Skeuomorphism

[Osullivan1]

Okay, so I am glad to see the end of skeuomorphism in iOS, but every single person I have talked to (whilst not minding iOS 7) wants the old Notes app back. Maybe skeuomorphism works in some places and not others?

I dunno.

The only real reason I made this thread was so that I could make one last post about skeuomorphism and re-live past times. Maybe one day skeuomorphism will make a comeback and we'll all be able to feel the pleasure of typing it out once again...

I miss that word

R.I.P.





-- feel free to move this post over to Wasteland.

 

[g-7]

 

[richwoodrocket]

It really annoys me that iOS dosent even recognize the world skeuomorphism

 

[Armen]

Okay, so I am glad to see the end of skeuomorphism in iOS, but every single person I have talked to (whilst not minding iOS 7) wants the old Notes app back. Maybe skeuomorphism works in some places and not others?

I dunno.

The only real reason I made this thread was so that I could make one last post about skeuomorphism and re-live past times. Maybe one day skeuomorphism will make a comeback and we'll all be able to feel the pleasure of typing it out once again...

I miss that word

R.I.P.





-- feel free to move this post over to Wasteland.

Unfortunately Skeuomorphism does not stand the test of time so it's not very practical.

I just find it funny that the "save" icon in most apps is still a 3.5" floppy disk. Most teens don't even know what a floppy disk is they just know the icon represents save.

Same goes with the phone app icon. Who actually has that type of telephone in their house? none of us.

 

[Mr10crossing]

Image

Compare that to this:

Yuck.

 

[BillyMatt87]

Compare that to this:

Image

Yuck.

It still has a paper texture so they didn't completely kill off skeumorphism. That and in the iBooks app designed for iOS 7, they still have the page-turning animation.

Also, isn't a bit ironic that the Camera icon in iOS 7 is more Skeumorphic that its iOS 1-6 counter part? I mean the old Camera icon was more of a reference to the camera on the back of the device and the new icon looks like some generic still camera.

 

[dannyyankou]

Yes, some of the iOS 6 designs were genius!

 

[na1577]

Maybe skeuomorphism works in some places and not others?

It certainly does. Even Apple recognizes this. There's a reason why iBooks still has the page turn animation and Garageband still uses realistic touch instruments; skeuomorphism actually enhances usability in those situations. But other times it was solely cosmetic. Podcasts, Game Center, and Find My Friends are great examples of this. It's the purely cosmetic examples where I believe Apple's skeuomorphism had gotten out of control.

 

[gaanee]

Indeed, that's very ironic.. first thing you notice on the new ios7 is old camera picture on the icon. Looks like they went about making wholesale changes with the look of ios7, removing all traces. The old camera icon actually looks modern.

Also, isn't a bit ironic that the Camera icon in iOS 7 is more Skeumorphic that its iOS 1-6 counter part? I mean the old Camera icon was more of a reference to the camera on the back of the device and the new icon looks like some generic still camera.

 

[LordQ]

I just wish the iOS 7 Notes app had that sepia paper like Mavericks.

 

[TheRainKing]

Yes, some of the iOS 6 designs were genius!

Image

Why do people always use that app to try and prove that skeuomorphism was bad? Everyone can see that it's awful, but it was clearly a one-off. You won't find any other skeuomorphism apps that looked as bad as that. Meanwhile, you can look through the iOS 7 apps and find plenty of horrendous designs.

Now compare them to iOS 6 counterparts.

 

[Planey28]

Why do people always use that app to try and prove that skeuomorphism was bad? Everyone can see that it's awful, but it was clearly a one-off. You won't find any other skeuomorphism apps that looked as bad as that. Meanwhile, you can look through the iOS 7 apps and find plenty of horrendous designs.

Image
Image
Image

Now compare them to iOS 6 counterparts.

Image
Image
Image

Apart from perhaps notes, they all look better on iOS 7 to me

 

[maflynn]

I'm not a fan of Skeuomorphism but I think in some situations it looks better then what we now see. For instance the prior post for notes is a lot better then what we have now.

Too much is overkill, done right, it works well imo

 

[tkermit]

As someone who was extremely critical of iOS 7 but has mostly warmed up to it, the new Notes app to me actually strikes exactly the right balance thanks to its subtly textured background and the letterpress effect. The former design in retrospect was just way over the top. Plus, the app has become much more usable now thanks to the swipe gesture

 

[BJMRamage]

to me a main issue with the iOS7 design in something like Notes is the lake of decent Hierarchy. Previously (and possibly simply due to skeuomorphism) the screen could be easily scanned and understood. Same way with the old Reminders.

The new game of removing "unwanted" textures and buttons and simply relying on some color and subtle typography bumps make it harder to discern at a glance.


Oh, and the Camera App Icon—HORRIBLE. because it easily does video too and showing a lens was much nicer...showing a SLR-style camera is not the greatest.

 

[joejoejoe]

to me a main issue with the iOS7 design in something like Notes is the lake of decent Hierarchy. Previously (and possibly simply due to skeuomorphism) the screen could be easily scanned and understood. Same way with the old Reminders.

The new game of removing "unwanted" textures and buttons and simply relying on some color and subtle typography bumps make it harder to discern at a glance.

In many ways iOS 7 is not designed to be understood at a glance.

The today view in notification center is a prime example. Why they would ever get rid of weather icons and replace them with long sentences about the condition of the day is beyond me.

The focus with iOS 7 was to remove the unneeded. Now that they've succeeded on that front (not entirely, but mostly), I hope they choose to focus on what's always made Apple products look and feel magical: intuitiveness.

There must be a happy medium between skeumorphism and... well I don't even know what to call iOS 7.

Minimalism?

 

[notrack]

In many ways iOS 7 is not designed to be understood at a glance.

The today view in notification center is a prime example. Why they would ever get rid of weather icons and replace them with long sentences about the condition of the day is beyond me.

The focus with iOS 7 was to remove the unneeded. Now that they've succeeded on that front (not entirely, but mostly), I hope they choose to focus on what's always made Apple products look and feel magical: intuitiveness.

There must be a happy medium between skeumorphism and... well I don't even know what to call iOS 7.

Minimalism?

Agree. The question is, what is unneeded? Imo while iOS 6 and partly OS X had too much, in iOS 7 far too much was removed.

The lesser design elements you use, the harder it is to make it work well.

 

[CutterSlade]

It certainly does. Even Apple recognizes this. There's a reason why iBooks still has the page turn animation

Yet they removed the book itself, which made the page turn animation a bit pointless and awkward now.

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while iOS 6 and partly OS X had too much, in iOS 7 far too much was removed.

That's so true. They simply overdid it in 7.0. They should have introduced an UI that's not skeuomorphic but at the same time has a proper, good looking, intuitive design.

But in the end, it was the users who consistently wanted the UI to change. It didn't matter how they are changed, as long as they're changed. I don't understand why people want to see things that work perfectly changed after X years.

 

[afsnyder]

I think they did an awesome job with getting rid of fake realness. The notes app was a prime example. Although it looks great, there was no purpose and has looked the same for 6 years... so they updated it.

I feel like the subtle handpicked texture and the slight letterpress effect work really nicely with the rest of iOS 7.

Imo Gaussian Blur and the right colors > Skeuomorphism in general.

 

[joejoejoe]

Agree. The question is, what is unneeded? Imo while iOS 6 and partly OS X had too much, in iOS 7 far too much was removed.

The lesser design elements you use, the harder it is to make it work well.

Agreed. But sometimes it's not a question of more or less, but a question of what.

For example, at the end of every contacts page, you're given a list that reads

send message
share contact
add to favorites
block this caller

wouldn't it be much more intuitive, and be quicker to navigate had we had icons in place of text? Both are just as minimal, but one is intuitive while the other is intellectual. (they don't even need to be colorful icons, blue outlines ala iOS 7 would suffice).

 

[Planey28]

Yet they removed the book itself, which made the page turn animation a bit pointless and awkward now.

----------


That's so true. They simply overdid it in 7.0. They should have introduced an UI that's not skeuomorphic but at the same time has a proper, good looking, intuitive design.

But in the end, it was the users who consistently wanted the UI to change. It didn't matter how they are changed, as long as they're changed. I don't understand why people want to see things that work perfectly changed after X years.

Well it's because design is constantly evolving. iOS 6 and below were terribly dated. Windows 95 worked well but today it looks terrible. iOS barely changed within 6 years, iOS 7 will look dated in another 6 years unless they evolve the design this time rather than completely replace it in one update.

 

[C DM]

Well it's because design is constantly evolving. iOS 6 and below were terribly dated. Windows 95 worked well but today it looks terrible. iOS barely changed within 6 years, iOS 7 will look dated in another 6 years unless they evolve the design this time rather than completely replace it in one update.

What something looks like is fairly subjective. Nothing really terrible about the looks of Windows 95 or iOS 6 or before. Some might just get bored or not like it, which is certainly fine, but plenty of others don't see anything wrong with any of it or even like it just fine too.

 

[CutterSlade]

Well it's because design is constantly evolving. iOS 6 and below were terribly dated. Windows 95 worked well but today it looks terrible. iOS barely changed within 6 years, iOS 7 will look dated in another 6 years unless they evolve the design this time rather than completely replace it in one update.

MS didn't release new versions of Windows because the previous ones were looking dated. They did so because there were countless places where they could make functional improvements. Improving the look and feel of the OS has always been the 2nd priority (until Win 8). The opposite is true in case of iOS 7.

Also comparing win 95 to iOS 6 doesn't make sense because one of them is ancient. iOS 6 looks nowhere near as bad as Win95 does today because its design is still from this era. So, changing for the sake of changing, or boredom I think.

 

[notrack]

Agreed. But sometimes it's not a question of more or less, but a question of what.

For example, at the end of every contacts page, you're given a list that reads

send message
share contact
add to favorites
block this caller

wouldn't it be much more intuitive, and be quicker to navigate had we had icons in place of text? Both are just as minimal, but one is intuitive while the other is intellectual. (they don't even need to be colorful icons, blue outlines ala iOS 7 would suffice).

Absolutely. I do prefer icons over text for such things. However I'm not a friend of the monochrome wireframe icons. They don't work for me. It seems to me that they didn't have the time or resources to design a propper set for the entire OS.

 

[Small White Car]

Also, isn't a bit ironic that the Camera icon in iOS 7 is more Skeumorphic that its iOS 1-6 counter part?

Except that it's not.

Skeumorphism are things that make it feel like you're using a non-digital piece of equipment. So the yellow notepad looks like you're writing on paper. The bookshelf looks like a real shelf. The click sound in the camera app sounds like a shutter in a camera.

They all simulate the sensation of using something you're not.

But unless you operate your totally flat SLR by pressing your thumb into the front of the lens...that button isn't skeumorphism.