Last week, Apple released their newest operating
system for the iPhone: the iOS7. This update completely redesigned the
visual aspects of the phone to create a more simplistic feel. There are
new features, including more efficient multitasking options and the Control
Center to quickly access frequently used functions like the music, flashlight,
photos, and timer. (This is a very abbreviated overview of the new iOS7
features.)
When I was working on one of my peer editing assignments this week, I
made a connection between this new operation system and the debate between
print versus digital. In the operating
systems preceding iOS7, iPhone apps and features were based on “skeuomorphism”. This concept dates back to the late 19th
century when it was defined as “an ornamental design derived from the structure
of an earlier form of a particular object.”[1] In connection to the iPhone, this means that
features, like the address book, were designed so that they look like the
actual object would: a spiral booklet of lined paper. Another definition from economist.com
explains that “skeuomorphism refers only to those vestigial elements in nature
or artifact that survive from an original form, even though they are no longer
required.”[2] So the address book on the iPhone clearly
does not require spirals and actual paper, but it was designed in this way in
order to connect with the original printed version of this technology.
The iOS7 update trashes the skeuomorphic approach, striving for ease and
efficiency. My question is this: is the
eradication of skeuomorphism another step towards the absolute domination of
the digital world over the print world? Although I do not think this is possible…what is the meaning of these
technological developments that continuously break from the past? Are they solely for ease-of-access purposes or can these advances somehow be categorized as
control technologies? How will consumers
react to simplicity over skeuomorphic design?
Let me know what you think!
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