Here at FS Studio, we have been playing with the latest Beta of iOS 7 and there’s a lot to like. They are starting to tweak the design a little to combat the initial starkness of the ultra-Flat UI design direction. The thing that jumped out at me was the re-introduction of some skeuomorphic elements. There are some that work and some that definitely don’t work. Personally I prefer a semi-Flat UI design over a strictly flat design. Things like a very subtle shadow or a slight embossment, that works for me. Check out some of these elements that have popped up:
The Good
Skeuomorphic UI Design Switch:
This is nice a subtle and introduces a little fun into the UX/User Interface. They have a nice little animation as the switch animates. It invites you to touch it.
Drop-Shadow:
This is a very subtle treatment of drop-shadow which can make proud elements that you want to highlight or bring to slight prominence.
Embossment:
This is similar to the subtle drop-shadow effect, it helps cue the user into the functionality and implies functionality. This is one of the issues with a strictly flat design is that distinguishing functional interactive elements from non-interactive elements.
The Ugly
Texture:
This just seems a little ham-handed and is a hold over to the pre iOS7 design. I’m not saying that you can’t have texture in a semi-flat treatment, but flat is all about style and polish. If you haven’t noticed already the keyword is subtle.
