Uniquely designed abandonware

Vesper shows you cant sell an app based on idealism. Vesper looks clean, uses great fonts, and used to sell for a premium price. And it was apparently a colossal failure because now the app is end of life. Accounts are shutdown, users are told to transfer notes to other apps, and the app will be removed from the App Store forever. I would say Vesper is an example of the failure of good intentions, but I dont think the intentions were all that good.

The original pricing seemed like a protest of App Store pricing. Q Branch was going to hold the line for the old pricing model. Developers rejoiced and sang their praises. Yet I remember the old pricing model back when I had a Windows Phone and then a Blackberry. Apps cost $10 to $20, and I never bought any of them. No one did. The times never really change, and no one bought Vesper. Now the download rate probably looks like a hockey stick.

Vesper was also supposed to sell itself on its clean design and typefaces. This is subjective. I remember when Google and then Apple subjected is to the light, translucent, borderless designs. Now I can hardly tell what Im looking at much less what it does. Vesper is the designers personal vision of this ideal of the perfect clean app. Clean design is great until you need to find a button or toggle in order to get things done. Looking at the app, it doesnt look like I can do much with it.

I wonder about the market Vesper was trying to serve. Super note takers use Evernote, Omni Notes, or OneNote. Casual note takers are well served by Apples Notes app. In a crowded market of notes app, Vesper did nothing overtly superior. Q Branch was ultimately asking us to pay $10 for the privilege of be holding Vespers unique design. Now I can behold that design for free. Lucky me.

bioadam about Vesper, v2.007