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Allen Grinshtein of Layervault may have coined the term “flat design” originally. Oh dear. This is what happens when your design perspective is limited to the
by mortenjorck 14y ago
Allen Grinshtein of Layervault may have coined the term “flat design” originally.
Oh dear. This is what happens when your design perspective is limited to the past few years of popular UI design.
“Flat design” was not invented by designers at tech startups. The concept was not popularized by Microsoft. Yes, there has been a recent trend away from the use of shading, texturing, and depth cues. It is a resurgence of something that began much, much longer ago.
Who invented “flat design”? Maybe Josef Müller-Brockmann, 1951? El Lissitzky, 1932? Dribbble users may not care about these names, but the current seasonal trend toward formal simplicity is little more than a rediscovery of the 20th Century's defining graphic design aesthetic, Swiss Modern.
If you're interested in the history of design, and understanding modern visual design in a broader context, I'd suggest Philip B. Meggs' A History of Graphic Design. For something a little more readily available, you might also want to take a look at Guity Novin's History of Graphic Design. Here's the relevant chapter on the Swiss Grid: http://guity-novin.blogspot.com/2011/07/chapter-42-swiss-grade-style-and-dutch.html http://guity-novin.blogspot.com/2011/07/chapter-42-swiss-gra...
- state 14y agoI cringed when I read that sentence. Thanks for helping to make this clear.
- jff 14y agoHere's some brilliant flat design, right guys? http://rand-mh.sourceforge.net/book/xmh/figs/ormarwsr.jpg http://rand-mh.sourceforge.net/book/xmh/figs/ormarwsr.jpg
- gruseom 14y agoThe quote you cited was about the term "flat design", not the thing itself. Seems unfair to dismiss it and then not refute what it actually said. But those historical references are interesting and stand on their own.
- 89a 14y ago> Allen Grinshtein of Layervault may have coined the term “flat design” originally. AHAHHAAHAHHAAHHAHAHAAHHAHAHADBSFSDFHGJMPOrstjpofgijop Such a joke
- h2s 14y agoNice, thanks for the book recommendation. Im on the lookout for this exact type of material lately after the realisation that for the amount of design work I do ive really failed to put in a proportionate amount of learning effort compared with programming. Any other recommendations?