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Bringing Back Skeuomorphic Design

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Re: Bringing Back Skeuomorphic Design

#11

Post by knolan »

et-al wrote: post #5

Yes please. Apple had a good balance between skeuomorphism and minimalism a few years ago, but as Jony Ive & Co. strip out decoration for flatness, iOS 11 almost looks unfinished. Case in point: the PIN screen and the calculator app. Lock screen: https://file.mockplus.com/image/2017/10/5627bfee-8dbf-44b4-9... Calculator: http://cdn.iphonehacks.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/iOS-10... I live in an old Victorian house,…

The current iOS calculator app is atrocious looking. However I usually use use spotlight for my calculations but that’s been hidden several swipes away if you’re in an app.

Where’s the minimalism in the amount of touch input needed? Replying to emails in Mail is a chore of taps.

Re: Bringing Back Skeuomorphic Design

#13

Post by c8d3f7b49897918 »

Balance in all things: a design should be minimalist where that is called for (the background, unimportant or repetitive elements, etc.) and should increase in visual complexity/depth/color/brightness in areas that are important and need to draw the users eye. (NB: minimalism does not mean "nothing". Sometimes a slight texture completely changes the feel of a UI, but it requires a deft hand.)

I'm glad to see the flat-ui/material-design over-application of minimalism is coming to an end and designers are getting back to more complex visual treatments. My hope is that, rather than casting back and forth between the various schools of thought, designers start thinking in context-sensitive terms: not "Should I use flat design or skeumorphic design for this app?" but rather "Where in this UI are flat design AND skeumorphic designs best utilized?"

Re: Bringing Back Skeuomorphic Design

#14

Post by zer00eyz »

I have mixed feelings about this.

Lets take something that most on here probably remember, the floppy disk. It is still a common sight as a save icon, but my youngest children have never USED a floppy.

I don't mind the concept, as long as the concept isn't sacrificing functionality, and astethics for the sake of nostalgia.

Re: Bringing Back Skeuomorphic Design

#15

Post by rbosinger »

The very first thing I thought of when I started seeing everything moving to "flat design" was "I wonder how long this will last?"

I figured everything would go flat and then designers would bring back skeuomorphic designs and they would pop extra hard in contrast.

Now I bet we'll go really loud and retro ("Stranger Things") for a while until we get worn out and need to take a break and go flat again for a while.

Re: Bringing Back Skeuomorphic Design

#16

Post by oldcynic »

et-al wrote: post #5

Yes please. Apple had a good balance between skeuomorphism and minimalism a few years ago, but as Jony Ive & Co. strip out decoration for flatness, iOS 11 almost looks unfinished. Case in point: the PIN screen and the calculator app. Lock screen: https://file.mockplus.com/image/2017/10/5627bfee-8dbf-44b4-9... Calculator: http://cdn.iphonehacks.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/iOS-10... I live in an old Victorian house,…

Couldn't agree more.

I was a reluctant convert to the cult of flatness - the OS changed beneath me (if OSX still allowed theming I would have instantly regressed). Then they took it so far that you no longer have enough visual cues.

I'd love to see something nearer iOS 7, or Mountain Lion. We don't need to return to pads with margins and torn paper though.

Re: Bringing Back Skeuomorphic Design

#17

Post by dpark »

martin_drapeau wrote: post #12

The skeuomorphic design in the article is beautiful. It represents a real life object augmented with digital. It makes me want to use it. Notice there are no textures. Maybe textures was the corny side of skeuo and what people didn’t like.

> Notice there are no textures.

It has a leather case and metal binder rings. It absolutely has textures.

Re: Bringing Back Skeuomorphic Design

#18

Post by RachelF »

Please do bring it back. In my opinion, it looks better than the flat modern interfaces that everybody now uses. Starting with Windows 8 phone minimalism has made computer interfaces uglier, and harder to use.

It seems like UI designers are just as fashion concious as clothes fashion designers, and also have less concern for the comfort/usability of their product.

[1]

Re: Bringing Back Skeuomorphic Design

#19

Post by oldcynic »

zer00eyz wrote: post #14

I have mixed feelings about this. Lets take something that most on here probably remember, the floppy disk. It is still a common sight as a save icon, but my youngest children have never USED a floppy. I don't mind the concept, as long as the concept isn't sacrificing functionality, and astethics for the sake of nostalgia.

The floppy - sure, that's obsolete. With what should it be replaced that's universally recognised? Does your youngest need to know it's a floppy, and what that once meant, or just it's the funny icon for save? Just like some of the other indecipherable "universal" icons.

The trouble with flat design is it had design without any aesthetics, so a return to some depth and skeuomorphism isn't likely to lose aesthetics.

Re: Bringing Back Skeuomorphic Design

#20

Post by martin_drapeau »

dpark wrote: post #17
martin_drapeau wrote: post #12

The skeuomorphic design in the article is beautiful. It represents a real life object augmented with digital. It makes me want to use it. Notice there are no textures. Maybe textures was the corny side of skeuo and what people didn’t like.

> Notice there are no textures. It has a leather case and metal binder rings. It absolutely has textures.

I meant as background fill. Textures here are used to augment (borders) and not fill.
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