It is funny, when injection molded plastics were first introduced, companies tried to make them replicate the look of knotty pine wood. Then some Italian designers got to them and showed off the intrinsic beauty of plastic (organic forms, translucence) paving the way for designs like the iMac. Seems like the same thing is happening with iPlatform apps.
I think the super literal interface metaphor is a symptom of people responding to polished aesthetics. For years designers have had to work in the handcuffs of cross browser compliance, small file sizes, and as a result most sites look boring.
Along comes the iPhone with these little app confections that are:
- single purpose: so they don't need cluttered nav and work really well
- replicating physical objects: so the metaphors generally make sense opposed to say a tag cloud
- Were made by Mac enthusiasts: Who tend to make really nice looking stuff
Now a lot of folks are thinking that the key to good apps is making it look like/replicate some real world object. While this is part of these apps appeal it is just one layer.
I think if the delicious monster/panic/icon factory teams got a hold of the calculator he was holding up as a great design it would be far more popular. It looks impressive functionally and he is right that we shouldn't be beholden to old technical constraints. It is just a boring from a UI/Eye candy POV which is important in a retail world.
I think the super literal interface metaphor is a symptom of people responding to polished aesthetics. For years designers have had to work in the handcuffs of cross browser compliance, small file sizes, and as a result most sites look boring.
Along comes the iPhone with these little app confections that are:
- single purpose: so they don't need cluttered nav and work really well
- replicating physical objects: so the metaphors generally make sense opposed to say a tag cloud
- Were made by Mac enthusiasts: Who tend to make really nice looking stuff
Now a lot of folks are thinking that the key to good apps is making it look like/replicate some real world object. While this is part of these apps appeal it is just one layer.
I think if the delicious monster/panic/icon factory teams got a hold of the calculator he was holding up as a great design it would be far more popular. It looks impressive functionally and he is right that we shouldn't be beholden to old technical constraints. It is just a boring from a UI/Eye candy POV which is important in a retail world.