A skeuomorph /ˈskjuːəmɔrf/ [skyoo-uh-mawrf], or skeuomorphism (Greek: skeuos—vessel or tool, morphe—shape) is a design element of a product that imitates design elements functionally necessary in the original product design, but which have become ornamental in the new design.[1]
Skeuomorphs may be deliberately employed to make the new look comfortably old and familiar,[2] for example when fabric upholstery is replaced with vinyl and includes simulated cloth stitching.[3] An alternative definition is "an element of design or structure that serves little or no purpose in the artifact fashioned from the new material but was essential to the object made from the original material".[4] This definition is narrower in scope and ties skeuomorphs to changes in materials.
Skeuomorphism is differentiated from path dependence in technology, where functional behavior is maintained when the reasons for its design no longer exist.
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