Who do I assign blame to for horrible modern UX design? Is it the hubris of designers who believe that the constraints of the human body should be felled by minimalist purity? Is it bean counters who weaponize industrial psychology to create flat, boring UI to increase engagement/addiction? Is it the average technology user who has simply become too stupid to use anything other than a touchscreen? Why does it seem like everyone I've talked to about this agrees that basically all modern technology products are boring and uninspired compared to just 15 years ago, but it also seems like we keep building (and buying) boring, uninspired technology products?
I’m a dev not a designer, but I’d personally point to a few things:
- An influx of print/commercial/etc designers into UI design, who lack the full suite of knowledge and skills to design usable UI, crowding out the UI designer old guard
- The likes of Dribbble and other social media kicking off self reinforcing minimalism trends within the field
- The rise of “UI as branding” which places brand identity far above practical usability in terms of priorities
There are other factors like indie devs not wanting to hire a designer for their projects and just phoning that part in (which flat is conducive to), but they don’t have nearly as much sway on industry trends at large.
