Apple design nowadays should be something we point to and laugh at, not something to imitate.
Apple lost the plot on design after Steve Jobs died and Jony Ive assumed full control.
It's not Jony Ive's fault. That's the nature of their partnership, he created and Steve Jobs edited. Ive, of all people, probably lost the most when Steve Jobs died.
It's all been downhill ever since. Ousting Jony Ive and putting Alan Dye in charge didn't help.
The problem remains: there's no longer an editor in charge.
Apple fans like to think that they've recovered a little since the iOS 7 debacle, but in reality it's just self delusion.
> A GUI can follow 1995 principles without being an oppressive grey and ugly icons
> Compare the quality and thought given to Windows 98 dialogs and windows compared to this GNU software in 2021.
The NeXTSEP/GNUstep look is a little older than Windows 98, and I agree is a little less clean looking than Windows 98, but it's in no way ugly or oppressive. In fact it was a refreshing and highly acclaimed design at the time, and IMHO it still holds up pretty well three decades later.
> i'd try my best to fix that icon alignment at the top left corner
I agree there's an alignment issue there, but it's more an issue with the alignment of the menu text than with the icon. The icon looks reasonably centered (vertically) in the menu bar, it's the menu text that's placed too low.
> and add some space between it and the menu text
I believe the icon and the word "Terminal" together make up the first menu item, and thus the tight spacing is intentional, rather than a visual design glitch.
Sounds like a junior reporter trying to hit a word count.