Chapter 3: Visual Design

An design case immediately came to my mind when reading this chapter: Apple's iOS and especially iOS7. Before iOS7, UI design language of iOS systems followed an idea called 'Skeuomorphism'. The icon of the apps and buttons were designed to imitate real-world objects with texture, lighting and shadows. In iOS6, the UI elements wiggle and repond to user input e.g. when you scroll to the bottom of a list, the scrolling does not stop immediately, but rather shows a blank space followed by a soft bounce-back. which follows Principle 3.1 Design Sound, Graphics and Interaction Together. It made the trasnition to touchscreen smooth for first-time users, but never closed the gap between virtual objects and physical objects. Retrospectively speaking, the layers of textures made the screen look oily and messy. iOS7 made the transition from Skeuomorphism to a minimalistic, flat and vibrant design languages. It exmplified Principle 3.5 Build Complexity from Simplicity. Simplicity is achieved by using simple geometry and vibrant colors in element design, and light but smooth animations instead of heave three-dimensional effects. The complexity is showed in details, including the translucency between layers of the UI elements, the animations of weather, and the adaptive theme color change according to the current wallpaper. Despite critisms at realase time, iOS7 started a wave of minimalistic design arond the internet, and has proved its success ten years later. I belive that the UI design language on 2D display devices should be clean and minimalistic, but would that still the case when we move to the the 3D AR/VR world? Too much minimalism may break immersion, and with means to replicate the physical world better, we could give some physical attributes to the virtual objects, including representing weight through haptics and reflecting ambient lights in the virtual world. Simplicity can still be maintained in geometric forms and visual representation, but complexity is layered in through sensory-rich interactive cues and functionalities, thereby achieving an intricate yet streamlined user experience. We might make a break from the flat icons to embrace lively objects in AR/VR, but it is still essential to strike a delicate balance that maximizes both intuitiveness and immersion.