4 ms·

I'm 47, been using computers since high school, and find flat a disaster. I'm in Firefox right now. The forward/back buttons take slightly different shades of g

by RogerL 13y ago

I'm 47, been using computers since high school, and find flat a disaster. I'm in Firefox right now. The forward/back buttons take slightly different shades of gray depending on whether they are currently disabled or not. I endlessly find myself speculatively clicking on them to see if they work or not. Sure, somebody will respond that the difference is clear to them, but that does not obviate my data point. Further, I often find myself completely unable to discern which tab is for the page I'm on. If you use chrome, the tab in the foreground lays on top of the other tabs, so it is clearer. Firefox - a slightly different shade again. Are there more tabs than are visible? Again, this is denoted by a slightly different shade of gray. This probably works great for 20 somethings with great eyesight. It is very problematic if your eyesight or monitor is not so good, if your windows color settings are not the norm, and so on. As for cars, they are shaped this way because of wind tunnel data. Data and utility matter, design is not just all about fashion.

lake99 13y ago
I don't quite get why you are complaining about Firefox. I'm on the Aurora series, and using the default theme; the buttons are colourful when enabled, and grey when disabled. No matter what series you're on, Firefox has a plethora of themes to pick from, including some that give it Chrome-like tabs.
ggchappell 13y ago
It seems to me that your complaint is not so much with flat design as it is with insufficient contrast between active/selected items and other items. That can be a problem with non-flat UIs as well. In any case, your point about the 20-somethings is a good one. Large portions of the web are usable only with difficulty for people with poor eyesight, or lack of experience with high-stimulation environments, or attention problems, or sensory-processing issues, etc. We see articles about making things usable by blind people, but very little about the much larger population of people who can't handle low contrast, overly busy pages, or tiny text.

by RogerL 13y ago

lake99 13y ago

I don't quite get why you are complaining about Firefox. I'm on the Aurora series, and using the default theme; the buttons are colourful when enabled, and grey when disabled. No matter what series you're on, Firefox has a plethora of themes to pick from, including some that give it Chrome-like tabs.

ggchappell 13y ago

It seems to me that your complaint is not so much with flat design as it is with insufficient contrast between active/selected items and other items. That can be a problem with non-flat UIs as well. In any case, your point about the 20-somethings is a good one. Large portions of the web are usable only with difficulty for people with poor eyesight, or lack of experience with high-stimulation environments, or attention problems, or sensory-processing issues, etc. We see articles about making things usable by blind people, but very little about the much larger population of people who can't handle low contrast, overly busy pages, or tiny text.