An interface that calls attention to itself is one that has, in some essential way, failed. The best tools are the ones that disappear — not because they are minimalist by aesthetic preference, but because they have understood their own purpose clearly enough to step out of the way.
Boring, in this sense, is a term of high praise. It means: I used this for an hour and did not notice it. I found what I was looking for without thinking about where to look.
// what a boring interface feels like in practice:
// — you open it and start immediately
// — you close it and remember the work, not the toolThe interfaces I return to are boring in this way. They have resolved their contradictions. They do not ask me to learn a new metaphor each time a feature is added.
Consistency is the most invisible feature. You only notice it when it breaks.
There is a whole design culture built around delight — microinteractions, animations, personality. I do not think these are wrong. I think they are usually attempted before the boring parts are done. The boring parts are the foundation. The delight only lands when the foundation does not wobble.