Just take a look at behance.com and look through the web design, ui/ux categories.
Here's a link to an article published on TheNextWeb. I think we need to go with what's trending. The trend is your friend:
http://thenextweb.com/dd/2015/07/24/6-design-trends-taking-over-the-web/
Also take a look at the Tickr open data platform website on your phone and on your computer. Pay attention to the UI/UX and not the product.
tickr.com
IMHO this is the direction we need to go in. Simplicity in design and user experience is key in todays mobile sites, websites, software, and mobile applications. Notice how most websites, mobile sites, and software are similar to mobile apps.
I couldn't get tickr.com to load, and I think bitshares.org is as good if not better than behance. I know the new trend is to use a bunch of flash and expanding menus, but I believe that clutters many web pages. We are trying to convey a message that our platform is robust, clean, and efficient. The people we are trying to get to build around our technology don't need flash and pizzazz, they need consistency and reliability. I believe the current bitshares.org website does this very well.
I have to disagree. The trend is simple, minimalist, flat design styles, most sites don't use flash design. I think that those design styles do convey a clean and efficient platform. I think the people we are trying to get to build around our tech is everybody. The back-end may be consistent and reliable, but what about the front end? UI/UX is about communication. How could we tell Bitshares story with a outdated design? Did you look in the categories and not the behance website itself?
This goes back to having 3rd parties develop wallets. Currently limewallet, web wallet, and desktop wallet are the only versions available. Soon moonstone will be released as another wallet. It will be up to 3rd parties to design wallets to attract users. They will get paid via referral fees that are automatically credited to their accounts for every transaction that their referred user makes.
The bitshares GUI that is in development is actually designed to be phased out of use as 3rd party solutions grow in numbers. This may not happen for years, so extra time is being spent on the wallet by cryptonomex to ensure that it is responsive and attractive.
If you feel that the wallets are unattractive, then that is an opportunity that you can capitalize on. Create a wallet design that you feel is better than everyone else's. If the market thinks yours is the best you will attract the most users and benefit from referral fees of every transaction your wallet user makes.