The web has changed a great deal since its birth in the 1990s, from websites made up of simple text and blue links to the ability to build almost anything you can imagine.

Somewhere between then and now, technology started to evolve with programs like Flash. Designers were suddenly given the power to create visually rich graphics that could be used for the web. Websites started looking like real life objects that a user could relate to the real world. A blog could mimic a real life notebook - or anything else. This was great, so why are we now moving away from this trend?

Is something wrong if your website looks like a notebook? The answer is no, but this kind of website is a “physical metaphor.” When you design this way, you’re held within the constraints of what you are imitating: in this instance, sheets of paper bound by cardboard and metal.

So why the move (as seen on Apple's new iOS7) toward “flat”? When you rip away unnecessary ornamentation, you are left with something that is authentic, that serves its purpose and flows. Style is simply the natural outcome, served without any constraints.

Want to know more?

Read the article that inspired this post, written by Dmitry Fadeyev.