Comment by quacked

7 days ago

I deeply, deeply despise the Figma-style design language that everything uses now, where there's barely any indication of what's clickable vs. what isn't and every screen is an endlessly-scrolling set of tiles and pills.

No borders, no button depth, no hyperlinks, huge swaths of blank monochrome space, menus distributed randomly, and my least favorite software design element of all time--scroll bars that aren't visible unless you're actively scrolling, but there actually are additional options on the list hidden in the borderless flat color below or above the list, so it looks like there's a static menu when in fact it's a scroll list.

I realize that I do not represent the most common user and that most people prefer as few clicked interactions with their software as possible (and also as little reading or learning as is possible), but I have vivid memories of when I could control computers and applications like I was at the command deck of a vehicle, and I greatly miss those days.

That has nothing to do with Figma. That's all due to Jony-Ive-Deiter-Rams cargo-cult design thinking. I think liquid glass will remedy that specific issue (while introducing all new ones...)

  • Really? Every Figma mockup I've ever seen appears to be imitating that exact style. I don't think I've ever seen something different from any Figma product, even in their own advertisements. I thought it was a classic case of the tool/process constraining the design outputs, like those 5-over-1 designs that every new apartment building looks like.

    • Designers were doing minimalism before they were using Figma. Figma is just a tool that spawned in the middle of the minimalism cargo-cult era.

      FWIW, minimalism was a super-convenient solution that helped developers avoid responsive skeuomorphism. The issue at hand is simply due to designers who poorly execute minimalism, either through ignorance or fanaticism. It's kinda like people who still, enthusiastically, stand in line for new iPhones.

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