Since our last TrendBook publication in March 2019, trends have changed a lot in UX and UI design. These changes were caused by the natural life cycle of trends, which are being replaced by new, fresher, and more interesting solutions for customers and designers. In the context of the current trends, what also happened this year, was undoubtedly related to the changes introduced into our lives by the Covid-19 pandemic. In mid-March, it changed our working environment, shopping habits, and the way we use and perceive space on the web.
Digital development in times like these is critical and must bring high usability to the user. The “Digital 2020” report published by WeAreSocial underlines that we live in a time when digitalization has reached an entirely new level. More people spend more time online, doing more things there than ever before. The average Internet user spends 6 hours and 43 minutes online every day, which translates into 100 days per year! Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, these numbers are linearly increasing. So we spend more time online choosing solutions that seem more affordable, responding to our needs, and satisfying our aesthetic requirements.
Applovers TrendBook 2020/2021
In our latest TrendBook, you will find a collection of trends concerning User Interface and User Experience design, which in some cases have remained unchanged in the context of last year, while some of them have changed dramatically.
In the new publication, we discuss such topics as How to use gamification in User Experience; why it is good to include elements of motion design in projects nowadays, and what animations will effectively bring the project to life. When planning and creating this year’s TrendBook we decided to analyze the latest trends, consolidate them with experts’ knowledge and specific use cases.
We have listed and described the current UX/UI design trends and techniques that designers can use as a helpful guide to improve or diversify projects. While getting into the TrendBook, current or future UX or UI designers and project owners will learn about the idea of modern design, how it can influence the final project, and what business benefits they can gain from them.
This year trends for UX and UI
We wanted to touch on the general trends and directions in which the way of designing is changing. But we also wanted to point out specific trends and to illustrate the examples. We did this so that all the readers – no matter if they are experienced designers, just starting in the industry, or are the site owners that need it to be refreshed – can understand and visualize the current trends.
Everyone who reads our material will find out: why Accessibility is the hottest trend in 2020, whether the ’80s are back in design, is a return to visual forms characteristic of Art Noveau coming back, and if fans of super clean, geometric shapes will find something they like.
UX/UI experts
To do our best while working on this year’s TrendBook we invited UX and UI designers working with us at Applover, along with experts from the retail, beauty, banking, and creative industry. We did so to look at this year’s UX/UI trends from the broadest possible perspective. Therefore, we worked with experts with many years of experience in UI and UX design such as Marcin Wcisło – Head of eCommerce Experience Design at eobuwie.pl SA, Veronika Kovalchuk – User Experience Designer at Millennium Bank, Benjamin Shishko – Senior UX Designer at Avenga, Katarzyna Kadulska – Product Designer and Co-Founder of Brandkick Marketing Agency, and Przemek Krawczykowski – UX designer at L’Oreal.
The essence of UI and UX in the new, post-pandemic reality
The experts who shared their opinions in the publication are representatives of industries dynamically changing year after year. However, in some areas, most of them have slightly altered the scheme of the implemented strategy due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The broadly understood sales, banking, or beauty industry has almost overnight lost the possibility of direct contact with users. While at the same time, customers’ needs and expectations for selected services – which, unlike before, had to be transferred online – did not change.
Therefore, it was up to the UX, UI, and CX designers to ensure a high comfort level in using the services despite the numerous restrictions associated with the pandemic. In our TrendBook, you will find descriptions of their experience and tips on building your product to meet users’ requirements, solve their problems, and meet their needs concerning the current situation.
New trends and new design dimensions
More than a year has passed since the publication of our last Trendbook. During this time, a lot has changed in the context of UX and UI design trends. Some of these changes were caused by the natural life cycle of the trends. In contrast, others happened due to the coronavirus pandemic and new needs related to limited mobility and fewer personal problem-solving opportunities than before. The year 2020 and the upcoming 2021 pose many challenges for the designers. You can effectively face them with the latest trends and ways you will find in our latest Trendbook, which you will download for free! And if you feel like it, please share your thoughts on it with us!