The most gorgeous UI to me looks something like this:

  cmd arg1 arg2 ...

or

  shell> cmd
  response
  shell> cmd2
  response2

The simplicity, clarity and composability is hard to beat. And though you do gain certain benefits when you present a GUI (esp with pointing device), of course, you also lose a lot. Beauty is not just in the eye of the beholder, it's also in your brain.