Re: Another NNGroup post on the problems with Flat design.

I agree with Mike there, less on drop-shadows, but things like bevels on buttons make them stand out as interactive.

It is hard to separate the issues (flat design, less contrast, the higher-res displays that supposedly make these possible), but ‘affordance’ (in Don Norman’s original meaning from POET) is being lost, therefore it is cognitively harder.

The examples where you simply have text as a button, with no background repeatedly got me, like the 1st example here:
http://blog.teamtreehouse.com/affordances-web-design


Over time I’ve gotten more used to it, and a very consistent design can help (e.g. that bit of text in that location is always a button), but *some* uses of flat design are not due to contrast, and are making understanding interfaces harder.

Like any design trend though, I think we’ll move on at some stage. Maybe big bevels will make a come back?

Cheers,

-Alastair