Apple made a round of executive changes this past week, and we're just starting to see now how those changes will affect the products that we use. With the departure of Scott Forstall, previously in charge of iOS software, Jony Ive will now have the position of Head of Human Interface added to his current position of Senior Vice President of Industrial Design.
So how does that wordy new title affect us, Apple's consumers? It's believed that in this new position, Ive will make changes to the textured interfaces of iOS and OS X. Forstall had the same design beliefs as Steve Jobs, and that was that software should replicate real-world objects, a process called skeuomorphism.
You can see skeuomorphism all over the current versions of iOS and OS X. Much of it has to do with a textured look, meant to look real. Most noticeably, you can see the green felt and wood in the look of the Game Center app. It very much has the look of a game table in a casino. The other native apps have a textured look as well, such as the Books and iTunes U apps having the look of a wooden bookcase, and the Pages app having a grey linen background.
Ive is known as not being a fan of skeuomorphism and is believed to prefer a cleaner, flatter look. It's assumed that he will start working his own influence in, despite the fact that many of Forstall's team are still in place within Apple. It's expected that “Clean edges, flat surfaces will likely replace the textures that are all over the place right now.”
It's also believed that some of that real-world object look will remain intact, as certain things like the emptying trash can and Passbook's paper shredder is a definite mark of an Apple product. It makes people feel safer to see the garbage disappear and see important information get “shredded.” While the objects will stick around, it's that texture that will most likely be done away with.
It leaves me a little excited to see iOS 7 or the next big cat version of OS X. I'm anxious to see what changes Ive will come up with. At the same time, it also makes me a little sad, as it's another mark of Steve Jobs that will soon be disappearing.
Ive Photo Credit : Apple.com
