6 ms·

Is anyone else getting really, really bored of the term "beautiful" being bandied around so much in this type of context? It has long ceased to mean anything a

by jgw 14y ago

Is anyone else getting really, really bored of the term "beautiful" being bandied around so much in this type of context? It has long ceased to mean anything at all. I understand the importance of aesthetics in design, but it seems odd to show off the design under the banner "bright, beautiful stories" - surely that depends on the stories?

brown9-2 14y ago
It's also a bit meaningless since no one ever wants to describe the thing they just designed as not being "beautiful".
joonix 14y ago
Beautiful, amazing, and "super" are the three most overused and annoying words that the young hipster tech community uses.
- enqk 14y ago
  Gorgeous!
- citricsquid 14y ago
  gorgeous is becoming pretty common too
- triplesec 14y ago
  that was an amazing observation!
  - triplesec 14y ago
    to note carefully some data here, joonix said in his last post on HN: "G+, Android, and the Note II. A beautiful combination. Unfortunately, nobody I know uses G+ so I don't check much."
    - joonix 14y ago
      I never said I wasn't part of the community ;)
- bsimpson 14y ago
  "Magical" and "revolutionary" if you're Steve Jobs or Phil Schiller.
  - pyrocat 14y ago
    Or Will Wright
- rhizome 14y ago
  "Rich"
- versk 14y ago
  Surely "Awesome" must take the top-spot
- shardling 14y ago
  "hipster" is the most overused and annoying word that the "complaining about things on the internet" community uses.
  - qwertzlcoatl 14y ago
    That's a really "crass" statement.
enraged_camel 14y ago
As a side note, what I liked about Steve Jobs is that he almost never used over-the-top adjectives to describe the products he was demonstrating. Rather, he used words like "cool" and "neat." This made him sound a lot more credible and convincing.
- jgw 14y ago
  That's interesting - it's actually Steve Jobs to whom I attribute this trend. I'm not really an Apple guy, though, so it may be a misperception on my part.
  - likpok 14y ago
    I'm not sure how true that is, given that every Apple product is billed as "The best foo yet."
    - enraged_camel 14y ago
      I don't think the word "best" has the same flair as "beautiful" or "gorgeous." It's actually a very simple word that conveys a very specific meaning. It's strong and perhaps even cocky, but I wouldn't say it's hipsterish or over-the-top.
- joelrunyon 14y ago
  He started using the word "magical" in some of the ads & announcements if I recall correctly.
  - melvinram 14y ago
    That was used to describe the iPad. I'd argue it was a magical device relative to what was on the market at the time.
- mehulkar 14y ago
  The couple keynotes I've watched Steve Jobs used more superlatives than I thought necessary. And he used them over and over again.
paperkettle 14y ago
I agree but why take particular issue with this bit of marketing speak? Wouldn't you say that almost all self-deployed marketing adjectives are disposable?
jimray 14y ago
"Delightful" is the trend word I'm waiting to die
mnicole 14y ago
You don't want a ~beautiful, hand-crafted, pixel-perfect experience built with love~?
return0 14y ago
I am! Truth and beauty are universal ideals. Overfixating on beauty may weigh against a simple but honest design although, it's Facebook stories so how else can they improve them other than beautifying them? There is no other way to make the 19999th picture of your cat remain interesting.

by jgw 14y ago

brown9-2 14y ago

It's also a bit meaningless since no one ever wants to describe the thing they just designed as not being "beautiful".

joonix 14y ago

Beautiful, amazing, and "super" are the three most overused and annoying words that the young hipster tech community uses.

enqk 14y ago
Gorgeous!
citricsquid 14y ago
gorgeous is becoming pretty common too
triplesec 14y ago
that was an amazing observation!
- triplesec 14y ago
  to note carefully some data here, joonix said in his last post on HN: "G+, Android, and the Note II. A beautiful combination. Unfortunately, nobody I know uses G+ so I don't check much."
  - joonix 14y ago
    I never said I wasn't part of the community ;)
bsimpson 14y ago
"Magical" and "revolutionary" if you're Steve Jobs or Phil Schiller.
- pyrocat 14y ago
  Or Will Wright
rhizome 14y ago
"Rich"
versk 14y ago
Surely "Awesome" must take the top-spot
shardling 14y ago
"hipster" is the most overused and annoying word that the "complaining about things on the internet" community uses.
- qwertzlcoatl 14y ago
  That's a really "crass" statement.

enraged_camel 14y ago

As a side note, what I liked about Steve Jobs is that he almost never used over-the-top adjectives to describe the products he was demonstrating. Rather, he used words like "cool" and "neat." This made him sound a lot more credible and convincing.

jgw 14y ago
That's interesting - it's actually Steve Jobs to whom I attribute this trend. I'm not really an Apple guy, though, so it may be a misperception on my part.
- likpok 14y ago
  I'm not sure how true that is, given that every Apple product is billed as "The best foo yet."
  - enraged_camel 14y ago
    I don't think the word "best" has the same flair as "beautiful" or "gorgeous." It's actually a very simple word that conveys a very specific meaning. It's strong and perhaps even cocky, but I wouldn't say it's hipsterish or over-the-top.
joelrunyon 14y ago
He started using the word "magical" in some of the ads & announcements if I recall correctly.
- melvinram 14y ago
  That was used to describe the iPad. I'd argue it was a magical device relative to what was on the market at the time.
mehulkar 14y ago
The couple keynotes I've watched Steve Jobs used more superlatives than I thought necessary. And he used them over and over again.

paperkettle 14y ago

I agree but why take particular issue with this bit of marketing speak? Wouldn't you say that almost all self-deployed marketing adjectives are disposable?

jimray 14y ago

"Delightful" is the trend word I'm waiting to die

mnicole 14y ago

You don't want a ~beautiful, hand-crafted, pixel-perfect experience built with love~?

return0 14y ago

I am! Truth and beauty are universal ideals. Overfixating on beauty may weigh against a simple but honest design although, it's Facebook stories so how else can they improve them other than beautifying them? There is no other way to make the 19999th picture of your cat remain interesting.