In all fairness, I hope we wouldn’t. OOUI has so much more elements that have no alternative in Apex theme, even accessible checkboxes are not present in Apex (see https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T162849). Retiring Apex, not reinstating it, seems like the best solution at this point, since Wikimedia developers and designers have a pretty average track record when it comes to consistent development of alternative solutions (e. g., current skins).
The research itself is a bit misleading and sensationalising: it doesn’t compare stylistic elements of flat design and skeuomorphism, it essentially compares bad design practices (bad styling of CTA/primary button, styling tabs like some kind of buttons, styling links like text) and good practices. It should not be taken at word, although usually Nielsen Norman Group have good points in their studies.
On 06/09/2017 13:22, Bartosz Dziewoński wrote:
OOUI was originally created with a classic design for buttons and other fields, and that theme (now called 'Apex') is still available and maintained. https://doc.wikimedia.org/oojs-ui/master/demos/?theme=apex We could switch to it at a moment's notice. Personally I wouldn't mind seeing it again ;)
Still, buttons in the default theme are not entirely "flat", they have at least borders (or strong backgrounds) to distinguish them. The biggest problem is the existence of 'frameless' buttons (in both themes), which look just like normal text if they don't have an icon or something.