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The Flat Design Era

layervault.tumblr.com

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Re: The Flat Design Era

#91

Post by praptak »

nostromo wrote: post #13

Microsoft seems to be the biggest current proponent of flat design, and I must say it's not so great for usability. When I see this: http://www.istartedsomething.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/... I have no idea what is and is not a button. I suppose it's all a button. But there are zero affordances in this UI. This is now finding its way to Microsoft's websites. On outlook, I can't quickly find the buttons to do key…

I am not convinced that flat design implies no visual clues about function.

Granted, the visual clues from bevels, drop shadows and whatnot had the bonus of instant familiarity to people not accustomed to GUIs. Nevertheless this might have been a sort of a crutch and nowadays people even if they expect the computer to emulate their home appliances, the appliances themselves have less and less buttons and levers and more and more touchscreens or at least touch-buttons.

Re: The Flat Design Era

#92

Post by klibertp »

SoftwareMaven wrote: post #82

And on the "flatly" designed http://layervault.com/ is a safe behind an open, hinged painting. Wouldn't that easily fit within the definition of skeuomorphic that everybody is railing on? After all, it isn't really a safe.

I clicked your link and had to close the tab quickly - spinning background made my head hurt. Granted, it may by my fault, I can't watch 3d movies without nausea for example, but still - spinning background is just really, really bad design imho. As such I am less than comfortable with people responsible for it dictating the "new era in design"...

Re: The Flat Design Era

#93

Post by daralthus »

mikecuesta wrote: post #8

Flat design certainly has it's place in the world but it's important to keep in mind that ultimately it's just another aesthetic. Distressed, Glossy, Flat, Matte, Woodsy, etc, these are all just styles that lay on top of what is good information architecture and interaction design. It's not about flat design being right or wrong, it's more about whether it's appropriate for the job/task and audience/market. There are…

I completely agree. From a usability viewpoint visual style just helps to give your experience some context. Just to make you feel better, familiar, engaged, interested, etc. You can be in a fully white concrete room or in a baroque temple. Both can be too much if not appropiate and both can give you some marvelous feeling.

Re: The Flat Design Era

#94

Post by AhtiK »

mnicole wrote: post #71
nonrecursive wrote: post #22

I can't help but feel like this is just the next obvious cycle in design fashion and as such it's not something to get so worked up about. "The Honest Design Age" strikes me as an absurdly grandiose term. I like the more prosaic interpretation, which is that certain graphical idioms have become so commonplace that in order to stand out visually, you need to do something different. Fashion. In a few years, designers w…

This. There's been a lot of pseudo-shitting on gradients recently, and I don't understand it. Like you said, these things aren't inherently bad or should be avoided, they're often just overdone and done poorly to begin with, much like the grunge brush era of the late 90s & early 2000s and the ushering in of what people saw as shiny, bubbly "Web 2.0" thereafter. Trends are not indicators of best practice, and they can…

What is pseudo-shitting on gradients? Monochromatic noise?

Re: The Flat Design Era

#95

Post by marcusf »

nonrecursive wrote: post #22

I can't help but feel like this is just the next obvious cycle in design fashion and as such it's not something to get so worked up about. "The Honest Design Age" strikes me as an absurdly grandiose term. I like the more prosaic interpretation, which is that certain graphical idioms have become so commonplace that in order to stand out visually, you need to do something different. Fashion. In a few years, designers w…

Isn't this what denotes an era or school of design/architecture/art though, like realism, romanticism, bauhaus, modernism, industrialism, etc? Changes in the approach and visual style.

In a sense, this is creating a language to talk about UX in the same way we talk about architecture. No doubt it's a bit grandiose, but it works.

Re: The Flat Design Era

#96

Post by batista »

polyfractal wrote: post #81
nostromo wrote: post #13

Microsoft seems to be the biggest current proponent of flat design, and I must say it's not so great for usability. When I see this: http://www.istartedsomething.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/... I have no idea what is and is not a button. I suppose it's all a button. But there are zero affordances in this UI. This is now finding its way to Microsoft's websites. On outlook, I can't quickly find the buttons to do key…

Once you play with metro for like 20 seconds, you understand how it works. My phone is WP7 and I absolutely love the interface. It is simple, fast, intuitive and most importantly...it get's out of your way. I can't stand all the chrome and bevels and transparent bobbles on Macs for instance. (Everything in that screenshot is a button. That's how Metro works)

>I can't stand all the chrome and bevels and transparent bobbles on Macs for instance.

As someone started with a 286 EGA graphics PC from the eighties, boy are we spoiled...

Re: The Flat Design Era

#97

Post by batista »

marcusf wrote: post #95
nonrecursive wrote: post #22

I can't help but feel like this is just the next obvious cycle in design fashion and as such it's not something to get so worked up about. "The Honest Design Age" strikes me as an absurdly grandiose term. I like the more prosaic interpretation, which is that certain graphical idioms have become so commonplace that in order to stand out visually, you need to do something different. Fashion. In a few years, designers w…

Isn't this what denotes an era or school of design/architecture/art though, like realism, romanticism, bauhaus, modernism, industrialism, etc? Changes in the approach and visual style. In a sense, this is creating a language to talk about UX in the same way we talk about architecture. No doubt it's a bit grandiose, but it works.

>Isn't this what denotes an era or school of design/architecture/art though, like realism, romanticism, bauhaus, modernism, industrialism, etc? Changes in the approach and visual style.

Yes, only those were major art movements, this "flat" thing is this month's design fad...

Re: The Flat Design Era

#99

Post by mnicole »

AhtiK wrote: post #94
mnicole wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This. There's been a lot of pseudo-shitting on gradients recently, and I don't understand it. Like you said, these things aren't inherently bad or should be avoided, they're often just overdone and done poorly to begin with, much like the grunge brush era of the late 90s & early 2000s and the ushering in of what people saw as shiny, bubbly "Web 2.0" thereafter. Trends are not indicators of best practice, and they can…

What is pseudo-shitting on gradients? Monochromatic noise?

Ha ;) I was referring to people that have made it a point to jump on the bandwagon and make Dribbble shots or similar blog posts referring to practicing/utilizing this "technique".
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