In the digital realm, each new year brings new opportunities to create a brand's success stories. And a Medium study states that 94% of all factors that impact users' first impression of a brand are related to design.
In terms of creating an interactive and engaging user experience in a mobile app through UI/UX design, 2022 brings a revolution. Trends such as neumorphic design, multi-directional navigation, glass morphism, etc. They will attract users in unconventional ways. In this blog, we have compiled the top 10 mobile app UI/UX design trends that will dominate the industry in 2022 and beyond.
Mobile App UI/UX Design Trends to Watch Out for in 2022
1. Content-Centric UI Design
New age UI design is all about creating a content-centric user experience. It means that the content itself is creating the design. That way, the message is easily communicated to users. Some of the crucial features of such a design are described below.
Specific visual hierarchy: A strong visual order enables and enhances users' ability to understand content. Direct your attention to specific items and information.
Operational order: It consists of eliminating insignificant elements to highlight crucial information.
Blank space : Maintaining white space between content provides a much-needed break for users' eyes and thus improves their experience.
2. Gestures and swipes
While button-operated app design was quite popular for a long time, mobile app designers are moving more towards a seamless user experience. The gesture-centric design facilitated by scrolling and swiping provides a break from the extra actions involved in using buttons.
According to many service experts Mobile application development , buttons create clutter and take up excessive space on the screen. The gesture-based design seeks to replace buttons with swipe functionality. Introducing swipe animation is a smart move. For example, many book reading apps use animations to allow users to turn a page.
3. 3D Design or Neumorphic Design
For a future-proof mobile app, 3D design is a must. Neumorphic design transforms the button and icon ideas of 2010 into multidimensional ideas. 3D graphics breathe life into mere images and thus offer an unparalleled user experience.
Today's generation seeks an immersive experience and a neumorphic design guarantees just that. Furthermore, skeuomorphism is a part that represents the use of real-life elements combined with 3D images. Therefore, it takes brand storytelling to the next level.
4. Vintage style
The 90s retro style is making a comeback in mobile app UI/UX design. These days, app designers use retro fonts and images similar to popular 90s games like Pac-Man or Mario. Such aesthetic appeal for different generations; While the elders feel a nostalgic vibe, the younger generation has a penchant for old things.
However, it is important to note that the retro style is not appropriate for all types of applications. If your brand syncs with that style, go for it. Can hire iOS developers or Android developers to experiment with the presence of their application.
5. Innovative typography
If there's one thing that remains constant over the years, it's people's declining attention spans in today's oversaturated digital space. They simply scan the content, they do not read it. This issue puts extra emphasis on the use of typography because a complicated font will only irritate people instead of encouraging them to read.
Now, this doesn't mean you should use drab, old fonts. 2022 is about driving innovation in all aspects of app design. Application designers take multiple aspects of typography such as point size, tracking, hierarchy, line length, and line spacing before creating innovative and legible fonts.
6. Dark Mode UI
Dark mode is a display setting for an application's UI that presents light-colored UI elements such as text, icon, etc., on a dark background. Dark mode significantly improves visual ergonomics by reducing eye strain and also conserves battery power.
When experimenting with the dark mode UI, it's important to remember a few things. For example, avoid pure white fonts and opt for a warm tone. Google recommends using a white opacity of 38%, 60%, and 87% for disabled text, medium emphasis, and high emphasis. Adhering to this standard will ensure that your content is easily readable.
Play with shadows and tints to create a sense of depth in the design. Additionally, it is important to allow users to change their preferences. Add a switch or tab so they can switch between light and dark modes.
7. Voice control
Advanced technologies always focus on making things easier for users and a voice interface is a step towards that. Voice control integrated UI/UX design is poised to influence the app market this year and beyond.
The voice interface gives users a break from typing something or even scanning the menu bar. People can simply speak and the app will perform the task. For example, if users search for a blue men's shirt in an e-commerce app, they don't need to type it in the search bar. They can simply say “show blue shirts for men in size XL” and the app will filter and display the relevant results.
Studies predict that voice-enabled apps will reach $40 billion by 2022 (source: Quora Creative). Naturally, more and more applications will adopt this technology. In addition, developers will pay more attention to the compatibility of mobile applications with voice assistants such as Siri, Alexa, etc.
8. Multi-directional navigation
Intuitive navigation is a crucial part of an improved user experience. Multi-directional navigation forms a seamless user journey through the app. Instead of simply scrolling up and down the app, multi-directional navigation through various features increases interaction and keeps people engaged for longer.
For example, you can include horizontal sliders on a vertically scrolling screen. It looks more interesting and attractive. If your app is rich in various elements like podcasts, videos, blogs, customer reviews, etc., you can use a multi-directional navigation feature to place elements.
9. Inclusion in the design
Inclusivity is a crucial feature of contemporary UI/UX design. This takes into account the problems faced by people with special abilities and seeks to offer a solution. This approach not only improves the brand image and user experience but also expands the app's user base.
To make an app disability-friendly, designers adopt various strategies. For example, including subtitles in videos and audios will be useful for deaf people. High contrast color schemes will appeal to many users. Simple navigation and easy accessibility are a must in any app.
10. Light and shadow
Playing with light and shadow will always be something important when it comes to mobile app UI/UX design. This year, drop shadows or blur effects around text boxes and buttons that partially cover the background image will be in style. This design technique creates a warm aura while highlighting the information or CTA.
The concept of glassmorphism should also be explored in this regard. This idea revolves around softening the contrast between light and dark design elements. Here, the transparent blurred background will resemble the surface of matte glass.
We hope the blog has helped you find the right inspiration to drive innovation in your mobile app UI/UX design. Try these latest trends and see how they translate for your brand.
