… a lot of today’s visual language is about clean simplicity, executed well. It reflects a maturity to the aesthetics of digital design that has been developing for decades, a process that for periods was held back by amateurism or an under-appreciation of the value of beauty and clarity in software. It is now safe to go online without fear your eyeballs will be accosted by crimes against taste. As an industry we should be proud of this.

Some claim the trend towards minimalism is a sign of more mature users: innately familiar with how to interact with UIs, they no longer need to be hit over the head with obviously-pressable beveled buttons. The training wheels have come off, and so designers are free to express themselves stylistically again, less encumbered by the obligation to educate. Finally the smaller size of mobile screens has contributed, most naturally accommodating simpler, less fussy designs.

Emmet Connolly.