Skeuomorphism

Skeuomorphism: is the design concept of making items represented resemble their real-world counterparts and is commonly used in design fields such as architecture, interior design, ceramics, user interface (UI), and Web design. Your trash bin on your computer is an example.

“Skeuomorphism helped a generation through the learning curve of coming to grips with a digital era. But, it also began to hold us back. We became familiar with the concepts and they entered the language and our day-to-day lives but skeuomorphic design led to huge amounts of clutter on the desktop. They brought too many useless details to our computers which we no longer needed.”

However, the concept is making a comeback through smartwatches! More on skeuomorphism here.