This thought came to me as I was watching the Asana town hall on Skeuomorphism vs. Simplicity.

Is the idea of using a skeuomorphic element in a modern design just a way of rehashing an old solution (with old constraints) to a modern implementation of that problem? Should the problem be re-evaluated with the constraints and affordances at hand? Or is the adage "if it ain't broke" valid?

My personal opinion is that you should be fulfilling the potential allowed by a medium, without compromising function. A lot of people think a leather texture in a twitter app is skeumorphism, but it's not. A leather texture in a calendar app that has digitally flipping pages is skeumorphism.

Two things to consider are experience and utility. In design, a lot of the time you are finding a happy medium between the two. Is the experience of digitally flipping a page in your calendar wort the tradeoff of a modern interface? Skeumorphism is appropriate sometimes, but not always. Is SM used as a crutch sometimes? Yes. But it's also used extremely well in other scenarios.

Totally a crutch. The benefits of providing a 'familiar' interface are detrimental short term wins. Why should we sacrifice design advancements in hopes that a user will feel more familiar with taking notes on a fake legal pad? Far less good can come from skuemorphism than pushing design forward. Superfluos constraints don't really help us explore the real or perceived constraints of the new world of devices we design for if we apply them only for the sake of familiarity.

I'm not sure it's specifically a crutch. Skeuomorphs Can be useful as a way for users to develop mental modals for concepts they may be unfamiliar with. Issues arrise when they get taken too far out of context. Functionality is lost in place of maintaining a "look and feel".

Take the desktop metaphor for the original Mac OS, it's a skeuomorph from the outset. Designed to make the computer more understandable to novice users, documents are placed in folders, which are in turn organized in a filing system configurable by the user (visual, lists. etc.) Before this metaphor the personal computer was a tool for professionals and hobbyists, since then, every man, woman, and child can understand how a file system on a computer operates.

There are many benefits to skeuomorphism. The largest of which is familiarity. Presenting a user with something they are already comfortable with dramatically helps the user instantly understand the purpose of the app as well as how to use it.

The term skeuomorphism has been thrown around recently associated with negative meaning. Fact is, it's nothing new. Re-creating the effects of light count (gloss, shadows, gradients, etc).

Though, there is a huge problem with re-creating real-life objects. There will be a point in time where the users don't understand these references because they are dated.

The secret is to find the unique characteristics that convey the message without dating itself.

Of course this does not apply to all designs.

I'd tend to agree with Jeff, but can also see validity to the posts by Tyler and Dan. Familiarity goes a very long way in guiding novice users through an intended procedure. Pez made reference to the original Mac OS desktop, and that's a classic example too.

I suppose I'm quite guilty of making things hyper realistic, and while this was originally done as a design exercise I tasked myself with, I've received some great feedback. Users know, just by looking at an interface, exactly what to do with it. They can almost 'feel' the weight of the buttons beneath their fingers etc., and in an age of increased digital sterility, I think skeuomorphs have the ability to make user experiences feel more organic.

Skeuomorphism somehow engages users and create emotional connections. This part might be true, but is also an assumption. A lot of things we use in real life, phone books, thermometers, clocks are just hideous to use. And I believe we designers, developers, founders, funders, investors, pioneers of technology, should move us forward by making these experiences simpler. That, is innovation. Not only the pixels you push, or the leather stitches you sew.

And let's not forget, we designers, are communicators. We create visual languages so humans can understand and use computers. We create interfaces so people can interact with them, and not only use them but improve them. A skeuomorph helps you communicate to your user better? Then go for it. But you better have a purpose. You need a purpose behind your design. Because design is the art of problem solving.

Wow, well said Karem.

Excellent response. Maybe a skeuomorph is a crutch, but people are trying to climb your hill with a broken foot.

Sorry… I'm trying to make an analogy to crutches. Oh wait… I think "crutch" is a skeuomorph?