[thedanbob]

I think you've nailed it. It's the business version of "let's make learning fun!" Even the article mentions this:

> Bank interfaces use pastels, rounded corners and soft drop shadows to make mundane or unpleasant tasks more "fun.”

I think I lean more toward your position than the article's. I would probably refer to this trend as the infantilization of product design.

Edit: I was wondering why I had that particular word in my head. A comment further down:

> Recently discussed, an article with an almost synonymous title: “On Infantilization in Digital Environments (2015)”

> https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22490089

[ComodoHacker]

Yes, infantilization is the right term. And it's main function is to suppress critical thinking of the product.

[basch]

neoteny or an imitation of neoteny.