In the late 90s/early 2000s, we did user testing to figure out how to make software easy to use. We learned that discoverability was king.
In the last 10 years, we've been throwing it all away in favor of UIs that look "sleek" and "clean".
Functionality is hidden and we got rid of discoverability. Everything is flat, so it's not obvious what you can interact with. What's simply a status icon in one program could be a button that leads you to more information in another.
I really REALLY don't understand the fascination with flatness. Flat is ugly, boring, plain, and hides interactability.
We reached a period where we have more graphics processing capability than ever before, and we made everything simple flat shapes.
Windows 7 with the Classic theme was peak UI and you'll never change my mind.
Comments
I've been saying this for years.
In the late 90s/early 2000s, we did user testing to figure out how to make software easy to use. We learned that discoverability was king.
In the last 10 years, we've been throwing it all away in favor of UIs that look "sleek" and "clean".
Functionality is hidden and we got rid of discoverability. Everything is flat, so it's not obvious what you can interact with. What's simply a status icon in one program could be a button that leads you to more information in another.
I really REALLY don't understand the fascination with flatness. Flat is ugly, boring, plain, and hides interactability.
We reached a period where we have more graphics processing capability than ever before, and we made everything simple flat shapes.
Windows 7 with the Classic theme was peak UI and you'll never change my mind.