Skeuomorphism and its Evolution Today

|| Feb. 13th, 2015

Velvet, leather, dice, switch buttons, they're all things that tech designers have used to imitate in their software. Most notably, Apple. If you can think back to pre-iOS 7 versions and their incorporation of the above mentioned elements, you can remember how Game Center used the velvet to imitate a poker table, which signified "gaming." Leather? Apple had a place for that too. 

Other than it being a really long word, (yes, I had to add it to my clipboard so I can just paste it while writing this) skeuomorphism is on the decline- and that’s a good thing.

For those of you who don’t know, skeuomorphism, according to a simple Google search states this: “Skeuomorphism is the design concept of making items represented resemble their real-life counterparts.” Simple, right?

The most prominent of examples of skeuomorphism, was used in Apple’s iOS. Former iOS genius, Scott Forstall created the earlier iOS’s with heavy skeuomorphism. This included the green felt for Game Center, the yellow legal pad for the Notes app, and iCal app for the Mac.

But today, 8 years later, design has come a long way. Apple has since done away with their former look, and donned a new feel embraced by the many haters of wood shelving and a “tape recorder deck.” That new look is flat. Flat is in, and from the looks of it, it’s here to stay.

Not only is Apple the only one to make major changes to its OS’s, but Google has transformed their Android OS, Lollipop with Material Design (a version of flat, but much better), Microsoft has embodied the flat design in their new renditions of Windows 8.

But why? Why would these companies go out of their way to change a look that helps the most tech-illiterate of users use their devices? The answer to that question is actually two-fold.

First, according to a Pew Research Center survey, the majority of users of smartphone users are between the ages of 18-29- 83% of us actually. Although many of us didn’t grow up with a cell phone in their hand, many of them are competent enough to familiarize themselves with the UI of their preference, thus, there really isn’t a need for a leather bound notepad anymore. We know exactly what to look for when we need the Notes/Keep/MyNotes app. In addition to that, the younger generation growing up will have grown up with a smartphone, and that need still won’t be there.

Secondly, Age. The first edition of iOS came out in 2007. That was 8 years ago. Add two to that, and you have a decade. Operating systems need to change with the times. Skeuomorphism had its fun, but it’s time to move on. Flat/Material Design is where the trend is headed. I am a strong believer in Material Design. I have ever since the first Lollipop developer build came out for the Nexus 5, so I really and truly believe companies that want longevity, are going to have to adapt to the design changes put in place by the larger companies such as Google, Microsoft and Apple.

What are your thoughts on Material Design and the flat look by Apple and Windows?