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Apple's Designers Clashing Over 'Tacky' Software Skeuomorphisms

If I was designing Id want to not have to incorporate visual gimmicks, myself. User assignable skins solve this problem. Apple and it's little shut-ins need not dictate every aspect of interaction or presentation.

Design as you would like to have it be used - let the user dictate their preference.

/Issue closed.
 
I really dislike the direction of iCal, address book GUI direction. I could understand this back in the 80s when computers were becoming mainstream - it helped people relate to real world objects. BUT this is the 21st century - people know what a calendar is etc.

I'd ather apple make the GUI have a consistent look throughout all it's desktop apps.

Personally making apps look like their real world equalivent adds nothing to the app.

I kind of understand skeuomorphism on mobile devices - but desktop OS - definitely not.
 
This article hits the nail on the head for me with Apple's software design. On one hand you have Jonathan Ive, coming up with some of the most beautifully simple industrial designs in the industry and on the other hand you have apps like iCal, Game Center, Garage Band and others that have this whole faux retro look to them that makes them look cheap and tacky. Early iterations of OSX had Aqua, then they moved on to the brushed metal looks which were somewhat unified and consistent, if not a little plain. But now we have a hodgepodge of apps that try to look like retro physical objects and not like classy apps that would befit a Jonathan Ive designed product. It's time for Apple to focus on creating a unified and simple look to their software like they have done for their hardware. And hopefully one that is a lot more user-friendly and appealing than what Microsoft has come up with for their new interface.
 
I can't stand the direction Apple has gone with its interfaces.

In fact I got rid of my iPhone for a Nokia lumia (based on game centre etc) and am now considering windows 8 as an osx replacement........ This is how much I hate it.

I will be sticking with windows phone as it really is great, and will have no hesitation to jump ship (especially if win 8 continues with the simplicity).

Seriously, I never thought I woud be saying the above, having been a mac user for about 15 years......... Apple has gone cheese.
 
Personally, I find varying app colors/designs more helpful in quickly identifying the app when using expose, mission control or just swiping through apps on the iPad.

Also, when I saw the shredder in action for the first time, it made me smile. It doesn't matter if most iPhone owners never saw a paper shredder in real life... it gets the point across in a visually fun way. And IMO that's one of the signature Apple traits that has always differentiated Apple from the crowd.
 
I wonder if this internal divide explains the inconsistency in applying user interfaces across the board. Why, for instance, are the iPad and Mac versions of Contacts and Calendar 'skinned', but the iPhone versions still use stock gray UI elements?
 
Ugly As iTunes

If the lack of skeuomorphism in designs means that we get more ugly, dull and lifeless applications like iTunes, then keep the skeuomorphism.

Itunes went from having color that was useful to a grey mess that is less friendly to navigate.
 
I would just like an option to use different 'skins' for the apps in question... As pointed out, one of these could be Jony Ive's, but TBH just some other option would be great...
 
Forstall, smart as he is, is trying too hard to be like Steve Jobs. I think he needs to be replaced with someone who has taste. His skeumorphic crap is bastardizing Jony Ive's hardware design. Software UI design just isn't matching with the beautiful hardware anymore.

Maybe Jony Ive and his team should take over UI design as well.
 
This is why Ives was not a good choice for heading apple. If he can't creatively direct a group of designers, forget a company.
 
MacRumors said:
[url=http://images.macrumors.com/im/macrumorsthreadlogodarkd.png]Image[/url]


Fast Company reports on ongoing internal strife at Apple over the company's use of software skeuomorphism, the inclusion of certain ornamental elements in a product that are carried over from previous tools addressing the same task for which the elements were required for functionality. Daring Fireball's John Gruber has linked to the article, noting that he has heard similar word of an "internal political divide" over the issue.

One of the most frequently-cited examples of questionable skeuomorphism in Apple's software is the company's set of calendar apps, which have recently used a stitched leather design reminiscent of physical desktop calendars, complete with the remnants of torn-off pages visible near the binding. Game Center, which is presented as a gaming table complete with wood grain and green felt, is another oft-cited example.

Image


Skeuomorph-heavy design of iCal in OS X Lion​
According to the report, Apple's iOS chief Scott Forstall has long been a proponent of incorporating skeuomorphic features in the company's software, with Steve Jobs having supported and even originated that design direction for Apple's products. But others such as hardware guru Jonathan Ive find the inclusion of such features distasteful, and Apple's designers have reportedly been divided into camps over which direction to take Apple's products. Fast Company's interviews with former Apple designers and others in the industry reveal the degree of controversy over the practice:The report points to Windows 8 as an example of how companies can bring fresh user interface ideas by minimizing reliance on skeuomorphism to try to replicate experiences that may no longer be optimal or even relevant. A follow-up report will be examining the issue from Microsoft's perspective, with the conclusion of today's report hinting that Microsoft sources have unflattering things to say about Apple's approach.

Article Link: Apple's Designers Clashing Over 'Tacky' Software Skeuomorphisms
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I love this kind of design! I hope Apple continues on this path. Software should have a personality. The best modern products have influences from the past. Look at furniture, fashion etc. Strive to the future, remember the past and connect with people. If nothing else it ties generations together. The new podcast app with an old tape reel has a soul!
 
From the article: "one former senior UI designer at Apple ........ "It’s like the designers are flexing their muscles to show you how good of a visual rendering they can do of a physical object. Who cares?"

The important point here is FORMER. A designer who thinks asking "how good" something is something we should be apathetic towards is really an embarrassment to the art of design. Design is always about pushing the boundaries, evolving and striving for perfection. As a professional designer, steam came out of my ears from rage when I read that line.

P.S., Apple's skeuomorphism implementation is fantastic. It works great with their brand and standards of quality and ease of use. There may come a time very soon that skeumorphism will become less and less relevant as the objects it represents become more and more obsolete themselves, but for now, it feels comfortable, and looks beautiful.
 
camnchar said:
Steve would never have allowed thi -- oh wait.
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That made me laugh!

But back to the point... I don't like it. It just contradicts everything else. You have these beautifully designed pieces of hardware, but every so often you come across one of these skinned apps and it just doesn't fit in.
 
They really help for some things like emulators (audio equipment), and if the program is obscenely boring and could use some life.

I think the calendar app could be toned down a little but for the most part I like it. The game center app is just horrible, its a poker theme that is for something that is going to be mostly used for things that have nothing to do with poker, they pigeon holed the app into one genre, its just really bad and is exactly how not to use skeuomorphism.
 
chrmjenkins said:
The iCal picture shown is tacky, but I haven't seen anything in iOS that draws my ire. Mostly just cute or whimsical touches that harken back to the paper world.

edit: 4 comments in and I'm the first meaningful one. I'll try to be faster next time.
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I agree that skeuomorphisms on iOS make some sense (evoking holding a notebook in your hand, etc.), but they are simply unnecessary in OS X. What's worse, the art takes up lots of space, and leads to apps that could have taken up less than half the screen requiring all of it just to make some pretty visual metaphor. I fear that iOS is training a generation of developers that only know how to make fullscreen apps, which will make the (hopefully not) ultimate melding of iOS and OS X that much easier.
 
Explorz said:
If the lack of skeuomorphism in designs means that we get more ugly, dull and lifeless applications like iTunes, then keep the skeuomorphism.

Itunes went from having color that was useful to a grey mess that is less friendly to navigate.
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Agreed. Starting with iTunes, then Leopard, then especially Snow Leopard, Apple increasingly tried to unify their Mac interfaces, and the result was that every window on your screen wound up looking identical (and identically bland). I'm glad they're taking a page from iOS and trying to get away from that now. Even if they make some questionable design choices from time to time, it's nice to get back to the kind of visual distinctions between apps that we had in the Panther-Tiger era.
 
PlutoPrime said:
From the article: "one former senior UI designer at Apple ........ "It’s like the designers are flexing their muscles to show you how good of a visual rendering they can do of a physical object. Who cares?"

The important point here is FORMER. A designer who thinks asking "how good" something is something we should be apathetic towards is really an embarrassment to the art of design. Design is always about pushing the boundaries, evolving and striving for perfection. As a professional designer, steam came out of my ears from rage when I read that line.
Click to expand...

No, it's not. It's about creating a design that suites the product and the venue. It is not creating art, it is not pushing boundaries, as it is not reinventing the wheel. People who have these glorified notions of what professional designers do are a bit tiresome.
 
Explorz said:
If the lack of skeuomorphism in designs means that we get more ugly, dull and lifeless applications like iTunes, then keep the skeuomorphism.

Itunes went from having color that was useful to a grey mess that is less friendly to navigate.
Click to expand...

The finder sidebar icons and Mail.app drive me nuts. I actually do the mouse-over/pause trick on the icons in mail because I can't remember which non-descript gray icon does what without seeing the tooltip. Crazy.
 
I hope Jony Ive and in my dreams Dieter Rams will be part of the OS X UI Team.
I would like to see Jony's clean industrial look (and feel) in the OS.
No redundant colors except in Finder.

I think that the design of Macbook (Pro & Air) as well as of iMac have to cohere with the UI of OS X (same holds true for iOS and the iDevices, but for now that's not my cup of tea).

I think that OS X is close to perfection, but there are some small contradictions that have to be solved and in my opinion Jony's hardware team is the right group of people.
 
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