Skeuomorphism vs Trompe-l'œil
スキューモーフィズム / トロンプ・ルイユ
Skeuomorphism comes from UI Expression and Trompe-l'œil from Painting Techniques. One is style and the other technique. They are reached for with different intent, which is the fastest way to tell them apart.
Skeuomorphism
Borrows cues from real materials and tools to make unknown interactions understandable. It names the principle, so Aqua and Brushed Metal are what the principle looked like when one company shipped it.
Trompe-l'œil
Hides the picture plane's boundary, aligning material, shadow and scale until you believe the thing is there.
| Skeuomorphism | Trompe-l'œil | |
|---|---|---|
| Era | 2000s–2010s | antiquity–present |
| Family | UI Expression | Painting Techniques |
| Kind | Style | Technique |
| Cues | Leather, metal, paper / Dimensional shadows / Real-world metaphors / Fine textures | Life size / Grounded shadows / Material rendering / Using the frame's edge |
| Best used for | Explaining new interactions through familiar tools · Crafted, tactile experiences | An entrance of surprise for products and exhibitions · Making the boundary between screen and reality the subject |
| Type | A humanist face suited to the purpose | Treat letters as painted objects too, or keep them outside the illusion |
| Composition | Adopt the structure of the real tool | Place life-size objects and shadows rigorously on a single plane |
| Material | Precision texture only where it serves function | Wood, paper, metal, wear, light from one direction |
| Caution | Ornament must not bury the interaction. Expect generations who don't share the metaphor. | Not mere realism. Design the viewpoint, distance and boundary that make the viewer misread. |