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Skeuomorphism

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Re: Skeuomorphism

#91

Post by nollidge »

bwkeller wrote: post #86
gurkendoktor wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The problem is that login form has no analog in real-life, so in this one designer just went crazy for the sake of it. That is not a problem. A problem is: "it is hard to use", "it uses a lot of bandwidth", "people dislike it in A/B testing and buy less".

"it uses a lot of bandwidth" is exactly the problem that skeu-craziness is. Purposeless high-resolution backgrounds and animations waste storage space, bandwidth, cycles, and developer time. Time/money spent adding a fake leather texture is time/money unspent on functional aspects of a product.

> Purposeless high-resolution backgrounds

So you're against textures full stop, not just skeumorphism? Because of course high-resolution textures are not necessarily skeumorphic.

> Time/money spent adding a fake leather texture is time/money unspent on functional aspects of a product.

Using a fake leather texture takes about as long as using some other texture or choosing a solid color or choosing which direction the gradient goes in... You're either spending time on design, or you're not. Even being minimalistic takes time and intention.

Re: Skeuomorphism

#92

Post by nollidge »

jlgreco wrote: post #58
mikeryan wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Both of them feature "thread stitching" along the borders It may be overused and bad taste but "thread stitching" is not in itself Skeumorphic design which is I believe the GP's point. A skeuomorph /ˈskjuːəmɔrf/ skew-ə-morf, or skeuomorphism (Greek: skeuos—vessel or tool, morphe—shape),[1] is a derivative object that retains ornamental design cues to a structure that was necessary in the original A calendar app which…

The way I see it, this website features two types of design. The first is skeumorphic design, and the other is a sort of mimicry of skeumorphic design by people who presumably did not realize the underlying point of skeumorphism. Cargo cult design, basically.

I would argue that there is no "underlying point" of skeuomorphism except to make shit feel nice by alluding to familiar real-life objects. There's no requirement that the source material be functionally similar.

Re: Skeuomorphism

#93

Post by lovskogen »

shinratdr wrote: post #7

So skeuomorphism is now anything besides Windows Phone style "pure digital"? Shiny = glass, black texture = leather, blue texture = denim, etc? That's going to be really, really boring. I don't know why texture is such a bad thing. Of course you can overdo it like anything, but personally I prefer Reeder with a light paper-pulp backing texture instead of a plain light peach background. For example, what is so bad abo…

No, Windows Metro just happens to not be skeuomorphic.

Re: Skeuomorphism

#94

Post by wpietri »

fusiongyro wrote: post #65
hcarvalhoalves wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For example, what is so bad about this? http://skeu.it/image/24908403424 Because it reproduces a hypothetical real-world object, that not only doesn't make any sense (what is a sheet of paper hanging from a glass panel anyway?), but doesn't add any meaning to what this interface is supposed to do? You can use skeumorphism where it makes sense. The problem is that login form has no analog in real-life, so in this one…

Have an upvote. I found myself giggling at this one along with all the other ones with things that make no sense like leather buttons and switches, and then I started to wonder: is it possible that the designers making this nonsense are actually representing an aesthetic totally decoupled from actual usability? In fact, let me get ageist here for a second—could it be that the designers making this nonsense are actual…

could it be that the designers making this nonsense are actually too young to have ever seen or used the real-world objects these skeumorphic interfaces are imitating?

You sure have something there. I recently felt like a dinosaur when I was explaining line ending characters to a young programmer who had never seen a carriage returning or a line feeding.

Re: Skeuomorphism

#95

Post by lovskogen »

I wonder if skeuomorphic designs will be looked back at and be viewed like we now view the interfaces from the 90s, with huge amounts of bevel and emboss, shadows and gradients.

Re: Skeuomorphism

#96

Post by kbutler »

Skeumorphism is including or retaining historical design elements for now non-functional purposes.

The author asserts that Microsoft's Metro design moves away from it, but his screenshot of Metro shows several instances:

- a paper shopping bag icon - MSFT stock symbol - icon of analog alarm clock with bells - gear icon for control panel - manilla folder icon for windows explorer

And does anyone else cringe at the HTML slipping through on AT&T?

The simple fact is that building on previous experience is useful. Anachronistic visual remnants of previous technology can lend familiarity to a new interface, reducing learning curve and increasing acceptance (e.g., rivets on denim jeans).

Sometimes designers go even further and purposely introduce even more skeumorphic elements, going for a "retro" feel.

Some people like it, some people don't. It isn't always done well, and it isn't always done badly.

Re: Skeuomorphism

#97

Post by MartinCron »

MartinCron wrote: post #31
RandallBrown wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In all fairness, lots of these are just people on Dribbble flexing their photoshop muscles. The peacoat on off switch wouldn't be great in your app (unless you're selling peacoats or something) but it still looks kinda cool.

The peacoat on/off switch is causing a lot of cognitive dissonance in me right now. It's so pointless, but so adorable. I want to make a peacoat-related app just to have an excuse to use it.

It turns out that I don't know my garment lingo well enough. That kind of closure on a coat is called a "toggle" so it's a sort of visual pun.

Re: Skeuomorphism

#98

Post by tb303 »

kbutler wrote: post #96

Skeumorphism is including or retaining historical design elements for now non-functional purposes. The author asserts that Microsoft's Metro design moves away from it, but his screenshot of Metro shows several instances: - a paper shopping bag icon - MSFT stock symbol - icon of analog alarm clock with bells - gear icon for control panel - manilla folder icon for windows explorer And does anyone else cringe at the HTM…

If the link went to the Fast Company article, your comment would make much more sense!

Re: Skeuomorphism

#99

Post by tb303 »

lovskogen wrote: post #95

I wonder if skeuomorphic designs will be looked back at and be viewed like we now view the interfaces from the 90s, with huge amounts of bevel and emboss, shadows and gradients.

I believe this will be likely. KPT FTW!

Re: Skeuomorphism

#100

Post by hcarvalhoalves »

gurkendoktor wrote: post #73
hcarvalhoalves wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For example, what is so bad about this? http://skeu.it/image/24908403424 Because it reproduces a hypothetical real-world object, that not only doesn't make any sense (what is a sheet of paper hanging from a glass panel anyway?), but doesn't add any meaning to what this interface is supposed to do? You can use skeumorphism where it makes sense. The problem is that login form has no analog in real-life, so in this one…

> The problem is that login form has no analog in real-life, so in this one designer just went crazy for the sake of it. That is not a problem. A problem is: "it is hard to use", "it uses a lot of bandwidth", "people dislike it in A/B testing and buy less".

Skeuomorphism is a derivative object that retains ornamental design cues to a structure that was necessary in the original [1].

So the problem is exactly it: the designer attempted a skeumorphic design of something that has no original in the first place. The consequences then are that it doesn't improve usability, wastes bandwidth, etc. - just as in any other bad design.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeuomorph

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