[vikram360]

I haven't been able to wrap my mind around the whole 'flat' concept. Could someone please explain what 'flat' really means. The only thing that I really notice about flat design that stands out is the color scheme and the don't-care-about-layers philosophy.

[lnanek2]

It used to be popular to make buttons 3D with gradient effects, gloss, and borders, both windows and buttons to have drop shadows, and also to use real world textures like leather and paper, and text labels and calls to action. This stems from a lot of research into user efficiency that showed users completed tasks easier and quicker and with higher satisfaction if the buttons looked like they stuck out and were pressable, had good labeling, etc..

Flat design basically gets rid of all this. It hasn't fared well in my own user studies. Users tend not to hit a button if it is just a flat icon tucked in a corner with nothing to clue them in that they should be hitting it or what it does. You are generally stuck in the first revision to put a tutorial overlay with a big arrow and text the first time the user comes to the screen.

The lack of text in this so you can't tell what any street is? That's very flat UI style. They hate text that clutters up their designs and tells people what things actually do. Proponents of flat design generally base their decision on the fact that it looks better to graphics designers looking at the app (instead of using it).

[ryanmerket]

This. Flat design may look 'cleaner' but that doesn't mean 'easier to use'. I echo your usability findings -- usability tests are showing flat design is much harder to use.

[vikram360]

Thanks :) I'd love to hear more about your user studies.