Just like the world of fashion, the world of UX and UI also sees a number of trends that come and go. This year, UI design trends are going to be big, bold, in-your-face, and allow you to totally immerse yourself in them. While UI design trends of 2017 saw the growth of Artificial Intelligence (AI), you should note that Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) will have strong roles to play in the UI design trends of 2018.
Typography is one of the features of UI that is probably experimented with the most. For instance, it can be added to images and videos; can be present in animation; can be in different colors; as well as be part of unique layouts— it’s an extremely crucial element of UI, as it plays a great role in bringing about excellent user experience.
It’s because of this reason, typography, more specifically, large fonts is going to be one of the biggest, and most popular 2018 UI trends. Big typography will allow designers to revamp the done-till-death traditional fonts, and create a more unique user interface. Moreover, supersize fonts significantly enhance the readability of content, as they catch the user’s eye much faster. After all, the text needs to be read—otherwise, it wouldn’t be there. That’s why, UI design patterns of 2018 will include big, bold fonts that you can’t miss on a number of websites, mobile apps, and more.
The new UI design trends of 2018 also include commercial/abstract illustrations with gradients. This year, illustrations will see free forms, unaligned designs, and a lot of asymmetries.
What’s great about these illustrations is that they’re different, refreshing, and extremely enjoyable. They’ll grab attention and allow users to escape from the mundane. Furthermore, these illustrations will give websites or mobile apps their very own personality, and make them memorable, as they’ll be distinctive. Furthermore, these illustrations will also have gradients. Why is this? Well, designers have come to recognize that modern displays are able to reproduce color shades extremely well, as compared to previous-generation screens, which is why color gradients have become the rage.
One of the other big UI design trends of 2018, is user interfaces that have a vintage look and feel. Although this is not so new and revolutionary, you can surely expect to see a lot more of it in 2018. Yes, minimalism is great; but a classic, vintage look is timeless. This is precisely the reason why in 2018, a number of brands will be looking to leverage a vintage style for their user interface, in order to look more sophisticated.
Virtual Reality (VR) is going to be an extremely popular feature in UI design patterns of 2018. This is because, UI designers have realized that today, users want to completely immerse themselves in digital experiences. Users in this digital age don’t want to just see things— they want to actually live them. This is why 2018 is the year in which lifeless and flat experiences are not going to truly make the cut.
Designers everywhere are slowly starting to realize that they’re required to dazzle the user and take them on an interactive escapade. It’s because of this 2018 UI design trend, the VR market is set to skyrocket. Furthermore, by experimenting with VR in UI this year, the use of Virtual Reality for truly enhancing user interfaces in 2019, looks quite promising.
The use of monochrome colors is going to be one of the other big UI trends of 2018. The latest UI designs this year already seem to be following this trend. The rise of this style this year could also be attributed to the trend of larger-than-life typography. Because of really big text, designers will find it best to limit extreme color-play.
By limiting the color palette to monochrome colors, designers will be able to really strengthen the chosen colors. Furthermore, users won’t have the chance to be distracted by too many colors on the screen. This approach is an efficient one, as it allows users to concentrate on a particular set of actions, such as subscribing, buying, and more.
Among the other new trends in UI design, 3D elements have also started to take over the scene. Even though 3D elements seem to be quite unusual and odd for websites, these elements are slowly gaining popularity in terms of UI design and are likely to preserve this year. However, UI technologies in 2018 do not allow for completely 3D UIs. The attempts to finding one are constant, and designers are making do with faux-3D design in user interfaces. It’s a great way to make users ready for what’s coming.
This year, the glitch effect will rule animation in terms of UI. UI designers have begun to use images and videos with a glitch, to make what would otherwise be a static design, dynamic. Only a couple of lines of code can make UI design much more interactive, which is something users everywhere are looking for. Moreover, the designers have come to realize that the glitch effect can make UI design a lot more creative, and also give life to the design. Giving an artistic touch of malfunctioning to images and videos has, therefore, become one of the hottest UI design trends of 2018.
New UI trends this year also include an increase in the use of functional animations, as well as micro interactions.
Including such elements on a UI interface will make it possible for users to easily communicate with apps and websites, and also allow them to acquire the feedback they’re looking for soon. This latest UI design trend will surely have a positive effect on UX, as the user will have pleasant experiences.
UI design in 2018 will also see (or rather, hear) sound layers. This refers to a variety of sounds that will be incorporated with UI design, so users will be able to hear them when they are using a website or a mobile app. UI design with sound can add to the experience the user has and can make their journey on the website or mobile app much more enjoyable and pleasant. This trending UI design, however, is currently limited on desktop applications, as it can be quite distracting, but is quite prominent on mobile interfaces.
Wondering why you should be a populist and conform to these latest trends? Well, actually being en vogue is a lot more than merely being aware of what’s new. Conforming to some of these trends can give the user interface you create a stamp of freshness— and this is something that’s great to have. There’s nothing wrong with being unique— but it’s also important to stay in tune with the latest trends. However, as a designer, it’s important to carefully judge trends, when it comes to deciding which one should be used, and which one shouldn’t.
