a more detailed display, and some of my previous phones have offered more.

Colours are actually bad design: red/green colour blindness is the commonest type, and affects a significant fraction of people (most commonly males). It might provide an extra cue if you have words (where it's intelligible anyway), but colour by itself should never be relied on.

Anyway, it's an interesting discussion, but you really need to raise it with the phone manufacturers, or Google for the Pixel models. This is a discussion forum for users, and so we've no ability to change the design of these apps.

 

[mikedt]

Think the call log on Huawei phones, makes it quite clear what was incoming, outgoing or missed call, with no ambiguity.

 

[Hadron]

Yes, much better than the Pixel's call log.

 

[lCADMO]

Picture but no name wouldn't work because many people don't have pictures for all of their contacts, and of course won't have for incoming calls from people not in their contacts list or one-off people they call from the mobile. So you need the name or number (just showing these where there is no picture would just look plain odd).

Personally I don't find "Picture of Tammy, missed call from, name Tammy" confusing at all, because it's my phone's call log not Tammy's so of course the call was between Tammy and me. The only possible ambiguity is whether it was an incoming or outgoing call, and that, on most apps, could be clearer.

So as for arrows vs text, yes, text will always be clearer. But text only works if you have a separate entry in the call log for each call, or at least separate entries for incoming and outgoing calls. The phone app is one of the apps that most manufacturers include their own version of, so varies a lot between devices, but all of my recent phones have combined entries, so one entry in the log shows multiple calls to & from the same person if they were made the same day. So you could do that, but it would use up more space in your call log display, which is one of the choices developers must make: space vs information? This is the biggest weakness of my Pixel's phone app: for example I can see that I had multiple calls with my daughter yesterday, some successful, some missed, but no more information than that. Personally I'd like to have the option of a more detailed display, and some of my previous phones have offered more.

Colours are actually bad design: red/green colour blindness is the commonest type, and affects a significant fraction of people (most commonly males). It might provide an extra cue if you have words (where it's intelligible anyway), but colour by itself should never be relied on.

Anyway, it's an interesting discussion, but you really need to raise it with the phone manufacturers, or Google for the Pixel models. This is a discussion forum for users, and so we've no ability to change the design of these apps.

Thanks Hadron. I am often motivated simply to carp on a topic just to get it off my chest--that is, I do not expect any action by a developer unless I am talking directly to them. So, having said that, here I go again. It seems like it would be appropriate to, if they want to use the picture and arrow paradigm, then they should have two pictures--the phone owner either being pointed to or pointed away from. Simpler, no guesswork but maybe a little more space and bytes taken up. So I'm now a lurker. Thanks again.

 

[Hadron]

Everyone starts off as a "lurker". A few more posts will change that.

Thing is, I wouldn't want my picture to be included in every entry in the call log (if I had a picture for myself, which I don't). Since it's my phone I know that all calls are either from me or to me, so that would just annoy me.

I do prefer the Huawei version Mike posted: no pictures (I don't care either way about those), clear whether it's from or to, and time and duration also clear. You could of course combine several incoming or outgoing calls from the same person (if there were no others in-between) and just show number of calls, and then expand if you tap on it to show details. That's probably how I'd design it.

 

[mikedt]

Thanks Hadron. I am often motivated simply to carp on a topic just to get it off my chest--that is, I do not expect any action by a developer unless I am talking directly to them. So, having said that, here I go again. It seems like it would be appropriate to, if they want to use the picture and arrow paradigm, then they should have two pictures--the phone owner either being pointed to or pointed away from. Simpler, no guesswork but maybe a little more space and bytes taken up. So I'm now a lurker. Thanks again.

Oh I wouldn't want that, and would IMO be narcissistic.