Design can vary in terms of how "good" it is but even eras like art-deco will go through periods where it resonates more strongly with people. The factors for t

Design can vary in terms of how "good" it is but even eras like art-deco will go through periods where it resonates more strongly with people. The factors for that can be any multitude of things. Even using Steve Jobs as an example doesn't work. The design of the iPod/iPhone has changed drastically in just 10 years. I don't consider my 2nd generation iPod as "timeless". I can admit that it was great 10 years ago but today it's not so much. That being said I do believe there's elements of science in design. The golden ratio perhaps or using concentric circles. It seems plausible that those could be less taxing on our vision to look at. I don't know if that applies to flat design though.