Since the article spends quite a bit of time talking about icons, let me focus on that, too. I think the old icons had too much detail in them to be visible at

Since the article spends quite a bit of time talking about icons, let me focus on that, too. I think the old icons had too much detail in them to be visible at typical icon sizes. They ended up looking cluttered and over-designed. The new icons are simpler visually, making them clean and fresh. And they come in brighter, happier colors. I much prefer the look of El Capitan over older OSs.