Skeumophism

[jonnyb098]

A great article on imore about skeumophism and examples of current Apple apps re-skinned. Honestly after seeing everything simplified it really doesn't look that good. It really should be more about functionality unless the look detracts from the experience. Right now most apps don't really make the experience worse by having their current look. Also it makes perfect sense android really can't do any complex graphic elements since there are about 87 different devices and screen sizes. That would make for an insanely large OS. A very different and logical angle on this whole debate.

Take a read and feel free to leave your thoughts.

http://www.imore.com/no-more-skeuomorphs

 

[aerok]

A great article on imore about skeumophism and examples of current Apple apps re-skinned. Honestly after seeing everything simplified it really doesn't look that good. It really should be more about functionality unless the look detracts from the experience. Right now most apps don't really make the experience worse by having their current look. Also it makes perfect sense android really can't do any complex graphic elements since there are about 87 different devices and screen sizes. That would make for an insanely large OS. A very different and logical angle on this whole debate.

Take a read and feel free to leave your thoughts.

http://www.imore.com/no-more-skeuomorphs

I do sinceraly agree, the OS looks so much better without the skeumophism and I do admit that the new color tone for various menus looked really ugly when I first tried iOS 6

 

[MattInOz]

The irony of the title is delicious...
All aluminum ios7. Yes because fake aluminum is not as fake as leather.

Two examples vast improvement
Two getting there but need work
Two no what were you thinking. No.

 

[cyks]

Yup. I have to agree with the article as well. Skeumophism elements don't add anything, but they do distract and take away from the overall experience.

I'd also be happy if, like the mock-ups showed, they did away with the stupid (sometimes) colored status bar and went back to black for everything and only using colors to notify us of something (green while on a phone call, etc).

----------

The irony of the title is delicious...
All aluminum ios7. Yes because fake aluminum is not as fake as leather.

Except that 'fake aluminum' is simply a grey color with a gradient. It's not brushed and doesn't have little fake rivets.

The fake leather is not only textured, but it has lacing. The fake wood has grain.

 

[irDigital0l]

Would like a little more color but yea.

The most notable is the Contacts.app for iPad.

Apple needs to redesign the UI for many of the stock apps not to make them look better but also to make them work better (more efficiently).

 

[blackhand1001]

A great article on imore about skeumophism and examples of current Apple apps re-skinned. Honestly after seeing everything simplified it really doesn't look that good. It really should be more about functionality unless the look detracts from the experience. Right now most apps don't really make the experience worse by having their current look. Also it makes perfect sense android really can't do any complex graphic elements since there are about 87 different devices and screen sizes. That would make for an insanely large OS. A very different and logical angle on this whole debate.

Take a read and feel free to leave your thoughts.

http://www.imore.com/no-more-skeuomorphs

Android handles resolutions differently than iOS. It doesn't have problems with multiple resolutions like iOS. You can very easily put ugly skeumophism if you want. Its just not used as its ugly and detracts from the holo theming. A lot of android uses vector images as well.

 

[kmj2318]

But aluminum is skeuomorphism

It's a strange article. To say that the alternative to what iOS is currently doing would be ugly, then to prove his point by making his own concepts (by the way, changing leather to aluminum isn't really removing skueomorphism). Yet then he says this image below is beautiful, which is a complete removal of skueomorphism.

 

[qwerty994]

I think apple should add themes. Not fugly ones like android, but different types for different people.

 

[tmanto02]

Honestly I think it looks good the way it is. They don't take skeumophism overboard in all apps. They only really use it a lot in the less serious apps like game centre to lighten the mood. Game centre looked boring in that articles rendition.

 

[Senseotech]

I like the mockups, though I'm not wild on the mute gray color. One thing I dislike though is the iBooks and Safari mockups where buttons and controls on the bottom of the screen just kind of appear over content. I'm all for increasing the available size for content in an app, but don't do it by simply taking the bar from under solid, opaque controls; the space you regain is still uselessly hidden behind controls.

 

[Rogifan]

How would you know it was aluminum if he didn't say so. Just looked like shades of gray to me.

 

[Tar Sniffer]

Dull and ugly. I don't understand you anti-skeuomorphic people.

 

[rorschach]

Skeuomorphism isn't ONLY purely visual or non-functional, like the faux leather or the fake book layout in Contacts.

The on/off toggle switches for settings are skeuomorphic. So is the camera shutter sound and the swiping "page curl" to flip between pages in iBooks and the volume slider in the Music app.

The opposite, flat extreme like "Metro" is just as awful as overdone skeuomorphism. It makes it difficult to tell what is clickable/tappable and what isn't.

 

[djtech42]

I think the UI needs an overhaul and I would like more consistency, but this just looks plain bland and dated to me. I like the color of iOS. Some of the elements just need to be "modernized."

 

[Mad Mac Maniac]

I was going to write a post about this very article/topic yesterday morning.

I personally think the brushed aluminum shown here on everything looks SOO dull! The skeumorphism is much more colorful, lively, and fun. If Apple's idea of "innovation" away from skeumorphism is to simply just apply a dull gray color over the current UI, as depicted here, I will consider leaving iOS.

I think some of the skuemorphism is too over the top. I think it's fine as long as it's subtle and doesn't take away from the usability. Podcasts is a great example of Skuemorphism being a detriment. Find my friends is an example of it being too over the top.

But I don't think Apple should waste time trying to eliminate the skeumorphisms... Because I think it's about time for a complete overhaul of the UI and UX of iOS. And I'm certain that this overhaul will be devoid of these skeumorphisms.

 

[Harrycooke]

I may be the minority, but I actually quite like skeumorphism. It's what sets ios apart from the other OSs.

I do agree that there needs to be a more consistent theme throughout ios.

That one colour is just nasty though.

 

[Michael Goff]

I may be the minority, but I actually quite like skeumorphism. It's what sets ios apart from the other OSs.

I do agree that there needs to be a more consistent theme throughout ios.

That one colour is just nasty though.

You're not alone, I really like it too.

 

[zin]

To be honest I don't see the point in skeuomorphism. I thought the entire point of going digital was to break away from the limitations of physical utilities.

A calendar, for instance, doesn't auto-update, you can't share it between multiple people, and you can't take it with you. Whereas a digital calendar does all of the above and more. Making the digital version look like the physical version (right down the mimicking the material with binders, for instance) just makes it feel like you're bringing the old and outdated with you, IMO.

It's the same with other apps like iPhoto for iOS, Podcasts, etc. etc.

I want them to look and feel slick and modern, not like the old and outdated that they intended to replace. The concept in the article, however, doesn't do that view justice IMO.

 

[Hosei]

I may be the minority, but I actually quite like skeumorphism. It's what sets ios apart from the other OSs.

I do agree that there needs to be a more consistent theme throughout ios.

That one colour is just nasty though.

You said it. Some warmth in the color would be nice as well.

 

[vrDrew]

To be honest I don't see the point in skeuomorphism. I thought the entire point of going digital was to break away from the limitations of physical utilities..

I think we are at a somewhat unique point in human history when skeuomorphism has a very real utility.

If you look back to, say, 1980, virtually no one on earth used a computer (or other digital device) as a calendar or address book. We all used physical, usually bound paper, versions of these things.

As all of those people started using first computers, and more recently portable digital devices, to provide that sort of functionality, it can greatly reduce the "learning curve" if the digital version at least looks like what we are used to working with.

Now, you certainly can argue the aesthetic merits of the way some of the skeuomorphistic elements are rendered: Apple's "stitched leather", for instance, doesn't do much for me.

I think fifty years or so from now, when an entire generation has grown up, using digital devices from the time they were in the nursery, and more importantly never having encountered a physical address book or calendar, then the utility of making something look familiar to a physical object no longer exists.