Interface in your face.
posted Jun 25, 2007, 09:21 PM | 0 Comments
Regardless of whether or not it takes the cell phone world by storm, we'll look back at the iPhone hype as the moment when interface design hit the mainstream. The iPhone TV ads show a hand using the device, and nothing more. The iPhone retail kiosk displays only a large screen version of the OS.
Apple isn't showing us stylized people dancing with iPod headphones. They're not showing us the physical product flying through swirly animations with fast motion and "Hello Moto" catch phrases. There's no MSN butterfly to distract us or XP landscapes to convince us that What You Do Will Be More Fun.
After 30 years of personal computers, 25 years of video game consoles, 20 years of digital watches and microwaves, 15 years of ATM proliferation, 12 years of the internet, 8 years of cell phones in our pockets, and 5 years of touch screens in airports and subway stations, good interface design has become something that everyone can appreciate. It's become a primary selling point for the general public, and soon it'll be a requirement.
You can't put that shit back into the bag.