Flat UI hit the mainstream when John Ive forced it at Apple. But you noticed the timing, didn't you? The iPhone had beautiful skeuomorphic design, the doing of

Flat UI hit the mainstream when John Ive forced it at Apple. But you noticed the timing, didn't you? The iPhone had beautiful skeuomorphic design, the doing of Steve Jobs. Jobs knew that 3D signals are important visual cues for the interface. John Ive was only able to introduce flat design after Jobs died. Jobs hated flat design and wouldn't let Ive do it. Only after Job's passing was Ive able to go rogue and introduce the flat UI trend, which then everyone copied. The pendulum will swing again, but the damage has been done. Obviously flat design looks worse, obviously it's harder to use. People follow Apple's design blindly. Jobs knew better, and Ive was only able to get away with it because he had more authority.