Which month should a date range picker open on?

The episode opens with an exploration of the challenges faced while designing a 'today' button for a date picker. The discussion revolves around the length of the word 'today' and how it fits within the design parameters of month selectors. Various design ideas are considered, including using icons that effectively communicate the concept of the current date. The choice becomes complicated as multiple iterations are debated, culminating in a comparison to Google Calendar’s minimalist approach of displaying the current date as a number within a calendar-like icon. After much back-and-forth, the host ultimately lands on a viable design solution, though concerns about visual noise and size remain.

Transitioning to functionality, the host discusses the behavior of the 'today' button in terms of selecting dates versus navigating to the current month. An interesting solution surfaced from discussions on social media suggests that the button should navigate to the current month when users are outside of it, and select the current day if they’re already in the month. This dual functionality speaks to the need for intuitive design wherein the user experience is prioritized.

The podcast then shifts gears to examine the intricacies of a date range picker. The host contemplates how to manage the display of months when a range is selected. Various scenarios are played out mentally, including how to determine which month is shown when both selected dates fall within the same month. The balance between user expectations and practical coding logic is explored, often returning to the ideal that the first date selected should always align with the left-most month displayed. This leads into a comparison of various platforms (like Stripe, Airbnb, and Google Flights) which all handle date selection differently, revealing the inconsistency in user experiences across applications.

Lastly, the host considers the pros and cons of defaulting to start dates on the left versus end dates on the right in different contexts (booking versus filtering). The discussion highlights how different applications approach this challenge and what might be considered intuitive. The conclusion drawn is a preference for starting points that cater to the user's direction—forward for bookings and backward for historical filtering. The episode closes on a note of reflection about maintaining robust functionality while keeping the interface user-friendly.