I think you've nailed it. It's the business version of "let's make learning fun!" Even the article mentions this: > Bank interfaces use pastels, rounded corner

I think you've nailed it. It's the business version of "let's make learning fun!" Even the article mentions this: > Bank interfaces use pastels, rounded corners and soft drop shadows to make mundane or unpleasant tasks more "fun.” I think I lean more toward your position than the article's. I would probably refer to this trend as the infantilization of product design. Edit: I was wondering why I had that particular word in my head. A comment further down: > Recently discussed, an article with an almost synonymous title: “On Infantilization in Digital Environments (2015)” > https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22490089 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22490089