Been seeing so much about the new AirBnB icons, but haven't gotten around to watching the recording.
One thing that hasn't been noted as prominently is the original intent of skeuomorphism; formerly, its function was to make a new concept more intelligible. (i.e. iPhone Notes app looked like a yellow legal pad, trying to signal to users that it was familiar and could be used in much the same way.)
Skeuomorphism was the unification of UX and UI. Now, it's signaling care/some sense of humanity in digital platforms--is the new skeuomorphism still a dual conveyance, not of function but values? Idk feels kind of different, but very familiar.
Great piece, thinking of exploring some of this in my coming pieces!
Having listened to design folks at Config on & off stage, having heard the echo of Jony speaking across the street, I think I could feel some hope around indeed. People feel that they are regaining the power — through tools, through broader palette, through the increasing value of taste.
It’s definitely not doomsday talk. I myself is definitely more inspired than anxious lately too
Hard agree. There’s a real sense of momentum building, especially coming out of Config. The tools are better, the bar is higher, and there’s a growing belief that taste can be a competitive edge again. Designers reclaiming authorship not just over pixels, but over product direction is definitely a shift.
Glad to hear you’re feeling more inspired than anxious. Same here.
I wonder if as interfaces have converged on the chat-for-everything model that is almost the logical conclusion of flat design, essentially back to command line, there is an intrinsic counter trend and desire for more tactile design. Especially since "designing the thing" is still much more natural than "designing the words" for most designers.
Nice article, and like your thinking, but I don't think I agree with this:
'Taste doesn’t always translate to traction. Sometimes it does. After a dip post-earnings, Airbnb’s stock jumped following the design-led Summer Release. Investors weren’t reacting to new booking flows or celebrity add-ons. They were reacting to a signal: that Airbnb, with Jony in the wings, is betting on brand, not just bookings.'
It's not that investor are thinking like this. They see a new investment, in a new area, new product, new features that non of the competitors have. The bet on a new product injection, which enriches the brand. Design is helping a business change, not as the sole factor.
So good to see that we are again talking about the role of taste in design. Recently, I saw a few experts questioning the taste in design—mostly saying that taste is unnecessary and contrary to the design practice.
Woah! This newsletter took me 2 hours to read, because of the amount of resources and links you have mentioned! I was going down a rabbit hole of the trends and i'm very hyped to know Design is going so far. I love how such a big company like Airbnb has changed their icon set to something we didn't imagine! Honestly, its nice that we are emerging out of the flat icon set, I'm so bored of keeping the same ones and this is refreshing.
Been seeing so much about the new AirBnB icons, but haven't gotten around to watching the recording.
One thing that hasn't been noted as prominently is the original intent of skeuomorphism; formerly, its function was to make a new concept more intelligible. (i.e. iPhone Notes app looked like a yellow legal pad, trying to signal to users that it was familiar and could be used in much the same way.)
Skeuomorphism was the unification of UX and UI. Now, it's signaling care/some sense of humanity in digital platforms--is the new skeuomorphism still a dual conveyance, not of function but values? Idk feels kind of different, but very familiar.
Great piece, thinking of exploring some of this in my coming pieces!
EDIT: https://midstlabs.substack.com/p/skin-deep-human-centered-design?r=4vjp90
Having listened to design folks at Config on & off stage, having heard the echo of Jony speaking across the street, I think I could feel some hope around indeed. People feel that they are regaining the power — through tools, through broader palette, through the increasing value of taste.
It’s definitely not doomsday talk. I myself is definitely more inspired than anxious lately too
Hard agree. There’s a real sense of momentum building, especially coming out of Config. The tools are better, the bar is higher, and there’s a growing belief that taste can be a competitive edge again. Designers reclaiming authorship not just over pixels, but over product direction is definitely a shift.
Glad to hear you’re feeling more inspired than anxious. Same here.
I wonder if as interfaces have converged on the chat-for-everything model that is almost the logical conclusion of flat design, essentially back to command line, there is an intrinsic counter trend and desire for more tactile design. Especially since "designing the thing" is still much more natural than "designing the words" for most designers.
Nice article, and like your thinking, but I don't think I agree with this:
'Taste doesn’t always translate to traction. Sometimes it does. After a dip post-earnings, Airbnb’s stock jumped following the design-led Summer Release. Investors weren’t reacting to new booking flows or celebrity add-ons. They were reacting to a signal: that Airbnb, with Jony in the wings, is betting on brand, not just bookings.'
It's not that investor are thinking like this. They see a new investment, in a new area, new product, new features that non of the competitors have. The bet on a new product injection, which enriches the brand. Design is helping a business change, not as the sole factor.
So good to see that we are again talking about the role of taste in design. Recently, I saw a few experts questioning the taste in design—mostly saying that taste is unnecessary and contrary to the design practice.
Taste is the atomic unit of our product judgment, product sense, and design sense. I wrote about it recently: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/building-our-taste-design-content-vinish-garg--mhfvc/
*meryl streep standing ovation gif*
Woah! This newsletter took me 2 hours to read, because of the amount of resources and links you have mentioned! I was going down a rabbit hole of the trends and i'm very hyped to know Design is going so far. I love how such a big company like Airbnb has changed their icon set to something we didn't imagine! Honestly, its nice that we are emerging out of the flat icon set, I'm so bored of keeping the same ones and this is refreshing.