Skeu-what?!

We've heard some rumblings lately that Apple's skeumoprphic design interfaces for iOS are starting to grate on some people and that Microsoft Windows 8 and Metro interfaces (used on Windows phones) are being regarded as better implementations of quality design.


Skeu-what?
Skeumorphic design is defined by Wikipedia as:
‘design that has been used to make cheap things look like their more expensive alternatives - plastic objects that mimic wooden or metal counterparts; cigarettes that have paper around the filter that looks like cork; and window shutters that don’t shut’

So how does this relate to Apple?
Well just think of some iOS apps…

Notes looks like a classic yellow note pad.
Calendar has a tan, worn paper look, with page-turns that emulate real pages.
Camera has a shutter animation before you can view through the lens.
Compass is an animated brass metal compass.
Contacts looks like an old contacts book with alphabetical tabs, hardbound and with a sewn spine.
Game Center has a background of green parlour-room felt and wooden frames.
Voice Memos is a big metal 50s style microphone with recording studio style output needle.

Does this matter? Is this really 'cheesy' design as some are saying?

Well it certainly does contrast with Apple's product design which is based upon The Bauhaus Design School's ethic of 'form is function' and minimalism - ultimately meaning 'less is more' and therefore good taste.

So what of Windows then?

The Metro user interface is based upon the Swiss Style - a minimalist style of the 50s which featured heavily in rail travel posters and signage (hence the name Metro I suppose) and its main principles were:

Uniformity, geometry, whitespace, grids and the simple and clean use of fonts (see Helvetica)

…and Microsoft say that 'yes, text is the primary form of navigation in the Metro UI'

But isn't it nice to have an Apple interface that feels familiar? Yes, the products themselves are stark and minimal but the parts we actually interact with are friendly AND functional…and come on, we all know who make the best mobile phones now don't we.

Posted by Paul Skinner