>>106623049
>9/11 killed optimism
that's a typical retarded american-centric "the world revolves around us" mentality. the real change was that manufacturing processes kept evolving and a lot of product manufacturing processes got cheaper, which is why you got mass market electronics made of aluminium etc
corporate profit minmaxing on top of that means you now go for the cheapest "no, i swear it's premium" aesthetic possible.
flat design was quicker to make, and required less artistic intent, so the artists you had to hire also took smaller paychecks (and you needed less of them)