The Unbearable Sameness of Liquid Glass: A Critique of Apple's New Design System

In a recent announcement, Apple unveiled its new cross-platform design system, dubbed "Liquid Glass." This ambitious initiative aims to create a unified visual language for the company's various products and services across different platforms. However, upon closer inspection, it becomes apparent that Liquid Glass is more of a rehashing of existing design concepts than a revolutionary leap forward.

A World We Don't Live In

The problem with Liquid Glass lies in its assumption that we live in a world where all devices and platforms are identical, interchangeable, and optimized for the same user experience. Unfortunately, this reality is far from the truth. Our personal devices, from smartphones to smart home appliances, each have unique characteristics, use cases, and design constraints.

Designing a system that caters to these diverse needs requires a nuanced understanding of human behavior, context, and technological limitations. Liquid Glass's one-size-fits-all approach, on the other hand, neglects the very differences that make our devices special in the first place.

The Uninspired Use of Material Design

One of the most striking aspects of Liquid Glass is its reliance on Material Design, a design language introduced by Google in 2014. While Material Design's emphasis on card-based layouts, animations, and typography has been influential in modern app design, it has also become stale and overused.

The lack of creativity in Apple's implementation of Liquid Glass is evident in the numerous similarities between its various design elements. The use of rounded corners, white backgrounds, and subtle gradients to create a sense of depth and hierarchy feels like a rehashing of Material Design's core principles rather than an innovative interpretation.

A Focus on Aesthetics Over Functionality

Liquid Glass prioritizes visual appeal over functional usability. This is reflected in the system's emphasis on consistent typography, color schemes, and iconography, which, while pleasant to look at, often compromise the clarity and legibility of content.

In a world where information density and complexity are increasing, a design system that focuses solely on aesthetics risks creating an inaccessible experience for users who struggle with visual noise or have visual impairments. Apple's decision to overlook these concerns in favor of a more curated visual identity is disappointing, given the company's reputation for innovation.

The Unyielding Dominance of White

Another peculiar aspect of Liquid Glass is its fixation on white as the primary color scheme. This might seem like a harmless preference, but it has significant implications for usability and accessibility.

White backgrounds can be overwhelming for users with visual sensitivities or those who work with dark modes. Moreover, in an era where screen time is increasingly spent indoors, the prevalence of white interfaces can contribute to eye strain and fatigue.

The Illusion of Unification

Apple's marketing efforts around Liquid Glass aim to create a sense of cohesion and continuity across its products and services. However, this supposed unity is often revealed as a shallow veneer when one considers the fundamental differences between devices.

For instance, a 12-inch MacBook and an iPhone have distinct form factors, display types, and user interfaces that cannot be easily bridged by a single design system. The attempt to create a seamless experience across these disparate platforms feels like trying to fit square pegs into round holes.

A Design System for a World We Don't Live In

In conclusion, Liquid Glass represents Apple's attempts to impose a uniform visual identity on its diverse product lineup. While the intention is laudable, the execution falls short of expectations due to its uninspired design choices and neglect of usability concerns.

Designing a system that caters to our unique needs requires a more nuanced understanding of human behavior, technological limitations, and context. Liquid Glass's failure to address these complexities leaves us with an unremarkable design language that fails to deliver on its promises.

A Message for Apple and Designers

As designers, we must recognize the value of nuance and contextualism in our work. We should strive to create systems that not only look good but also function well, catering to diverse user needs and technological constraints.

Apple's attempt to impose Liquid Glass on its ecosystem serves as a reminder that innovation often lies at the intersection of form and function. While it may be tempting to aim for visual consistency, we must prioritize usability, accessibility, and contextual relevance in our design endeavors.

A Call to Action

As designers, users, and critics, let us raise our voices against the uninspired design choices that plague Liquid Glass. Let us advocate for a more inclusive, adaptive, and innovative approach to design that acknowledges our complexities as humans and our devices as diverse entities.

The world is not yet ready for a single, monolithic design system like Liquid Glass. Instead, we need a diverse range of designs that cater to our unique needs, celebrating our differences while fostering innovation and progress in the process.