“Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.” – Mark Twain (American Writer)
Although smartphones didn’t exist when he said that, nowadays, smartphones had become an integral part of our lives. Whether it is work, social life, or entertainment, smartphones have become a part of our ideal lifestyle. And with the changing times, the UI and UX are evolving alongside technology and user needs. Layouts and designs of the mobile applications are getting more and more user visually appealing and user friendly to stay in the raging market competition.
Here is a walkthrough of trending UI and UX application designs.
What are UI and UX?
If you are wondering what UI and UX are, we have got you covered.
- User Interface (UI)
- Google defines it as “how the user and a computer system interact, in particular, the use of input devices and software.”
- Complicated right? It can be seen as a middle-man, who facilitates interaction between the device (or computer) and the user.
User Experience (UX)
According to Wikipedia, “user experience is a person’s emotions and attitudes about using a particular product, system or service. It includes the practical, experiential, affective, meaningful, and valuable aspects of human-computer interaction and product ownership.”
In simple terms, it is what you feel about while (or after) using or interacting with the device through the UI. It is to be noted that the essential function of UI is to increase UX. And UX facilitates improvement in the UI. Thus, both UI and UX go hand-in-hand.
Top 10 Trending UI/UX Designs!
Night Mode
Night mode, also known as Dark mode or dark theme, is an application UI theme that essentially sets the background black. So, what is so special about it? The very basic benefit is that it is different from your usual white and bright themes. Apart from that,
- It saves battery
- Best for low-light condition, in case you want to read an ebook or chat at night.
- It is easy on your eyes
- And it looks amazing.
Login Methods
Punching in passwords to login is becoming obsolete with time. They are a hassle to remember and easy to hack. The new app UIs have multiple solutions for that. They are,
- Pattern Locks
- Multiple Factor Authentication
- Login links and One Time Passwords (OTPs)
- Biometric Locks
- Fingerprint Scanning
- Facial Recognition
Personalization
You don’t like templates and preset themes, that is alright. The new UIs are coming per the customer’s need. They let the user customize the UI according to his or her preference, the way it suits him best.
Illustrations and Animations
Nowadays, UI includes dynamic illustrations and animations. They add personality as well as make it eye-pleasing. This includes advanced special effects and motions. With these added visuals and personalized UI, the UX increases tenfold
Neumorphism
Neumorphism is a design slang that comes from the words ‘new’ and ‘skeuomorphism.’ Skeuomorphic designs, according to Wikipedia, “(A skeuomorph) is a derivative object that retains ornamental design cues from structures that were inherent to the original.”
That means, it is a design style that exhibits itself as a real object, or close to one. Generally, several clock and calculator apps apply this concept into their designs, where the keys look identical to the real ones.
3D UI
The boom in the 3D animations and its ventures has now boomed into UIs as well. With the help of 3D graphics, illustrations, and animations, UIs have evolved to provide a better array of experience to the user. 3D UI looks cool, modern, sleek, and fits well with the preferences of the user.
Voice Commands
All of us love saying either one or all of these,
“OK Google”
“Hey Siri”
“Alexa…”
The new integrated voice feature has freed our hands from the hassle of typing and allowed us to interact with these AI freely. Even though they are still evolving, they are still convenient and perform tasks effectively on your command.
Swipe Away
Why press buttons when you can swipe? The new UI designs include a liquid swipe feature. You can move your thumb up and down, or left and right, to perform the desired tasks. It engages the user and removes the need to add buttons. A famous dating app had used this feature.
AR/VR
- Augmented Reality (AR)
Have you ever wondered around to catch your favorite Pokémon?
The AR integrates the real world into the virtual world, through visual route (camera), audio route (mic), or sometimes sensory, for better user experience.
The most famous examples of AR using apps are Snapchat and Pokémon Go!
- Virtual Reality (VR)
Virtual Reality integrates the virtual world into the real world, through visual route (eyes), audio route (ears), or sometimes sensory. The experience may be similar to real-life or completely different.
3D movies are the best and most common example.
VR is now also integrated into your smartphones, with the help of a few settings and a headset.
For the Elderly and Differently Challenged
Not everyone is the same. Hence, most applications offer a different UI for everyone, so that our grandparents and differently challenged people may enjoy the smartphone experience as much as we do.
Honorable Mentions!
Reading Mode: This feature allows users to reduce the blue-light emitting from the screen, for a better reading experience, without exhausting and straining their eyes.
Human Writing: Basically, text fonts that resemble real handwriting. Moreover, another feature facilitates to convert your writing into text.
Story Telling: This type of UI that present the data to the user in phases, most creatively and engagingly.
Split Design: This type of UI is uncommon among the apps. The screen is split into different interconnected aspects of the information, that contrast and complement each other.
Our mobile phones are a part of us now. Perhaps, our phones know us better than our closest friends or even ourselves. The UI and UX are ever-changing with the trend, but they are always personalized for every user. So, please don’t settle for less and explore more, and enjoy it to the potential.