17.1 Section 17: Progressive Disclosure & UX Philosophy

Simple by Default boot

App boots into a focused metering screen, not a feature wall.

Where to find it

Viewfinder (default destination on launch)

Summary

First launch lands you on the viewfinder with a live preview, the most-used controls in plain sight, and everything else tucked behind icons and tabs. New users do not have to dismiss tutorials or pick a mode before they can take a reading.

How it works

What you see on first launch

A live camera preview, a focal length slider, an aperture/shutter readout, and two rows of icons across the bottom for the most-used toggles. That is the whole opening surface. You can take a meter reading without opening anything else.

Why this default

The app carries a lot of features (zone system, calculators, cine mode, darkroom, alt process, ML detection). Showing them all at once would overwhelm a new user who just wants to meter a scene. So the default screen hides depth behind icons; you only meet a feature when you tap the icon for it.

How to go deeper

Each icon on the viewfinder opens a focused modal: Tools, Metering Mode, Layers, Filters, and so on. Each modal is self-contained, so you can dip in, change a setting, and return to the same metering session. No deep menu paths.

Where the rest of the app lives

Tabs across the top of various modals reach the heavier surfaces: Tools tab for film tools, Logs tab for shot history and analytics, Settings for global preferences. You will not stumble into them by accident.

Implementation notes (for developers)
ViewfinderScreen is the launch destination. Two-row icon strip surfaces the high-traffic toggles (Layers, Filter, B&W, Histogram, Metering, Grid, Tools, Framing, Stocks, Logs, Settings, Help). Everything deeper lives behind those icons.

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