Why do browser updates keep fucking with the basic interface design? None of these changes are ever necessary.
If designers need to justify their jobs, fine. They should design the interface layout with modular components that can be entirely customized by the user.
IMO no user should ever be forced to use designs that are the product of meaningless fads in the design world.
From what I understand, the question is similar to “why do developers keep inventing new frameworks and new programming languages?”
Maybe developers are justifying their jobs. Maybe younger developers are excited about ditching the old crufty frameworks and languages, and exploring something new. Maybe every 10 years they reinvent the old wheels, and older developers are grumpy that the change was not needed in the first place.
Creating new browsers doesn't bother me at all. I think the appropriate analogy is something closer to changing the spelling of a language's keywords arbitrarily. Change for the sake of change, which is easy enough to adjust to, but introduces a transition period that costs time, for no good reason.
The backward compatibility effects aren't quite as bad in the browser context... except when the plugin API is affected.
Right: every profession does stupid stuff I am sure, and developers certainly waste a lot of time throwing away good code to start over again; but I think today we are talking about designers?
Toolbars in mac apps tend to be really good about this. I didn't realize (coming from Windows) that many apps (Notes, Safari, Mail, Finder, others) are using the built-in toolbar system, which gives you a very large degree of customization. That experience seems to be the default, and even third-party apps like Fork often use it.
Browsers like this exist, but require configuration you're probably not willing to set up. If that's the case, then perhaps it's safe to say that most people just don't care enough.
If designers need to justify their jobs, fine. They should design the interface layout with modular components that can be entirely customized by the user.
IMO no user should ever be forced to use designs that are the product of meaningless fads in the design world.