If you find yourself on LinkedIn or other similar platforms at least once a day, you must regularly see posts from budding or experienced designers asking for your opinion regarding which UI design “is better”? While a bunch of us aimlessly hit the “Like” button to indicate our preference, there are some who spend a reasonable amount of time drafting long answers to help improve the design. Design is everywhere; we only have to look for it and dig a little deeper.
Why Staying Up-to-date is Crucial?
First impressions are often lasting, not just in life or when you’re meeting someone for the first time. So, no matter how useful or practical your product or website is, dull and uninspired design can directly affect traffic and conversions. Trends become popular and gain momentum quickly for a good reason. They pique the users’ curiosity and give them something to be excited about, something to look forward to, or simply something to get hooked on. So, you must move with the times, and here are a few ways you can do that.
9 Best UI/UX Trends in 2022 to Incorporate in Your Designs
Simplify Everything
Go back to the basics, strip everything down, leaving what you think is necessary. At the heart of great design lies simplicity and minimalism. So, KonMari your designs and let them breathe. The primary objective of your design should be to make it functional and the interaction process as smooth as possible. This includes your navigation channels. The sole purpose of navigation is to drive your user/audience home or the intended destination seamlessly. Femme Fatale Studio’s website is a stellar example of minimalist design. With the skillful use of classic Serif and Alpine fonts merged with basic monochrome themes, the website has achieved the heights of elegance.
Taking Typography Risks
While fonts like delicate serifs will remain the preferred choice, how you use them will play a vital role. Text in all caps helps convey the message instantly, but on the flip side, it appears boxy. So, going into 2022, you can experiment with uneven letters and tilting the axis. For those looking to experiment, 70s-inspired disco fonts are making a comeback too! This includes vibrant colors, curves, and groovy themes. However, the founder and president of Mucca, Matteo Bologna believes that 2022 will be the year of custom-made fonts. If your website is centered around a dark theme and needs that edge, use typefaces with sharp angles as they exude a quiet sense of rebellion.
Neumorphism
A cross between a flat design and a skeuomorphism, this trend was quite the rage in 2021 and will continue to be so. While skeuomorphism emphasizes the elements of the real and digital worlds, neomorphism focuses more on the color palette and scheme. It almost seemed like skeuomorphic elements were only designed for home screens and desktops and required a significant amount of time and expertise to create. Additionally, these elements did not look realistic on small screens as most of the finer details were not visible. This paved the way for neomorphism, which brought real-life physical elements like shadows and textures in the form of digital interfaces. The icons and elements protrude from beneath the background rather than being on top, almost like clingwrap over a typewriter.
Glassmorphism
Glassmorphism is characterized by blurred backgrounds, which help create a frosted glass effect. In this design, light or dark elements/objects are placed on colorful multi-layer backgrounds. Then, a background blur effect is placed on the objects for depth or as though the object was floating. If you’ve used Windows Vista, you’ll know instantly that it’s a glassmorphic design. First, pick a semi-transparent background with a shadow and a border to utilize this design. Then, add the blur feature to the background of the icons/elements and watch it “morph” into what looks like frosted glass.
Mobile-First Strategy
An article published recently by Reviews.org regarding the cell phone-using behaviors and patterns of Americans showed that 80% of them check their phone within the first 10 minutes of waking up, and 52% of them have never gone 24 hours without using their phones. On average, Americans use their phone once every 5.5 minutes. So, it’s safe to say that people are on their phone a lot more than any other device, and one must keep in mind that before the website or app looks good on a desktop, it should simultaneously be as appealing or even more on mobile devices.
Personalized Experiences and Interfaces
Although not a new concept, it is timeless and will always be on “trend.” To ensure that you’re offering a personalized experience, start with the 4 “Ws.” Before building a strategy or working on a design, identify “why” you want to make this a personal journey for the user? Is it to drive more leads, improve engagement tactics, or something else? Having a clear answer to this question will help you structure your goal or objective, which brings us to “who,” the target audience. Once you have established your demographic, turn your focus towards “where.” When you’ve set your first 3 Ws in stone, work towards “what” you want to convey. Changing UX writing styles will come in incredibly handy at this point.
Voice User Interfaces
It’s not surprising to walk into your neighbor’s, your friend’s, or just about anyone’s home to hear them yelling at Alexa or Siri to play their 90s playlist or to remind them to buy celery on Thursday. Voice assistants have comfortably positioned themselves as “friends” and “helpers,” making our day-to-day lives easier. According to an article on Medium, 22% of Internet users buy groceries using voice assistants, and 27% of the online population worldwide use the voice search option. So, if you haven’t jumped on this bandwagon yet, perhaps, you may miss out on quite a lot.
Micro-Interactions
What transforms a good design into an exceptional one is paying attention to the small stuff. A cute bell icon that appears once a day in your phone, reminding you to drink water or “swiping” from one page to another are some examples of micro-interactions. They ride on the principle of “don’t make a user think.” Instead, the process or the next step should just be laid out for them. The main objective of these interactions is to provide visual feedback on the design and guide users towards an intuitive error-free journey while making it seem more personalized and user-friendly.
Dark Mode
While white backgrounds and brighter themes are still reigning, the dark mode or darker themes have made a surprising comeback. However, it’s not a new concept, and many websites and apps have always enabled users to choose and toggle between light and dark modes. What has emerged as an unexpected benefit is that the dark mode is more accessible for visually impaired users.
An all-inclusive design
When designing, the first thing you must ask yourself is if your design is accessible. Does it speak to every audience member? How broad or narrow will your reach be based on your design? Is there a voice alternative in your design for those who can’t see or have visual disabilities? Is there a provision for voice control for those who cannot physically touch a pad or use a mouse? Besides keeping these big questions in mind, ensure that your website is a good mix of colors and contrast. The language should flow easily and be understandable by all. Use large buttons and fonts, and remember that sometimes the simplest things make the most impact.
Conclusion
While the world is changing at lightning speed and everything is either a blink and miss, it’s crucial to keep up with the times and be ahead of the game. Especially for designers trying to be the next best thing or are on the verge of the next most outstanding design of all time, learning about new trends is imperative. Who knows, you may be the next big thing in design?
