Everything in the digital world moves at a dizzying pace, but there are trends that admittedly stay longer in people’s psyche and radar more than others. In this list, we attempt to name some of the most notable UI UX design trends in the world today. Many, you’d realise as you read along, have been around for years now while some are slowly gaining a foothold.

(Still a bit confused about the jargons? Read this article first: UI vs. US Design: Similarities and Differences)

Without further ado, let’s dive right into it!

GLASSMORPHISM

it is only right to begin this list with the trending design that’s been gaining ground for over a year now—glassmorphism. The whole concept of glassmorphism is largely rooted in the minimalist trend and simplistic style. It was created in a way to branch out from neomorphism, which was the focus of designers last year.

Glassmorphism elevates designs with a “frosted glass” look, which we’ll definitely see more of in 2022. Also called the “blur effect”, what the glassmorphism style does is it differentiates the elements on an interface, allowing the more important information to stand out. This helps users focus only on the things that actually matter and brings them closer to performing favourable user actions. It isn’t crowded or overwhelming and doesn’t sacrifice the overall aesthetic quality as it lets the background—which has a more “airy” feel—to fall stylishly behind.

DARK MODE

The dark mode trend has been on everyone’s radar for quite some time now and for good reason. Almost all of the most used apps and smart devices today have a ‘night mode’ or dark mode version. Even popular job platform site LinkedIn has recently rolled out this feature on their web and smart device apps.

Originally made to help minimise the eye strain that comes with prolonged screen time, the dark mode is also developed to prolong battery life. Visually, the dark mode, as well as the black and white colour scheme, is undoubtedly stunning and elegant. Not only that, but this design is also capable of bringing attention to a website’s more crucial elements and CTA buttons.

SCROLYTELLING

Humans are naturally drawn to stories. You could say we’re inclined to respond well to relatable, relevant narratives—may it be of people or in this case, brands. A brand with a more impactful story is more relatable and it allows people to spot its unique qualities better. In design, visual storytelling is a way to do this, especially at a time where people are scrambling to make genuine connections with the brands they support.

Stories told visually have better chances of grabbing people’s attention, so many are already magnifying mediums like videos, animated clips, gifs, as well as simple pictures to get people’s attention on their websites or apps. But most designers are especially drawn to what they call ‘scrolytelling’. Scrolytelling is basically a form of narrative presentation that takes a user through a journey (a story) activated as they scroll down the page or app (scroll-triggered). Experts suggest focusing on creating stories and serving an experience to visitors, so they aren’t simply mindlessly scanning through your content.

This is proving to be good for keeping people engaged and interested. It is a way to connect with an audience and will most definitely continue being a huge, indispensable part of UI UX trends for many years to come.

To get an idea about how this works, do check out Hyperframe’s scroll-triggered animation on their website.

UNIQUE ILLUSTRATIONS & ANIMATIONS

Illustrations are a big part of brand image. It’s a fun way for getting the visual feel of the brand across to prospects and visitors. What illustrations do mainly is they create a friendly vibe that is inviting to visitors. It also aids in a better user experience. The more unique an illustration is, the better chances of it standing out compared to the more generic pool of illustrations out there. This is a trend that will surely continue on into the next year and beyond.

If done right and with respect to the rules of clean, legible design, the process of injecting fun, asymmetric shapes and bold colours into the overall UX design can yield favourable results for a company. Animations, alongside or in place of static illustrations, can draw more people in. Its salient advantage would be that animations are capable of lowering bounce rates by keeping site visitors longer on a page.

For this portion, we’re no longer looking further than our very own branded illustrations and animations from Amber Creative.

Additionally, it’s important to include in this part the design that also goes into mouse hovers or pointers. This is something used by many designers to amp their website design. What this ultimately does is it helps engage visitors better and cue them into website elements they can interact with. For a specific example, think about hovering over a link and instead of the usual highlight, a designer can opt for a colour-change to signal visitors that it’s something they can click.

Unique is definitely a word to use for Concept Studio’s playful website which made use of branded illustrations and animations effectively.

3D DESIGNS

The importance of 3D designs has been magnified during the pandemic after more and more brands have relied on three-dimensional technology for product visualisation, since in-store visits were kind of limited. So it’s safe to say that 3D graphics will be used by more brands moving forward. A common problem that dissuades people from incorporating 3D elements into their websites would be that it takes too long to load. But the more demand people put into this technology, the better operating systems act on it to deliver.

While the simpler, more seamless 2D is still the obvious, normal choice for many designers, 3D is still creating a buzz for the way it can excellently deliver more interactive experiences to visitors.

EXPERIMENTAL TYPOGRAPHY

The trend now is leaning towards the bigger, bolder fonts. There is certainly a lot of opportunities to elevate a website’s overall design just with an effective typography and font choice alone. Although it does wonders for a website and is capable of turning a simple web design into an enchanting, impactful one, it does take a lot of guts to embrace bolder, experimental typography. It may seem simple, but choosing the typography for a website or app is much more complicated in that you have to consider how exactly it helps in terms of the whole web design matrix; for one, typography is there to convey a message and set the hierarchy of information that visitors get upon landing on a site. This is done mainly to create a functional, more seamless user experience.

And you also have to remember that people don’t really ‘read’ on the internet—they ‘scan’. So using big and striking typography can help viewers locate a website’s more important information in a short amount of time. The use of intricate and most times oversized typography allows web designers to curtail information and tailor it in a way that leaves the audience closer to doing favourable actions for the company, like getting them closer to the CTAs.

The bold, experimental typography in Swedish marketing company Markus Agency is one great example.

CLEAN, MINIMALIST DESIGNS

Minimalism has stood its ground for years now, so it’d be impossible to create this list without a mention. When designing a website, you have to make sure that your audience can instantly locate what they’re looking for and that your prospects can immediately be driven to do favourable actions for your brand. This will not happen if they feel a sensory overload that takes the attention away from the most important parts. Sensory overload could potentially drown the more important aspects of an interface; this includes unnecessary pop-ups, ads, etc.

So more and more people prefer the cleaner, direct to the point, no-fuss designs. Of course, going for a ‘minimalist’ design doesn’t necessarily mean restricting creative freedom—only that you’re focusing on user interface design that your audience can easily navigate and understand. You can do this by focusing on the basic elements like cleaner icons, legible texts, a better view and presentation of the navigation menu, and captivating illustrations. Even subdued color schemes work, depending on your industry.

Simplification basically means simplifying the overall experience for users. So, think navigation. Think seamless flow of information in a way easily understood by visitors. Think, finally, design that automatically answers and caters to your visitors’ needs. It’s an irony, but seasoned designers know that simplifying a website experience is complicated. But the trick, at the end of the day, is just this: don’t overdo it and simplify functionality as possible.

BRUTALIST DESIGN

The brutalist web design is the direct contradiction to the seamless, simplistic and minimalist website design trend that’s been gaining ground for a few years now—but it doesn’t mean there isn’t anything in it that is worth looking into. The brutalist approach to web design creates a memorable and very unique experience for visitors. Mostly used by more creative industries and organisations (think art collectives, photographers, creative institutions, fashion websites like Balenciaga [3] at one point, and the likes), the brutalist approach is a grand departure from what we’ve been used to seeing (simplistic, minimalist websites).

But this does come at a cost that you have to be on the lookout for; when done poorly, it can appear disjointed and even a total disregard of the smart design principles that have held together the digital space for decades. The rhythm of the website, especially the flow of information, may also get lost in all that attempt to be groundbreaking. So, design with a brutalist approach with caution. Nevertheless, it is definitely worth considering if you’re up for something new and impactful.

Radical Everything’s unique website gives justice to its very name with its brutalist website design.

(Wanna see how last year’s website design trends fared this year? Check out this article: Website Design Trends to Know Ahead of 2021)

There is probably no better way to describe people’s relationship with (web) design than what seasoned designer Frank Chimero said:

People ignore design that ignores people.

When doing any design endeavours, it would be helpful to keep this very line in mind. Designing for people means more than highlighting the aesthetic elements; it also means making sure that all of their needs are met. So, be sure to make functionality and overall user experience your priority.

It could be tricky to navigate all of that on your own. So, get the help you need in web and app design with our team at Amber Creative. Get in touch with us and let’s discuss! Our friendly team will always be ready to accommodate your questions or walk you through our services.