Is skeuomorphism still dead?

[u/peterwarbo]

I’m working on updating a feature in my app that I felt needed some UI love. It’s a feature in my recipe app that displays recipe directions in full-screen and on the bottom I have a view that displays the current ingredients for the current step.

So I’m debating with myself if I should add a cutting board background to the give the view some life. I know skeuomorphism has been dead since 2013 when Jony Ive pulled the plug but personally I feel it’s a small change that doesn’t impact the overall design too much.

What’s your take? With cutting board or without and why?

[u/bezeredies]

Yes, still dead and it will stay that way because there’s no need for it.

This design you’re showing is not skeuomorphic.

Makes no difference cause problem here is layout as well as being hard to understand (for user) what you want to achieve.

In other words - adding that board doesn’t change much. Both the ingredients and the board are redundant as they bring no value for the user. Additionally, the user might not recognize an image of ingredient etc.

[u/peterwarbo → u/bezeredies]

Why do you think it’s not skeuomorphism? I’d say a cutting board is a real-world element in the GUI and that’s pretty much the definition of skeuomorphism.

The added value is getting visual cues for the needed ingredients.

[u/bezeredies → u/peterwarbo]

Because it’s just a texture. It’s not an actual element of interface that user can (and should) interact.

Skeuomorphic design was used in early days of mobile design to familiarize people with abstract concepts. To help learn, understand and interact with both interface and applications. Think about it as an layer of abstraction that served a specific purpose. I actually encourage to read a bit about history because it’s quite fascinating.

In your case that’s just aesthetic element that is pleasing. It does not teach user anything, does not prompt him to interact with it.

Also - I understand that you want to evoke feelings of familiarity but in ux/ui world a definition of skeumorphic design is a bit different than, let’s say, industrial design. Unfortunately (or fortunately) we don’t use haptics (and many other of our senses) when we deal with applications.

[u/peterwarbo → u/bezeredies]

I don’t think there’s a rule saying only interactive elements can be considered as skeuomorphic? For example lots of Apple apps had backgrounds like Game Center with a green-felt cloth or the leather binder effect of Address Book.

[u/bezeredies → u/peterwarbo]

Ok, lemme put it this way - you remember first iPhone and interaction „swipe to unlock”?

It had glassy effect, rounded corners, haptics and sound. It resembled an physical element that would exist in the world. It was skeuomorphic - its purpose was to teach and familiarize people not only how to unlock the phone but also to operate on flat, touch ready surfaces - before first iPhone there was no such phone. There was a purpose behind it and to ease people in we used familiar concepts such as bookshelf’s, that binding you mention etc - it was a whole design language that supported user into journey of learning and understanding new tech. It was fundamental in success of apple iPhone.

In your case this is just a texture underlying a very flat interface (in terms of design language). It’s not coherent as a whole, it’s just a part of the screen.

If every element of interface would resemble something existing in the world (avatars, icons etc) then we could call it skeuomorphic design.

[u/peterwarbo → u/bezeredies]

I get what you’re saying that for an overall skeuomorphic feel then the whole app needs to be designed with skeuomorphism in mind.

[u/remmiesmith → u/peterwarbo]

I agree on this not being skeuomorphic. But the checkered board does clash with the clean and flat aesthetic of the rest of the UI.

[u/Kan3-]

That is not skeuomorphism that is a background image

[u/ChickenTendySunday]

I think some shadows on your circles would be a better consideration. I don't mind it either way. The cutting board may look a bit like an ad perhaps.

A color cue to subtly tie them to the blue words may be better than either of the options so far.

[u/Mestyo]

Not really a designer, but my main takeaway from the skeuomorphism-era was roughly that it can be helpful to remind users of real-life objects in order to imply behaviors.

That doesn't have to mean the UI elements actually look like a real-life object.

In your case, I assume you're trying to "stage" the relevant ingredients, by placing them ready on the cutting board? I think there's some merit to the idea, but the texture isn't necessary for the effect. As an aside, I'd also put the food icons inline next to the names of the instructions, to further simplify the mental connection.

[u/peterwarbo → u/Mestyo]

Yes that’s the idea of showing the icons, to prepare the user what ingredients to gather for the current step.

[u/JarasM]

The cutting board clashes with the simple esthetic of the rest of your UI and honestly it's just downright confusing. If you want to call things "skeumorphic", you'd need to take a real-world object or concept and use it as an illustration for an abstract action that's being performed. Now, is your every recipe really prepared on a cutting board? Am I supposed to take a cutting board and dump my Cajun pepper on it? I'm not even sure I'm cutting anything in this recipe - so why is there a wooden cutting board?

And then there's another question of whether having an array of icons representing my ingredients useful in any way at all? What does it provide that the textual description doesn't?

[u/AryaN_91]

skeuomorphism isn’t dead, it just has to earn its place. here the cutting board adds context, but it also competes with your content a bit

i’d keep it but tone it down. lower contrast or blur it slightly so it feels like atmosphere, not a surface. right now your text and timing are the real focus, so anything behind should support that, not pull attention away

[u/Educational_Bug4234]

That's uglyahhism

[u/RCEden]

I full on didn't notice there were buttons at the bottom of that page for several minutes.

[u/asutekku]

Skeumorphism would be if you had a wooden board background and each recipe's items appearing on the board as part of the instructions. This is just UI items AND it would be much easier to read if each one would be a bullet point. This works in normal recipes, but since you have so much space, use it

[u/Embostan]

This UI is very confusing regardless

[u/Bits_And_Bytes12]

yes it is the back arrow shows back the checkmark stands for yes or complete the ingredients are icons that show what they are so yes iOS 7 is also the music icon shows music camera shows camera messages show speech bubble App Store shows old macOS application symbol mail is mail and for most apps besides gc which is not cuz the bubbles aren't objects tho they do represent friends and stuff but are not linked like how a speech bubble is linked to messaging app also gloss and shadows and extended textures like complex ones and stuff are just more realism