4 ms·

I'm glad I wasn't the only one who detected the scent of what I call "arthouse wankery" here. This is popular for the same reason flat UIs are popular - they're

I'm glad I wasn't the only one who detected the scent of what I call "arthouse wankery" here. This is popular for the same reason flat UIs are popular - they're easy to create, blandly inoffensive, and convey "modern" to the viewer.

jsonne 5y ago
Seriously. It has a lot more to do with the idea too that if you look similar to other big companies who are using it then you'll get a modicum of a trust factor out of the gate than some nefarious psy op.
- cosmodisk 5y ago
  In an exactly same way,as all the energy companies went on to use green colour on thier websites,while anything enterprise software related was always blue/skye blue. Nothing really new on this front.
- amelius 5y ago
  Same reason everybody went with Bootstrap, Stripe included.
RobertKerans 5y ago
It can be, and generally is, both (if by "arthouse wankery" you mean design theory).
- whatshisface 5y ago
  I wouldn't tar all of design theory with the brush of being Kabbalistic medieval-metaphysics-like random intuitive associations. Only some of it is like that.
  - guerrilla 5y ago
    Hey now, medieval metaphysics got us Occam's razor...
    - medstrom 5y ago
      And nuclear physics got us the nuclear disarmament program.
  - RobertKerans 5y ago
    Not quite sure what you're trying to say: that applies in similar ways to basically every academic speciality. And what the parent quoted: it's just an observation based on theory, similar historical trends, and his own practice. It might be _wrong_, but it's not metaphysics or random association. It's not even really an academic point at all, it's a technical point: specific art styles are commonly used to communicate certain messages to the viewer. The utilitatarian reasons for "why this style" are all correct, but they provide only half an explanation
andrepd 5y ago
Honestly this is the point the article makes in all but 2 or 3 paragraphs.
dsr_ 5y ago
Well, it feels modern now. In 2030, it will feel clunky and old, to the sort of people who pay attention to these things. 2030 designers: Ugh, you're still using squircles? Your icons should have translucent gradient blurred backgrounds! Everyone knows large x-height sans serif fonts are untrustworthy lawyer text. Small x-height grotesks convey likeability.

jsonne 5y ago

Seriously. It has a lot more to do with the idea too that if you look similar to other big companies who are using it then you'll get a modicum of a trust factor out of the gate than some nefarious psy op.

cosmodisk 5y ago
In an exactly same way,as all the energy companies went on to use green colour on thier websites,while anything enterprise software related was always blue/skye blue. Nothing really new on this front.
amelius 5y ago
Same reason everybody went with Bootstrap, Stripe included.

RobertKerans 5y ago

It can be, and generally is, both (if by "arthouse wankery" you mean design theory).

whatshisface 5y ago
I wouldn't tar all of design theory with the brush of being Kabbalistic medieval-metaphysics-like random intuitive associations. Only some of it is like that.
- guerrilla 5y ago
  Hey now, medieval metaphysics got us Occam's razor...
  - medstrom 5y ago
    And nuclear physics got us the nuclear disarmament program.
- RobertKerans 5y ago
  Not quite sure what you're trying to say: that applies in similar ways to basically every academic speciality. And what the parent quoted: it's just an observation based on theory, similar historical trends, and his own practice. It might be _wrong_, but it's not metaphysics or random association. It's not even really an academic point at all, it's a technical point: specific art styles are commonly used to communicate certain messages to the viewer. The utilitatarian reasons for "why this style" are all correct, but they provide only half an explanation

andrepd 5y ago

Honestly this is the point the article makes in all but 2 or 3 paragraphs.

dsr_ 5y ago

Well, it feels modern now. In 2030, it will feel clunky and old, to the sort of people who pay attention to these things. 2030 designers: Ugh, you're still using squircles? Your icons should have translucent gradient blurred backgrounds! Everyone knows large x-height sans serif fonts are untrustworthy lawyer text. Small x-height grotesks convey likeability.