I fear we're gonna remain flat forever.
Let's hope not.
Something possibly interesting to consider: think about cars which, like phones, are all about function and fashion.
It's been said for teens, phones are today's cars. Today's 14-20 year olds are more concerned about buying, customizing, and using their phones and tech "to go to (online) places" than they are about getting a driver's license and customizing their first cars to drive to places. Less "drive" to drive to somewhere nowadays, more "drive" to want to stay at home and connect with friends virtually via texting or online gaming or social media.
I'll venture to say that phone/mobile interfaces reached a sweet spot around 2010-2013 where form followed function for both hardware and software/interface...outside of some complaints over green felt, woodgrain, brushed metal, and stitched leather, our touch interfaces were beloved and ("just") worked pretty intuitively, as the interface was designed and refined after years of learning, and with the focus on USE of this new technology first and foremost. And the designs were unique! The world hadn't lemmingly stolen/borrowed Apple's hardware and software design cues as pervasively as they did after around 2010-2013.
And then how did things "advance" from this sweet spot? Things got flatter generally.
Then think about cars which, until around 2000, were designed with function heavily in mind along with unique form second. I say "unique form" because not all cars looked alike then like they do today. Touch screens (which I'd argue are form over function in a car) were non-existent. Then after around 2000, once everyone started making their grilles look like an Audi, and once touchscreens started being incorporated along with random/garish body designs, things turned more towards the fashion/form than function. And then what are two options to do as car models "age" out...they go flatter or way crazy/wilder.
For flatter cars, think: VW bug, Jaguar's new vision/direction, the Tesla cybertruck, etc. For flatter interface design: think iOS7 and Mavericks.
For wilder cars (with lots of randomness inserted in the sheetmetal/headlights/seats/interior design), think: Lexus's garish Spindle Grille...BMW's (arguably ugly) current design language...most current Hyundai's... For wilder interface design, think iOS/iPad OS 26's liquid glass...
It's as if Flat Design is a main way to design something "new/different." Not necessarily functionally better, but new...different..."modern" (gag). While wild/garish design is another (last resort) option to bring something new.
Flat design is more of a design exercise that should have stayed in the studio instead of be unleashed into car and interface design IMHO. What's the extension of flat design or wild/garish design? Where can it go from there when something new is desired? Flatter? More wild? (I can't possibly imagine BMW adding any more ugly to their current wild designs).
Do interface & car designs get even flatter and more boring (or more wild/random) or do we revert back to what worked before as a way to trick consumers that they're being given something new? Some of iOS26 and iPad OS (once it's fixed/dialed back via certain Accessibility settings) does reflect an older, more obvious, less flat way of doing things, which is kind of nice. I have no experience yet with liquid glass and Tahoe 26 but I'm not jumping in that pool quite yet.
Edit: my other thought has always been: Apple did a tremendous job of "removing the unnecessary" in the 1990's and 2000's and stripping things down to what mattered, and wrapped in a beautiful package. There was so much low hanging fruit in Windows to improve upon. That's how we got the OS and mobile OS's of the 2000's, which were minimalist yet beautiful and clear and intuitive due to the addition of lots of smart interface prompts. But then how do you extend that path...what's the extension other than to keep going more minimalist? More flat?
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