A man's phone rings. On the line is his distressed grandmother, who suddenly finds herself lost in the very device she once considered a helpful companion. What changed? Apple's iOS 7 update stripped away skeuomorphic elements that mimicked real-world objects, leaving her—and countless others like her—feeling adrift. This isn't merely an isolated case of technological confusion; it's a glaring example of how design choices can fail to consider the needs of older generations.
A Nostalgic Past, A Disruptive Present:
In its early stages, digital interface design borrowed heavily from the physical world. Buttons looked like buttons; notepads resembled actual pads of paper. This skeuomorphic approach acted as a bridge for many users, especially older ones, easing the transition from the tactile to the digital. In essence, skeuomorphism provided a set of familiar visual cues that enabled people to make informed decisions when navigating their devices.
The Disappearance of Familiarity: The Psychological Impact of Removing Skeuomorphism
Design isn't a neutral act. Every design decision reverberates through the lives of people who interact with the creation. When skeuomorphic elements vanished from modern interface design, a silent but significant demographic felt the tremor: our elders. This isn't simply a matter of resisting change. The loss of familiar skeuomorphic elements dismantles the cognitive bridges that many older individuals rely upon to interact with digital devices.
Expert Bias: How Minimalism Privileges Those in the Know
Minimalism serves those who already possess a fluent understanding of technology. Those who advocate for these clean lines and reduced elements are frequently the ones who have no trouble adapting to new paradigms. The trouble arises when this form of design becomes the default, with little thought for those who find it bewildering.
Bridging the Gap: Why Multi-generational Design Matters
Design is a dialogue, not a monologue. As designers, our role isn't merely to dictate how interactions should occur but to facilitate them for a wide array of people. This means considering the cognitive models of all age groups. By creating environments where a range of experiences and capacities are acknowledged, we offer a more inclusive form of interaction.
No Experts Needed: The Imperative for Understandable Interfaces
Why should someone have to study their phone like a textbook just to send an email or make a call? A well-crafted interface shouldn't require a steep learning curve. It should welcome you, guiding your interactions in a way that feels not just accessible but naturally engaging.
Skeuomorphism and Cognitive Models: A Lost Connection
Skeuomorphic design isn’t merely aesthetic ornamentation. It is a language that speaks to the way many people, particularly elders, have come to understand the world. Removing it is akin to stripping away words from a language and expecting fluent conversation to continue unabated.
The Human Element: Designing for All, Not Just for Some
When we sit at our drawing boards and coding terminals, it's essential to remember that the lines and pixels we manipulate have a human consequence. Design decisions ripple out, affecting lives in unforeseen ways. We have a responsibility to do more than simply follow trends.
The Cost of Modernity: When Progress Leaves People Behind
Progress is inevitable, and change is often good. However, progress for its own sake, devoid of a human-centric rationale, can lead to disenfranchisement. The drive for modernity should never leave any group feeling as though they've been left stranded on the sidelines.
An Inclusive Future: Balancing Minimalism and Familiarity
The path ahead requires us to question our inclinations. Striking a balance between the new and the familiar is challenging, but it's essential if we aim to create designs that serve everyone. This doesn't mean abandoning modern design principles; it means augmenting them with a more comprehensive understanding of human cognition and need.
Years of lived experience should not become a hindrance in the digital age. Our elders deserve interfaces that acknowledge their cognitive models and provide them with meaningful interactions. Thoughtful design respects the wisdom and experience elders bring to the table, offering them not just a way to cope with technology, but a way to engage with it richly and effectively.
In summary, design has the power to include or alienate, to empower or disempower. As we forge ahead into an increasingly digital future, let's not forget those who paved the way for us. Design inclusively, and we honor not just the requirements of today, but the legacy of generations that came before.
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Update on from Antoine Valot, French designer, who writes:
“Flat Apple also marked the departure away from intuitiveness, and the abandonment of non-technical audiences.
My elderly mom, a talented sculptor, was left behind, no longer able to keep up with the abstract, unintuitive, digital-first interaction modalities of the Ive age. Flat navigation cues meant a loss of the affordances that had told her « this is a button, that is a menu », and she no longer perceived clearly how to take action on the disembodied text that her familiar tools had turned into.
All of a sudden, being a normal human being no longer sufficed for using Apple products. You now needed to be deeply versed in digital concepts, have a nerdy mental model at the ready.
It made her feel confused and excluded, instead of masterful and liberated as it had before.
Humiliated, she retreated from tech, which isolated her all the more from the social media circles where younger generations increasingly convened.
For a few glorious years, tech was open to her. With her iPad she could share photos, use emails, browse the web happily and confidently. Then tech shut her out. It was cruel.”
A special invitation from Michael…
Dear readers,
In the spirit of craftsmanship that has always driven our work, I'm excited to share a unique opportunity to be part of a narrative that redefined the digital era. To honor the contributions of our community, I am offering a 20% discount which is good forever for those who join as annual members in the next chapter of this adventure: a book that captures the essence of our design breakthroughs.
Founding members will be acknowledged on the book's donors page in addition to their year membership. Your support is pivotal in bringing this story to print—a story that intertwines technology, design, and the human experience in ways that have forever altered how we interact with the digital world.
Skeuomorphic Design: Lessons from Apple's Golden Era (1999-2005) delves into the transformative years when Apple, under the guidance of Steve Jobs, championed skeuomorphic design to create some of the most iconic and people-friendly digital interfaces. Drawing from firsthand accounts of designers who worked closely with Jobs, this book offers a comprehensive guide to the principles, tools, and techniques that defined skeuomorphic design during this pivotal period. Featuring case studies of landmark Apple products and a detailed look at the design environment fostered by Jobs, this book serves as both a historical document and a practical manual. It aims to inspire and educate designers, historians, and design enthusiasts about the art and craft of creating digital interfaces that mimic real-world experiences.
Your engagement as either an annual member or a founding member will not only help preserve the rich history of design that we have crafted together but will also continue to inspire future generations of creators and innovators.
I look forward to rekindling the magic that we created and sharing it with the world through your eyes and stories.
