Why Flat Design is the Future

I’m not a designer, but as a product owner I evaluate designs and I’m accountable to design performance with web and mobile applications. I often hear the debate between skeumorphic and flat design, and here’s why I think that flat design will become the standard for digital applications.

As a matter of history, skeumorphic design became popular to serve as a generational bridge - making digital interfaces more familiar to people who have never used digital interfaces before. When Steve Jobs was designing the Macintosh interface, this requirement was fundamental - the most daunting challenge he faced was in educating a generation of people on the value and rewards of using a computer for the first time. Interface tools such as the mouse, icons, windows, and skeumorphic elements (like buttons that looked like elevator buttons) were essential in helping people navigate the then alien world of bits.

Unlike in the 1980s and 1990s, today’s average user is familiar with digital interfaces, so there’s no more need for visual cues tied to the real world. In fact, incorporating 3D elements introduces non-essential tools for emphasis (like drop shadows, beveling) which, like flashing text or ALL CAPS, may catch the eye, but do not necessarily make for good design.

Using a flat design scheme limits the designer’s “vocabulary” to a smaller set of essential tools, such as placement, spacing, color and language. In flat design, logic and prioritization are paramount. Every element needs to be thoroughly examined, and the designer is forced to throw away those that are non-essential.

The end result of this more exhaustive process of design is a less exhausting experience for the user. For example, when first using Apple’s new iOS7 mobile OS, I felt immediately that things were easier and more natural to find and use, despite the fact that it was the first time I was using a new interface. The design felt minimal, but rarely inadequate. Obviously, the designers at Apple world-class, and not every flat design execution will be so clean. To me, however, iOS7 is another example of the power of good flat design, and an indicator that we’ll see much more of it in the future.