Consistency, But in Excellence Not Appearance
Modern software design overemphasizes visual consistency, making icons generic rather than iconic. Apple's app icons evolved from distinctive individual designs to a uniform, predictable set. The article argues for a "consistency of excellence"—prioritizing quality and purpose over superficial visual uniformity.
Background
Jim Nielsen is a software engineer and design commentator who blogs about the intersection of visual design and software development. This post critiques a trend in modern UI design: prioritizing visual consistency (uniform shapes, gradients, lighting) across an entire suite of app icons at the expense of individual character. He illustrates this with Apple's "Creator Studio" concept — a rumored or aspirational redesign where all pro apps (Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, etc.) would share identical dark-background, simplified icons. Nielsen contrasts that with Apple's original skeuomorphic icons (detailed, 3D-looking, each visually unique) which he argues are more memorable and "iconic" because they refuse to look alike. The core argument: systems-thinking and design rules (easy to document and enforce) can cap excellence, whereas aiming for quality in each element individually produces a deeper, more meaningful kind of consistency.