Leading UI/UX Design Trends to Dominate in 2021

Customers visit many websites every day to buy and sell stuff. Therefore, businesses should always go the extra mile to reflect brand creativity through their company websites. Focusing on visual appeal, usability, user experience design can swoon users and help companies generate more revenue.

According to studies, there are over 1.7 billion active websites around the world. Now the real question is how can you gain a competitive edge in the market through your UI/UX branding and design. Because every design element on your website can help users decide whether to stay or to go, leaving you with an unnecessary bounce rate, in case of the latter. Various research studies tell us that ‘design is the top driver of web and mobile users’ positive first impressions’. Visual appeal and user-friendliness play a significant role in customer buying decisions and thus making design an essential component of your website to meet your objectives.

Small businesses such as startups usually prefer outsourcing UI/UX design services for better results. Since startups are always operating on a budget, therefore, hiring external help does help save time and money. Design agencies are knowledgeable about the latest in design trends and how to design visually pleasing and effective digital solutions no matter the industry. But in this blog, we will discuss the UI/UX best practices to develop robust products in-house. So let’s dig in.

Minimalist Design Practices

Minimalism design trend is rising in prominence. It replaces the old design layouts with meaningful design patterns and content for maximum visual appeal. The minimalist design approach abandons the crowded design which as a result encourages users to further explore the page.

There is no denying the fact that customers do not like to engage and interact with interfaces that are full of overwhelming information. Therefore, companies should avoid the overload of design and look for ways to make their website design as simple as possible that is not only appealing but also easier on the eyes. Thus, companies should highlight the important qualities of a product, and its benefits for users and cut the rest of the crap.

Cross-Platform UI/UX Design

Design optimization and responsiveness are as important as development. The reason why companies should strongly consider cross-platform development. They should make sure that their UI/UX design works well for all browsers and on all devices; be it a mobile phone or desktop.

Cross-platform development is not only time-efficient but also saves the cost needed to develop an additional user interface for a different platform every time. It also ensures that the design is equally consistent on all channels. Therefore, UI/UX designers need to focus on cross-functional platforms from the very beginning to eliminate any inefficiencies.

Icons for Seamless Navigation

Icons coupled with tiny interactions have the power to enhance the user experience. They offer an immersive way to engage users and convey the meaning behind a feature or functionality. But it is highly recommended to choose the icons from the same family such as hand-drawn icons, line icons, abstract icons, etc. with the same size and dimension because consistent design reflects the integrity of the brand. Icons are a powerful UI/UX trend in 2021 as they can convey the meaning and story of your brand in fewer words and space.

Designing for Accessibility

Your web app design should also consider ‘designing for accessibility, to cater to those who are color blind and hence, support readability. It is an important part of your UI/UX branding. Accessibility reminds me of a quote by Billy Gregory a Senior Accessibility Engineer at the paciello group, “When UX doesn’t consider ALL users, shouldn’t it be known as “SOME User Experience” or… SUX?”

Accessibility is a necessity. Your website should be easily accessible by everyone and that includes those with special needs, and/ or impairments such as visual, hearing, dyslexia, etc. Since accessing services through the internet is the new normal in times of the global pandemic, therefore, it’s important for businesses to ensure that their online presence and services cater to everyone and make accessibility audit a part of your design search for creating adaptable and inclusive experiences.

Welcome to the Dark Side Mode

Almost all the popular platforms such as Twitter, Reddit, Facebook, et al offer dark mode, also known as an inverted color scheme. The dark mode is not only easier on the eyes but also enhances the readability and user experience. Moreover, it saves battery life too. I am sure many of you have noticed that your smartphone applications shift to dark mode when you are low on battery thus saving it from unnecessary consumption. Moreover, it reduces eye fatigue and looks classy generally. The theme of Apple’s website is not exactly dark mode, but the global giant has used a mix of dark and light colors for usability.

Bold Fonts

Website typography is getting bigger. Especially when you see home pages, the bold heading at the top of the page grabs user attention. Bold fonts and typefaces not only enhance readability but it is an important component of the overall design that adds to the aesthetics. Many popular websites are utilizing this trend such as dropbox etc. and this trend is here to stay.