> We are living in the era of the “Bouba” effect.

Is this an invented bit of humor ... or an existing usage applied to the prevalence of rounded corners we see (once again) in User Interfaces of today?

(The original term has nothing to do with web design or UI per se)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bouba/kiki_effect

Edit: i see the article goes on to explain the term in context.

But I feel the sharp corners versus round corners is a design/fad cycle that will keep repeating.

We will see sharp corners once again in vogue within the next decade if not sooner.

It will start small with one or two players wanting to distinguish their offering from the crowd, and one of them seeing success, and others copying them slowly at first and then it catches on.

It was definitely a bit of invented humor! I wanted a sticky way to describe that universal drift toward "friendliness" and safety in modern UI.

You are spot on about the cycle, though. I suspect that once everything is perfectly round and polished, the only way to stand out will be to go sharp again.