Does it have to help or does it just have to be aesthetically pleasing? Obviously most people don't think it is, but that's a personal preference rather than a

Does it have to help or does it just have to be aesthetically pleasing? Obviously most people don't think it is, but that's a personal preference rather than a statement of fact. I think the linen backgrounds that are appearing in OS X and iOS are a case in point - they don't add anything practical (in theory I think they were meant to represent the bottom layer though that's been inconsistently used so it's questionable whether any real benefit is being gained) but broadly speaking I think people agree that the texture is nice and as a result people seem to be more positive about them.