I think the OP is underestimating the sheer speed at which our expectations for design/functionality have been going up.
A good looking static page is really a problem of the past at this point. We're moving much faster into the realm of high standards for more innovative UI/data presentation.
Just take the IOS Youtube app for example. It's simple as shit, looks rather good, and it has a solid UI/UX to switch to fullscreen, scroll through comments, etc. It's not groundbreaking stuff, but it's a notch above.
If we use Google apps as a baseline, then it's fair to say the threshold for what's acceptable is moving up, fast. The Youtube app is more or less just presenting info as basic lists, with image thumbnails. Is that the best way to represent a playlist, comments? Maybe it is, but we're just at the beginning of exploring how to fully present information, create an experience, all of which needs to look and feel good. If you stop at 'it looks good enough', you're going to get outpaced.
Just take the IOS Youtube app for example. It's simple as shit, looks rather good, and it has a solid UI/UX to switch to fullscreen, scroll through comments, etc. It's not groundbreaking stuff, but it's a notch above.
If we use Google apps as a baseline, then it's fair to say the threshold for what's acceptable is moving up, fast. The Youtube app is more or less just presenting info as basic lists, with image thumbnails. Is that the best way to represent a playlist, comments? Maybe it is, but we're just at the beginning of exploring how to fully present information, create an experience, all of which needs to look and feel good. If you stop at 'it looks good enough', you're going to get outpaced.