Controls in the window-frame area (that is, in the toolbar or bottom bar) 
normally have a textured style as stated in the OS X Human Interface 
Guidelines. In 10.7 Lion textured controls became semi-transparent with some of 
the background showing through. This results in most window-frame controls 
taking on more of a bland gray look.

Not all applications suffer from the bland gray toolbar look in Lion. Apple's 
iCal sports a bold new brown leather look. You may or may not like the new look 
but one thing is does have and that is sharply defined window-frame controls. 
Even though the window-frame background and controls are both brown, the 
contrast between the two is sharp. Compare this to the Finder window-frame in 
Lion where the controls are not nearly as sharp.

One measure of the contrast between the background and the control is the 
difference in brightness between the two. The fact that the background and 
control have the same base color makes this measurement especially meaningful.

     Application     OS X    Base Color      Background-Control Brightness
     Finder          10.6    Gray            61 - 4 = 57%
     Finder          10.7    Gray            67 - 21 = 46%
     iCal            10.7    Brown           71 - 13 = 58%

These measurements correlate to the general perception that window-frame 
controls the new iCal and the old Finder are sharp and identifiable. Whereas 
window-frame controls in the new Finder appear less defined and muddy.

I have an application that relies heavily on the toolbar. In my option the 
usability of standard toolbar controls has been degraded in Lion because of 
this change.

Does this bother anyone else besides me?

--Richard


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