Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

Oh thank god... when that leather crap started to creep into OSX I took it as a sign that Apple had peaked and was on its way down.

Things should look like what they are. A computer display is not leather, so it should not look like leather. Making it look like leather is low-brow kitsch, like a fake electric fireplace or fake electric arc candles.



I too thought the end was near for the billion dollar tech behemoth when I saw that design of that one app they released for one of their products.


You must have loved the podcast app, then.


It seems as though you believe this is a binary issue, i.e. there is skeuomorphism, flat design, and nothing in between; of course this is not the case.

I hope Apple doesn't pursue the flat UI route a la Microsoft, not only is it not to my taste, but the use of subtle lighting effects have legitimate uses as cues to the user that an element is a button and can be pressed for example. Clearly this is not skeuomorphism as it's not a frivolous accessory but an aid for the user to understand the UI. This is not new either, buttons have been beveled since Mac OS 8 and Windows 3.0!

Essentially I think Apple will ditch the revolting skeuomorphism e.g. leather skinned apps, and continue to use subtle lighting effects and gradients to augment their UIs, and if they are truly planning a radical departure you can bet that it will be something rather original and not simply following Microsoft's lead. That is not Apple's DNA.


The flat "metro" style that Zune/Windows Phone have is best when it's clear that it's a UI you're meant to interact with. There's no need to show button-like things on a list that says "music phone contacts" - the fact you're in a touch UI means its obvious you're going to touch stuff.

For non-touch and complicated UIs, it's a lot less useful. See Office 2013's mess of a UI, which also added ALL CAPS as a design element that literally conveys zero information (there's no common trait caps has across the applications, it's purely a random design change for the sake of some really poor design sensibilities).


By that logic, the introduction of the Brushed Metal look in 1999 signaled Apple's many subsequent years of decline and abject failure.


What does a computer display look like? It looks like whatever is on it. When you have ultra high res displays with 32 bit color, well, what do you use all that for? Certainly not a 4 color 100% flat interface.


There's a difference between a 4 color interface and a 4 hue interface.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: