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from the designer-egomania-vs-user-ergonomics dept.
In a not so recent (2015) study Flat Design vs Traditional Design: Comparative Experimental Study scientists measure the performance of current and past interface styles. They reference multiple past articles and studies (some freely avaliable like Ref 3 or Ref 11) so they are not walking new ground, just measuring some more.
Some interesting background:
The density of screen information [in flat design] is often extraordinarily low [10].
...
The main criticism was that flat design ignores the three-dimensional nature of the human brain, which is extremely sensitive to visual cues linking interfaces to the real world. The removal of affordances from interactive interface objects means that users regularly perceive interactive elements as non-interactive, and non-interactive elements as interactive.
Despite these limitations flat design is becoming more and more common, and criticism of experts in HCI [Human-Computer Interaction] and usability is generally ignored by the software industry and graphic designers.
They used different tests: finding a word in text, finding an icon among others and finding clickable objects in a webpage. The process included eye tracking and recording of mouse motions. Subjects were students below 30 years old and already using similar interfaces, so effects in older or disabled persons were not studied. Font tests showed similar times, but worse cognitive load (derived from eye motions) for flat style. Icon tests showed worse times and mental load for flat style, a more complex task pushing the brain out of semiautomatic mode. Webpage tests were also against flat style, with high miss and false alarms indicators.
The conclusions were clear:
Our experimental study supports the opinion expressed by many HCI and usability experts that flat design is a harmful tendency in area of user interfaces, and should be replaced by interfaces based on the design principles developed over decades of research and practice of HCI and usability engineering.
Now we have more proofs that "flat design is inferior to traditional design", we aren't just whiny users opposed to change that don't understand what is going on. Based in personal experiences, and those of older persons around me, my conclusion is that any "UI/UX expert" that keeps parroting the modern interfaces is just a fad-following graphic designer at best (I expect more from those too... but they keep on disappointing me), and in any case should not be allowed into the HCI field. There were other studies, and this one is around 4 years old, so maybe it's time to get back into saner styles. Not that I hope things will improve quickly, after realizing that — since this study — things have slid more and more into simpleton mode.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 11 2019, @05:27AM (5 children)
Most likely some idiot with too much authority wanted to distinguish their product from all the rest (the ones that followed some form of design rules) so had some artsy types create something that was completely the opposite of usable but that s/he thought looked pretty. The sheep saw that and, instead of questioning it, decided that they didn't want to miss "the next big thing", so copied it. We all now suffer as a consequence.
Basically, the competent people were taken out of the design loop and the job was handed over to the artsy-fartsy glue sniffers.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday February 11 2019, @05:58AM (3 children)
Which means someone with even a rudiment of authority will have to tell them, ain't it? Otherwise they are stupid enough not to listen to common-sense.
In other words, the uttering of "The emperor is naked" by the study does have value. (contrary to the belittlement expressed by the AC starting the thread).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Monday February 11 2019, @09:50AM (1 child)
The emperor gets confused by all the lines, 3D buttons, and icons. He's old, and he wants simpler things so he can tap the right thing with his trembling finger and without his reading glasses.
I'm still not sure whether it's the blue blood that gives him the ability to find where things can be activated vs not. Maybe it's his advisers, or maybe he just pokes everywhere, swearing, until something happens.
At least, that's what the emperor would command, if he was like my uncles.
(Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 11 2019, @06:12PM
Except it ain't the "oldsters" that invented flat design.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 13 2019, @09:41PM
You nailed it in the second sentence. This study is hardly unique. Clueful people have been pointing out how bad the flat design trend was pretty much since it started. Unfortunately, as you observe, they -- the flat-backers -- are, indeed, too stupid to listen to common sense. They've dug their hole and, despite the fact that the sides are clearly falling in, they'll be damned if they're going to stop digging.
(Score: 0, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 11 2019, @06:56AM
There. FTFY.