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Comment by mikecuesta | Hacker News Reader

Flat design certainly has it's place in the world but it's important to keep in mind that ultimately it's just another aesthetic. Distressed, Glossy, Flat, Matte, Woodsy, etc, these are all just styles that lay on top of what is good information architecture and interaction design.

It's not about flat design being right or wrong, it's more about whether it's appropriate for the job/task and audience/market.

There are good movies with special effects and good movies without special effects -- it's just a one element of the entire experience and by no means the most important.

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"Flat design" is, yes. It's just a horrible label for a much broader concept, which is "form follows function", "clarity", "honesty".

Skeuomorphism is an easy target because it is dishonest by definition. Things that appear "cutting edge" or "high quality" today will, in a few years, seem dated, clunky, and pointless.

By contrast, pick up a copy of Die Neue Typography and see how well not just Tschichold's designs, but his ideas, hold up today. Skeuomorphism is a symbol of the Old UI. What we need is the New UI.

> "form follows function", "clarity", "honesty".

http://byamt.wordpress.com/2009/03/03/dieter-rams/

> By contrast, pick up a copy of Die Neue Typography and see how well not just Tschichold's designs, but his ideas, hold up today.

Dieter Ram's designs also hold up. Honesty is at the center of it all. This is also the reason why people still quote Confucius. Honesty is simply living and experiencing in the purest way possible.

Interestingly, Tschichold later changed his mind and thought Die Neue Typography was too extreme, and adopted a lot more traditional design.

I completely agree. From a usability viewpoint visual style just helps to give your experience some context. Just to make you feel better, familiar, engaged, interested, etc. You can be in a fully white concrete room or in a baroque temple. Both can be too much if not appropiate and both can give you some marvelous feeling.

I think the difference is that "flat design" is not added to a good information architecture. It's just what you get when you resist trends to add textures and widgets that don't belong.

I think your own example illustrates it: a film without special effects is just a film.

Well... you still kind of need to add colors, fonts, and even pixel perfection of elements, so in essence you are still doing that extra step after the initial IA, just with a certain restriction.

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