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Flat design and improperly rescaled design: main threats to tablet usability

nngroup.com

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Re: Flat design and improperly rescaled design: main threats to tablet usability

#11

Post by so_says »

lnanek2 wrote: post #3
alexfringes wrote: post #2

"Dumb" scaling and lack of flow have been painful for a while and it certainly can't hurt to hear some arguments against them. However, the skeuo-flat wars' inclusion is oversimplified and seems like it stems from a marketing decision rather than actual data points. Attack poor hierarchy, obliviousness to information architecture, lack of designers' restraint, or the absence of focus and rigor. With specific examples…

Doesn't really surprise me seeing that in there. Nielsen is from way back in the usability community. You have to remember that it was considered revolutionary then to make buttons look 3D, like they stick out, and should be touched. Like they are real buttons. Gloss, shadows, etc.. User affordances. It's been backed up by heavy studies as well. The modern flat movement, on the other hand, is more just graphics desig…

3D is just one shortcut to affordance. It is not the only way to lead a user to action.

Re: Flat design and improperly rescaled design: main threats to tablet usability

#12

Post by systemtrigger »

publicfig wrote: post #6
systemtrigger wrote: post #4

I'm in the wrong section of the industry apparently. I have been focusing my efforts on building technology when what I should have been doing is writing blog articles about user interface design. I suspect many more people will buy the $198 paper being sold here than have ever purchased software written by me. That is not to indulge in self pity but I can't help wondering if changing my name to Nielsen and sharing m…

I don't really understand what your actually criticizing here. Are you upset that you aren't making enough at your current position? Are you upset that a group that specifically focuses on conducting user experience research is selling their results for a price that you don't want to pay for it? Do you not feel as though their work is valid enough to justify charging for it, even though they've been an established gr…

I am saying it seems much easier to write about compelling user experiences than to create them, and given the price they are charging for their product it makes me wonder if I should be writing papers about user experiences instead of programming them.

Re: Flat design and improperly rescaled design: main threats to tablet usability

#13

Post by incision »

In the case of Android, I just wish developers would follow the design guidelines [0]. At a glance, just following the skeleton of those docs would address several egregious design issues I've seen.

Anecdotally, I see a strong correlation between adherence to Android style and app quality.

0: http://developer.android.com/design/index.html

Re: Flat design and improperly rescaled design: main threats to tablet usability

#14

Post by robbyking »

Regarding flat design, I think the criticisms raised in this article are criticisms of poorly executed flat design, not flat design in general.

With that said, I think a lot of underskilled designers are mistaking flat design for ambiguous/overminimalist design[1]. A lot of flat design is horrible, but it's not because it's flat (per se), it's because the designer took an existing visual asset and "simplified" it rather than taking the time to redesign it without skeuomorphic or 3d elements.

[1] https://www.iconfinder.com/icondetails/85100/128/apple_finde...

Re: Flat design and improperly rescaled design: main threats to tablet usability

#15

Post by onli »

systemtrigger wrote: post #12
publicfig wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't really understand what your actually criticizing here. Are you upset that you aren't making enough at your current position? Are you upset that a group that specifically focuses on conducting user experience research is selling their results for a price that you don't want to pay for it? Do you not feel as though their work is valid enough to justify charging for it, even though they've been an established gr…

I am saying it seems much easier to write about compelling user experiences than to create them, and given the price they are charging for their product it makes me wonder if I should be writing papers about user experiences instead of programming them.

Well, try it then. It actually isn't that easy. Sure, everyone can try to write something about design. But that is not what Nielsen is selling, mere writing. Not everyone can back his writing up with self-conducted user studies, for which one needs (a lot of) time, money (the equipment alone) and people. This is what generates the value of those reports.

Re: Flat design and improperly rescaled design: main threats to tablet usability

#16

Post by 6cxs2hd6 »

After reading it, the 30-second summary: Most companies -- and their users -- would be better served by a responsive web site/app.

Rather than making a native app because {it might seem cooler | our competitor does that | marketing out-shouts the CTO if any | a Dilbert-esque CEO said "app" and no one is willing or able to educate}.

Re: Flat design and improperly rescaled design: main threats to tablet usability

#17

Post by stan_rogers »

paultyng wrote: post #8
lnanek2 wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't really surprise me seeing that in there. Nielsen is from way back in the usability community. You have to remember that it was considered revolutionary then to make buttons look 3D, like they stick out, and should be touched. Like they are real buttons. Gloss, shadows, etc.. User affordances. It's been backed up by heavy studies as well. The modern flat movement, on the other hand, is more just graphics desig…

I don't see how it follows that they are admitting something by shrugging their shoulders. But what this is missing is that there are technical reasons for flat design, namely performance and power usage, that are critical on mobile devices.

Somehow we managed to have 3D hinting on the monochrome (1-bit) Macintosh. Affordance doesn't have to mean heavy graphics, gradients, blurred drop shadows or any other battery-vampire elements.

Re: Flat design and improperly rescaled design: main threats to tablet usability

#18

Post by teaneedz »

paultyng wrote: post #8
lnanek2 wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't really surprise me seeing that in there. Nielsen is from way back in the usability community. You have to remember that it was considered revolutionary then to make buttons look 3D, like they stick out, and should be touched. Like they are real buttons. Gloss, shadows, etc.. User affordances. It's been backed up by heavy studies as well. The modern flat movement, on the other hand, is more just graphics desig…

I don't see how it follows that they are admitting something by shrugging their shoulders. But what this is missing is that there are technical reasons for flat design, namely performance and power usage, that are critical on mobile devices.

I thought this post was pretty funny : [Flat Design: Towards a Flatter Earth — User Experience Design - Brasil — Medium](https://medium.com/user-experience-design-1/fe8f583a4917)

Design based on function and performance removes emotions that contribute to the overall user experience. A purely engineering approach can lead to boring design, IMO.

I really don't understand the performance argument when we've been dealing with skeuo for some time. Of course, skeuo can be overdone, but in balance, it's what many users find useful.

Re: Flat design and improperly rescaled design: main threats to tablet usability

#19

Post by Tloewald »

I've seen UI designs lately with cancel buttons disguised as text because "that's how websites do it" (according to the UI designer). Right, that's how websites A/B test users into unintentionally progressing through a sales/signup process.
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