What’s wrong with flat UIs? Skeuomorphic designs have served their purpose of helping people get used to computers, but now that is no longer necessary.
You need to denote a button is different from text. You need feedback that a UI element was interacted with, and for toggles you need for people to be able to tell what represents on vs off. The borders between different UI elements needs to be clearly defined, etc etc.
The more you can ground what you're teaching in real world terms, the easier it is to teach. And in the moments where it does deviate from real world conditions, that's where it becomes harder to learn, since now you have to remember exceptions in behaviour compared to what you already know.
Having computers imitate real world items is useful, because it provides a reference to other things rather than just being its own unique thing. This is useful even if you have never actually used it outside of a computer setting. A stereotypical telephone receiver icon almost always means 'call', even if you've never used a landline phone (much less one that's shaped like that icon usually is). Nobody has ever used a real-world hamburger menu, yet it's described in skeumorphic terms, since it's easier to explain and relate to.
Skeuomorphic UIs absolutely have a place in things like games and tutorials for the youngest of children (like 5-6 yr olds, max), but past that, I honestly think labelling, a UI with feedback after significant inputs (like sounds, button states being extremely distinct, animations, etc), and not overcrowding the UI with too many controls and jargon will all go much further than skeuomorphism.
Screw the dyslexic and colourblind, I guess.
> using descriptive naming in buttons and having self-documenting labels.
Screw the non(-native)-English speaking in this case.
And even in the case that you're a native speaker, this is really hard to do well. You should try. Most fail.
I agree you should do these things, and many of your other suggestions (within reason) if only to give your users a better chance at understanding your software, but they cannot replace a solid grounding in the real world. We should have both.
What's clearer? [Call] or [(telephone receiver emoji) Call]?
You can also use checkmark/cross icons for success/failure. And What does this have to do with dyslexia?
> What's clearer? [Call] or [(telephone receiver emoji) Call]?
We’re arguing about flat vs. skeuomorphic design, so more like:
What's clearer? [(simple phone icon) Call] or [(photorealistic drawing of a telephone receiver) Call]?
Your comment on typography.
> What's clearer? [(simple phone icon) Call] or [(photorealistic drawing of a telephone receiver) Call]?
The latter.
That wasn’t my comment, and GP was presumably referring to things like headings being larger, not some subtle differences that dyslexic people would miss.
> The latter.
Why?
Sorry about that.
> and GP was presumably referring to things like headings being larger, not some subtle differences that dyslexic people would miss.
I was imagining bold or italics, both of which are easily missed by people who are dyslectic, or using different type faces, which can trip them up. Headings can help, if the text and spacing is suitably big, but I'm not sure what situations that can help much with in typical usage. I'm having a hard time thinking of examples where I would do that beyond what's already common.
> Why?
Easier to recognise as what it's supposed to be and easier to distinguish from other icons. More distinct traits in icons help you recognise something for what it is more quickly.
It's possible to have a flat style but have buttons that look clearly like buttons, and elements that have shadows and colors.
Nobody seemed to have a problem with it. It was largely clear what was a button and what was a checkbox. In hindsight it was certainly uglier than the 95 style (maybe just because I grew up with that) but it wasn't unusable at all. As you say, it was clear what was a button, what was a checkbox. I think it was because GUIs were mostly made out of standardized elements whereas today we have everyone trying to put their unique spin on every element.
We have to go all the way back to Windows 2 in before we find flatness.
[1] https://web.archive.org/web/20220418124401/https://techland....