Truly great UIs aren't memorable - they just work and you don't even think about them. Elevators, gas ovens, hourglasses. If you can make a useful application with a UI as simple, intuitive and forgettable as any of those, you've succeeded.
Not a UX person, so I'm a little surprised that you list the hourglass. I always thought that they had a terrible UI, mostly on account of not having a proper reset mechanism.
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Truly great UIs aren't memorable - they just work and you don't even think about them. Elevators, gas ovens, hourglasses. If you can make a useful application with a UI as simple, intuitive and forgettable as any of those, you've succeeded.
Not a UX person, so I'm a little surprised that you list the hourglass. I always thought that they had a terrible UI, mostly on account of not having a proper reset mechanism.
Can't tell if you are joking or not.
The reset mechanism for an hourglass is intuitive and gives very clear feedback on whether or not the operation suceeded
I agree, but I do think from a cosmetic perspective some UI's can be memorable, mainly because I've experienced some that are.