During its big executive shuffle last fall, Apple put expert designer Jony Ive in charge of all HI (Human Interface). And since then, there has been non-stop speculation regarding what kind of changes might be made to the ever-aging iOS.
And a lot of folks are wondering what the operating system would look like without all of the skeuomorphism — the leather, etc. textures. Well designer Adrian Maciburko might be on the right track with his “Crystal Interface” concept…
If you recognize the name, it’s because Maciburko has produced a lot of popular concepts over the years, including smart watches and an iPad-based iTV remote. And above are images of his vision (via Cult of Mac) for a cleaner iOS 7.
Both the Game Center and Notes apps have been redesigned using Maciburko’s “Crystal Interface” concept, which he says tries to find a balance between skeuomorphism-heavy iOS apps and the more digital metro UI of Windows Phone.
In his explanation of the concept, I think he nails Apple’s biggest challenge in revamping iOS:
“The idea behind my Crystal Interface concept came from trying to find a balance between current skeuomorphism heavy iOS apps and the more digital metro UI on Windows phone. The challenge was finding a way for the platform to evolve without making drastic changes because it needed to remain familiar to the huge iOS user base.
I believe a balance between the two directions may be possible. Like Apple focusing on the content and letting hardware fade away into the background, the same needs to happen for the UI.”
While we tend to write off most concepts because they’re “too far out there,” I think Maciburko’s is tame enough that we could see something similar from Apple in the future. Though its efforts, obviously, would come with a bit more polish.
What are your thoughts on the above concept?