With apps becoming more complex, designers have to find new ways to simplify the user experience. This is why trends like voice UI and visual storytelling are starting to make an appearance in front-end web design.
What is UI design?
User Interface (UI) design, also known as interaction design, focuses on the user’s experience and has many essential elements. These include color, typography, movement or animation, controls or interactive features that are all factored into what makes a user-friendly interface. A good example of this would be using whitespace to separate groups of similar items rather than just having items jammed together.
What is the importance of UI design?
Importance of UI design are:
1) Protect revenue
The best way to ensure maximum revenue is by providing an intuitive user experience that sets your product apart from your competitors’. Many times, the success or failure of a new product depends on its first impression among customers, and if it is not a pleasant experience, users will quickly abandon their efforts.
2) Attracts more clients
According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, the beautiful UI design of the iPhone was one of the main reasons why there were so many people lining up for days to buy them when they were first released. This is because by using good UI design, you give your app or website an attractive look as well as make it easier for others to use.
3) Encourages user engagement
Enhance the user’s engagement level with your site or app through excellent user-interface designs that enable intuitive navigation and easy access points to different sections of the product. By doing this, you will be able to keep users interested in your product for longer.
4) Maintains user experience
Good UI design always keeps users’ needs in mind, so it is able to meet their requirements and give them an optimum experience with your product. An utmost attention must be given to details that users may encounter during their interactions with the site or app, such as forms that are easy to fill out, options that are clearly defined and color schemes that do not clash with one another.
5) Gives tactile feedback
Gratifying the user’s senses through touch can help make a positive first impression on them about your website or app. This is because humans have five physical senses (sight, touch, hearing, smell and taste), which makes it easier for them to remember a product or a service. From a UX perspective, this is also because of the users’ need to feel in control during their interactions with your service, so providing clear tactile feedback can help put them at ease.
Leading UI Design Trends
Designers are using these trends not just because they’re interesting, but also because they have practical applications that can help developers create better products for their users. To show you what I mean, here are some of the most popular UI design trends to watch out for this year.
1. Immersive 3D Elements
Conventional flat skeuomorphic designs are now being replaced by cleaner and more sophisticated alternatives which make use of 3D elements for an immersive user experience. The fact that people now have high-definition displays means that 2D images are not enough anymore for them to enjoy the beauty of apps.
In essence, this is the concept of utilizing perspective to bring the user into the story/world you are trying to present them with. Having an immersive perspective can be extremely useful in many different industries, especially travel and hospitality where users need to be able to navigate through your website or application. Or if you are trying to convey a sense of realism for software that presents itself as something real world like video editing software could benefit from this trend by giving their users a ‘camera’ perspective when using it.
2. Voice User Interface
While most leading mobile app development companies have already started to make use of smart assistants like Siri, Google Now, Cortana etc., many designers are still continuing with touch-based interfaces. However, it is expected that voice UI will soon overtake touch UI as more users prefer using their voice over typing or swiping their fingers across a screen. This is mainly because it’s fast and convenient. For example, if you want to order food at noon then there won’t be enough time for an interaction because your lunch break will come to an end too quickly! Moreover, voice UIs allow developers to provide information in multiple languages which makes it easier for people in different geographical locations to use a service.
Voice user interface (VUI) is the most recent web design trend that’s about to get very popular. Instead of having users manually type their queries into search bars, VUI allows them to use voice commands to interact with websites. It may sound crazy, but Google started testing its own VUI platform late last year, and it’ll only be a matter of time before other companies follow suit. Airbnb did something very similar by building voice-powered bots through Facebook Messenger and Siri. As you can see below, VUIs are quite different from previous chat bots because they respond naturally without any awkwardness or lag time.
The industry has been moving towards VUIs for quite some time now, not just because it will soon become normal behavior but also because voice recognition has evolved drastically in the past decade. One of the main reasons why people don’t use voice commands to navigate through their technology is because it’s so much faster and easier than physically typing or clicking, and eventually we just get used to doing something that way and muscle memory takes over.
3. Micro-Interactions
Micro-interactions are another UI design trend which is popping up everywhere these days. However, it’s important for developers and designers alike to figure out how they work. Micro-interactions are much more than just a tiny animation because they can help you navigate through your app much easier for your users. For example, the ‘swipe to open’ function on your phone is actually just one type of micro-interaction that helps you do what you want in an interactive way rather than being shown directly what to do by the developer.
Micro-interactions are part of a bigger picture that makes the user experience better. And good UI designers might just be able to do that by paying more attention to small details, improving interactions between elements and making things feel natural.
What’s interesting about micro-interactions is that they show up in all kinds of devices, so there is a big chance for UI designers to have a positive impact on users’ daily lives simply by using these principles in their designs.
4. Foldable Displays
Another UI trend in the market is the foldable display which might one day replace smartphones and laptops too! Foldable screens allow users to protect their phones when they are not using them just by folding them up. In addition, you can always have an extra screen at hand with a tiny smart device that serves as your notification panel! These devices also give you easy access to all of your applications with just a swipe of the finger, allowing you to perform tasks more efficiently even when you’re on the move.
Foldable displays follow the idea of minimizing visual clutter, but instead of using micro interactions, it focuses on having ’empty spaces’ and foldable designs (like the folding iPhone X by Xiaomi). These displays can be hidden until needed to make more room for designs while still providing all the information you need without cluttering the screen space. This allows designers to play around with smaller screens while still making sure that critical elements are available when needed.
5. Layers and Floating Elements
Layers are no longer kept in separate windows but instead layers can appear on top of shared spaces where multiple users can edit them at once. This helps create much better user experience by making collaboration easier than before through sharing one place whether it’s notes or sketches or designs.
Floating elements surround particular elements making them pop out from the background while layers keep different kinds of content separate on your interface so they don’t get mixed up. This can be seen on the new Samsung Galaxy S8’s UI for instance, which has floating design elements surrounding certain elements that make them stand out , while layers are represented with apps having their own window making them float above your home screen.
6. Empty Spaces
Minimalism is a trend that should never go out of fashion and the modern day version of it is even more important than before. Users crave simplicity and users don’t want to be overwhelmed by screens loaded up with tons of information. But, this doesn’t mean designers should forget about finding better ways to deliver content in interesting ways to meet users’ needs. Instead, use empty spaces between elements and allow your app or website’s UI design display clear and easier readability and scannability. This helps users focus on what really matters while also engaging them further down the funnel through enticing visuals at the same time.
Conclusion
The purpose of this article is to provide information about the top six UI design trends that will help you enhance your own designs, or perhaps inspire you to start designing for the first time if you don’t already do it professionally; but remember – inspiration is one thing, implementation another. This means that while these leading UI design trends can be considered when designing an app or website, certain aspects of them should be applied when relevant, in accordance with what’s best for the project at hand. Remember – consistency with your brand image is important!
Author Bio:
Khurshid Alam is the founder of Pixel Street, a web design company. He aspires to solve business problems by communicating effectively digitally. In his leisure, he reads, writes, and occasionally plays a game of table tennis.
