First there were complaints over Apple’s skeuomorphic icons and their inherent cheesiness. Then there were objections to Apple’s redesigned iO7 — once again, for cheesiness. Now, a group of animation students from Kingston University have created a 3D model village of sorts, which pictures Apple apps coming to life in all of their skeuomorphic glory.

While Apple has learned that you can’t please all of the people all of the time, this newly produced video, titled Skew, scores its share of pleasing points. Using models built from fiberboard, card stock and paper, everything from the alarm clock to the newsstand app comes to kitschy life. Their video recalls to mind that real life isn’t slick or glitch-free, and that’s okay. Skeuomorphism may have, in large part, seen its day; but that doesn’t mean realism has to fall by the wayside. In fact, if this clever video is any indication, we haven’t seen the last of it yet.

Do you think skeuomorphic design is a thing of the past? Have you used it in your own work? Let us know in the comments.