In a viral post on X, designer and entrepreneur Jon Yongfook mockingly claimed he was fired by Apple after spending 18 months testing various levels of transparency on buttons. Though clearly satirical, the tweet struck a chord with the tech and design communities, highlighting the often excessive intricacies of modern UI/UX development.
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Me and my design team have spent the last 18 months tirelessly testing different levels of gaussian blur on backgrounds when foreground elements are in focus.
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“I was fired by Apple today. Me and my design team have spent the last 18 months tirelessly testing different levels of transparency on buttons,” the post reads. With its deadpan tone, the tweet instantly caught attention and was shared widely, both as humor and critique.
The tweet cleverly mirrors the real challenges and sometimes exaggerated effort that goes into minute visual decisions in big tech, especially at design-obsessed companies like Apple. While not actually employed at Apple, Yongfook used satire to comment on how design decisions can spiral into disproportionate investments of time and resources.
This moment adds to the ongoing discussion about the balance between good design principles and overengineering. As tech companies continue refining aesthetics, the tweet offers a reminder that clarity and simplicity should remain the priority.
