Realistic vs Practical User Interface Design

Aaron Weyenberg wrote an excellent article asking Is Realistic UI Design Realistic? He cites some great examples of the glut of skeuomorphic design cues making their way into UI design recently, especially on the iOS platform. (Dribbble’s popular shots are often icons or illustrated elements straddling that real/fake line as well.) Aaron does a great job of discussing tradeoffs, inconsistencies, and shortcomings of the skeuomorphic route.