Why do so many platforms still look like they're from the MS-DOS era?
Seriously why do so many platforms look the same? GitHub, Discord, chatbots, open source apps, some messengers and social networks, even the occasional local grocery store website. Dark backgrounds, gray boxes everywhere, almost characterless and depressing, as if they were forced from the 80s. Sometimes it feels like the goal is for the UI to be something between a matchbox and an obituary. Is there an unwritten rule that the deader and uglier the UI is, the more professional it is?
Of course, I completely understand why these apps are simple. If you use something for 8 hours or more a day, you don't want flashy animations or a rainbow that explodes every time you click. Speed and simplicity are important But many developers have this mindset: "It works? Great, release it
as if focusing on visual design automatically means making the app slower or less professional. I really don't agree with that. You can keep the UI clean, light, and distraction-free while still making it look modern. Better spacing, typography, subtle depth, a little color, microinteractions...none of these should hurt performance. Especially for products that aren't built just for developers. I don't know, maybe I'm being weird here but I think minimalism and looking like a matchbox are two different things.
I'm curious what others think. (Of course, the image in this post is just an example and some people might not like it, but developers can definitely come up with something better)
