P: New user interface lacks contrast and many usability cues, lots of other problems

Please bring back the previous GUI! Nothing more to add.
I will go back to the old version now.

Fascinating.  Lightroom initiated a new import dialog in Oct. of 2015.  People hated it.  But no where near as many people were as vocal about that one aspect of Lightroom than have been clamoring at full volume about the ENTIRE new interface of Photoshop.  And yet, within weeks, a rollback to the previous Lightroom import dialog was implemented, WITH a profuse apology.

Dear Lightroom team,

Please take the Photoshop team out for drinks some night.  Explain to them, nicely, why the customer is always right.  Why focus groups of fanboys getting a free lunch or tote bags are no replacement for hard feedback from pro users.  Why time is of the essence.  Why it's better to admit defeat and roll back than to try to force feed mistakes.  Why just because everyone in the design lab thought something was a good idea doesn't mean the end users will.  Why it's ok to let it go and give the people what they want.  Why every mistake is an opportunity to learn.

Ann, that nngroup article series is excellent. Thanks for posting. Right on the mark.

It is absolutely inconceivable that ten classes and "many customers" would overwhelmingly favor a UI that is hated by 99.9% of the users on this forum.

In a nutshell, Adobe chose to overlook it's database of 1000's of users in favour of a classroom full of fanboys ?

...I seriously think not.

I also doubt that the "testing" ever occurred.  Or if it did, that feedback was carefully considered.  It is absolutely inconceivable that ten classes and "many customers" would overwhelmingly favor a UI that is hated by 99.9% of the users on this forum.

Yes Richard...I too have found CC 2014 so much easier (and thus faster) to use that CC 2015 is now a distant, and horrible, memory. And that is just pathetic Adobe. Your software is awesome but please wrap it in a usable interface like your clever designers used to.

Truly awful, not dissimilar to the mentality behind windows 10 flat lifeless UI being forced onto users, I uninstalled and returned to 7, I'm uninstalling this and returning to CC 2104.

"1) These changes were tested with many customers in our prerelease program. They were also used at Adobe MAX 2015. I was a teaching assistant for about 10 classes that used Photoshop and received many specific comments about how the UI was cleaner, easier to use and made using the product feel more "relaxing". These comments were from long time Photoshop customers as well as new customers. We made improvements even after Adobe MAX and will continue to make additional updates in future releases."

I doubt this ever happened, your getting true feedback here and choosing to ignore it, I'll be using CC 2014 for the foreseeable future until Adobe come to their senses or alternatives arrive.

"Flat Design" was trendy in 2011 but five years later it has already become distinctly out-dated because the weakness in its functionality has now been exposed.

Love this. I think I may well put this on a t-shirt.

What really irks me is not only the stupid 'flat' design but the ridiculously super-stupid murky shades of grey, grey and more grey. What's coming next month...blue, blue and more blue, or green, green and more green?? Adobe please, the CS6 and even the CC2014 UI's weren't broken but CC2015 is...well...a CHILDISH effort at best.

"Flat Design" was trendy in 2011 but five years later it has already become distinctly out-dated because the weakness in its functionality has now been exposed.

Some of the reasons for discarding this fleeting fashion are stated in these two articles from the Neilson Norman Group.
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/flat-design/
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/flat-design-long-exposure/

From the summation of the first article:
[QUOTE]
As with any design trend, we advise balance and moderation.
Don’t make design decisions that sacrifice usability for trendiness.
Don’t forget that—unless you’re designing only for other designers—you are not the user. Your preferences and ability to interpret clickability signifiers aren’t the same as your users’ because you know what each element in your own design is intended to do.    [/QUOTE]

Perhaps Adobe needs to appoint  new UI and UX Design Groups who are more aware of the current standards and requirements for User Interface Design?