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See to me, some of these examples aren't skeuomorphic. This for example, I've never seen a leather item in meat-space with aluminum buttons. Or a big platic/gla

See to me, some of these examples aren't skeuomorphic. This for example, I've never seen a leather item in meat-space with aluminum buttons. Or a big platic/glass button. http://skeu.it/post/29492973628/in-space-no-one-can-see-you-skeu http://skeu.it/post/29492973628/in-space-no-one-can-see-you-...

Smudge 14y ago
I think that's part of the point here. The visual metaphor of leather doesn't make much sense, and is only there as an ornament because it (apparently) looks attractive. Why include the leather at all, if it's not a helpful metaphor for using the product?
- siglesias 14y ago
  Devil's advocate: leather, or any skin for that matter, creates a distinctiveness to the app that serves as kind of a "key" to your mental model of how it works and what it's for. That key can be used in various incarnations of your app's UI, on the web, across platforms, or even in system services (like notifications or Siri's sheets) to let the user quickly make the association with your app.
  - mpolun 14y ago
    except for the fact that leather is massively overused these days. There's nothing inherently evil about having leather, but don't think it makes for a distinctive look.
  - tb303 14y ago
    nobody needs a devil's advocate, it is a cheap way of making an argument for the sake of making an argument. leather does not add distinctiveness to your app, it creates an association between your app and leather that now shares a bond with the 100s of other apps that use leather. the only apps i can think of that have used leather to such an abstract, memorable extreme are paypal (blue leather wtf?) and find my friends, the classic. mental models have nothing to do with this, unless the average user has a previous experience that associates your product/service/offering with leather. even cowboy boots, even some sort of evocative mood, whatever, that's fine, but if you are using leather because you think you're making it distinct, there are far too many others doing the same.
    - siglesias 14y ago
      Well, obviously there are tons of apps that have diluted leather's distinctiveness (and leather is but one example), but the argument for a garish, non-functional skin is still as I outlined above. Also, I didn't mean to imply that leather in itself teaches you how an app works. However, once you've used an app with a distinct skin, the next time you launch that app the skin, as a sort of visual touchstone, will help you remember how you used it in the past, etc.
- wvenable 14y ago
  Design? Some of these are actually pretty attractive and don't appear to interfere with the usage of the app. Others aren't so attractive and many more are hard to use. Why is a texture automatically worse than a solid colored background?
  - Smudge 14y ago
    I wasn't arguing that texture is worse. When used appropriately, it's generally better than solid colors, both in terms of UX and just visual attractiveness. But there is a certain category of textures that seem to come up most often on this site. Things like leather, denim, paper that perhaps remind users of rough, tactile, durable materials. These metaphors get a lot of use, especially on iOS, and I find that it's funny to call them out sometimes. Sure, it's attractive, but also perhaps a bit derivative.
    - gbog 14y ago
      Anything to back the claim that textures are "generally better" in terms of UX? Studies? Statistics? A/B testing?
      - Smudge 14y ago
        That was just opinion. Should have made that clear.
  - droob 14y ago
    A little context helps -- check out the overuse of certain textures over on http://dribbble.com/ http://dribbble.com/ .
nchlswu 14y ago
I agree. A poorly or out of context metaphor hardly qualifies as skeumorphic to me. there are still some good examples of skeumorphism gone wrong, but it's not the gist of the whole blog
ben1040 14y ago
>This for example, I've never seen a leather item in meat-space with aluminum buttons. The leather and metal buttons remind me of an old camera (or one such as a Leica with a timeless design). As an example: http://i.imgur.com/EfGW5.jpg http://i.imgur.com/EfGW5.jpg I feel like that UI would go just fine with a camera or photo-related app. But it totally doesn't work at all for something that I'm assuming is more along the lines of a magic 8-ball.
- fleitz 14y ago
  But leather and metal are helpful on a camera, as is the cross hatch on the lens. On an iPhone app cross hatching does not help you grip the control. The leather on an iPhone app doesn't help protect against scratches or provide a superior gripping surface to polished aluminium. If you like the idea that good design is as little design as possible then a Leica style app design isn't as little design as possible. In just the same way that a moleskin notepad app isn't helpful, nor is comic sans as a font choice despite that it approximates hand printed letters. Maybe if they really want to make the full experience the 'pen' you use to write letters can run out of ink and then you have to shake the iphone to get more ink. Design should help the user accomplish tasks not get upvotes on dribble.

Smudge 14y ago

I think that's part of the point here. The visual metaphor of leather doesn't make much sense, and is only there as an ornament because it (apparently) looks attractive. Why include the leather at all, if it's not a helpful metaphor for using the product?

siglesias 14y ago
Devil's advocate: leather, or any skin for that matter, creates a distinctiveness to the app that serves as kind of a "key" to your mental model of how it works and what it's for. That key can be used in various incarnations of your app's UI, on the web, across platforms, or even in system services (like notifications or Siri's sheets) to let the user quickly make the association with your app.
- mpolun 14y ago
  except for the fact that leather is massively overused these days. There's nothing inherently evil about having leather, but don't think it makes for a distinctive look.
- tb303 14y ago
  nobody needs a devil's advocate, it is a cheap way of making an argument for the sake of making an argument. leather does not add distinctiveness to your app, it creates an association between your app and leather that now shares a bond with the 100s of other apps that use leather. the only apps i can think of that have used leather to such an abstract, memorable extreme are paypal (blue leather wtf?) and find my friends, the classic. mental models have nothing to do with this, unless the average user has a previous experience that associates your product/service/offering with leather. even cowboy boots, even some sort of evocative mood, whatever, that's fine, but if you are using leather because you think you're making it distinct, there are far too many others doing the same.
  - siglesias 14y ago
    Well, obviously there are tons of apps that have diluted leather's distinctiveness (and leather is but one example), but the argument for a garish, non-functional skin is still as I outlined above. Also, I didn't mean to imply that leather in itself teaches you how an app works. However, once you've used an app with a distinct skin, the next time you launch that app the skin, as a sort of visual touchstone, will help you remember how you used it in the past, etc.
wvenable 14y ago
Design? Some of these are actually pretty attractive and don't appear to interfere with the usage of the app. Others aren't so attractive and many more are hard to use. Why is a texture automatically worse than a solid colored background?
- Smudge 14y ago
  I wasn't arguing that texture is worse. When used appropriately, it's generally better than solid colors, both in terms of UX and just visual attractiveness. But there is a certain category of textures that seem to come up most often on this site. Things like leather, denim, paper that perhaps remind users of rough, tactile, durable materials. These metaphors get a lot of use, especially on iOS, and I find that it's funny to call them out sometimes. Sure, it's attractive, but also perhaps a bit derivative.
  - gbog 14y ago
    Anything to back the claim that textures are "generally better" in terms of UX? Studies? Statistics? A/B testing?
    - Smudge 14y ago
      That was just opinion. Should have made that clear.
- droob 14y ago
  A little context helps -- check out the overuse of certain textures over on http://dribbble.com/ http://dribbble.com/ .

nchlswu 14y ago

I agree. A poorly or out of context metaphor hardly qualifies as skeumorphic to me. there are still some good examples of skeumorphism gone wrong, but it's not the gist of the whole blog

ben1040 14y ago

>This for example, I've never seen a leather item in meat-space with aluminum buttons. The leather and metal buttons remind me of an old camera (or one such as a Leica with a timeless design). As an example: http://i.imgur.com/EfGW5.jpg http://i.imgur.com/EfGW5.jpg I feel like that UI would go just fine with a camera or photo-related app. But it totally doesn't work at all for something that I'm assuming is more along the lines of a magic 8-ball.

fleitz 14y ago
But leather and metal are helpful on a camera, as is the cross hatch on the lens. On an iPhone app cross hatching does not help you grip the control. The leather on an iPhone app doesn't help protect against scratches or provide a superior gripping surface to polished aluminium. If you like the idea that good design is as little design as possible then a Leica style app design isn't as little design as possible. In just the same way that a moleskin notepad app isn't helpful, nor is comic sans as a font choice despite that it approximates hand printed letters. Maybe if they really want to make the full experience the 'pen' you use to write letters can run out of ink and then you have to shake the iphone to get more ink. Design should help the user accomplish tasks not get upvotes on dribble.