Digital Modernism Done Right

The whole concept of "digital modernism" is a fluke since modernism emerged from seeking functionality, not aesthetics, while the former is trying to emulate modernism on GUIs. Print design can appear "modern" and "Swiss" since its function is to be read. GUIs are different, and require new thinking to design and style correctly. Just removing the "style" portion and calling it modern is like adding fins onto the back of a car to make it more "space-age". Apple already debunked this movement, since the general user obviously prefers the higher-fidelity GUI -- even if the trend is now growing out of proportion. For a designer with a trained eye, of course s/he needs less visual cues to figure out the GUI, so anything remotely physical looks overdone. I would react the same way when approaching from a modern graphic design standpoint: Hey, that's not how things should look if I apply the grand unified theory of modern design that I learned in design school. I'd say no one is closer to getting "digital modernism" correct than Android, but essentially redefining what it means for a GUI to even be modern. This idea from the article to knockoff the Swiss movement is sadly, a joke. I've used Prismatic beta, and the UI didn't wow me, at all (from either designer or layman standpoint).

These Prismatic posts have been popping up every couple of days. I'm not even certain if they've even launched yet ("Request an Invite"), but this seems to be a textbook example of good 'launch' blogging. The consistency and depth of these posts is actually making me consider using this service.

So far I'm very impressed by these guys and I think they are doing so many things right. However, their UX is not one of them. This is the case where too much love of aesthetic is working against functionality. Their main service is content discovery and their layout is working against that.