2023 UX/UI design trends

As digital apps continue to permeate every aspect of our lives, it’s becoming ever harder to retain consumer attention.

For market leaders and start-ups seeking to launch digital products, success often lies in technology or experiences that will give you a competitive advantage.

We believe that lies in the customer experience.

As we head into 2023, we review trends set to influence user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design. Here are some of our favourites.

Hyper-personalisation

The advantages of personalisation within a user experience is not a new concept, but we’re excited by the rise of hyper-personalisation. Companies are increasingly leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and real-time data to serve up more relevant and timely content to their users.

80% of customers choose brands and products that offer personalised experiences - Deloitte

Airbnb provides a great example. The platform uses first-party data from their user community to serve highly personalised landing experiences based on previous searches, stays and current destination.

Similarly Naked Wines has experienced increased incremental sales and customer retention through hyper-personalisation by considering customer preference and past shopping habits.

Brands that successfully execute hyper-personalisation experience higher engagement rates and typically stronger brand loyalty. However companies must ensure that their data is up-to-date and secure to ensure a truly personal and genuine user experience.?

With Google quoting 2024 as their deadline for removal of third party cookies, 2023 will see companies draw upon innovative methods to strike a balance between using the right technology and aligning with a future proofing strategy.

Having an effective data strategy will be key. However personalisation also needs to be a core business goal tied directly to customer outcomes. Ultimately, organisations need to stay closely tuned to these changes over the coming year to make sure they don’t breach guidelines and achieve successful hyper-personalisation.

Extended Reality

Public interest in virtual worlds increased massively in 2022 with “Metaverse” becoming the buzzword of the year. It has become clear AR and VR technologies have the potential to change how users interact with products and boost engagement.?

We are beginning to see this adoption of AR and VR across all industries, particularly in eCommerce where products allow for virtual try-on and preview placement have increased customer interaction and sales.??

Ikea's Place app lets users virtually ‘place’ furnishings into their homes ?to ensure the right size and design prior to purchase.

We recently worked with Didimo, a company that creates digital human avatars at enterprise scale, previewing how AR can be used online and in out-of-home advertising. This will allow brands to offer life-like try-on experience for a more sustainable and democratic shopping experience.

With AR/VR technology becoming more accessible, product teams can now consider if and how VR and AR can be utilised to enhance the customer experiences, fusing the digital and physical environments.?

Digital wellbeing

Digital wellbeing has become a topic of interest in recent years. Although increased adoption of health and wellness trackers has allowed users to become more aware of their daily habits and patterns, increased screen time and device reliance has contributed to greater levels of tech stress.?

Average screen time in the UK in 2022 was 5 hours per day - Uswitch

UX/UI designers must strike a balance between delivering products that offer enhanced user experience through real-time data and their responsibility to the physical and mental safety of their users.

Apple’s screen time is a great example of how a business can build data-driven safety measures into their products and allow the users to take control of their behaviour though time limits and alerts. Fitbit allows for personalisation for notifications and data visualisation to put the user in control of what they are exposed to.

Product designers are now much more aware of the impact of ascetic design on users' wellbeing. Might we see a trend of muted “calming” colour palettes across digital products?

Scrollytelling

Content used to be king, but with the constant bombardment of news, stories and adverts, how do you keep the attention of your customer?

                Scrollytelling.        

Scrollytelling is visual digital storytelling. A powerful technique where content and visuals appear and transition as users scroll through their journey.?

Adding small surprising micro-interactions into an otherwise familiar experience can capture waning attention. For example, when a user scrolls, they’ll see animations popping up next to the text. Or an additional graphic, explaining what they just read. Scrollytelling is about providing additional context and enriching content with dynamic elements that lure users through motion, illustrations, and contextualisation.?

Our recent work with E1 World Championship utilises scrollytelling to keep visitors to their site engaged and increasing site dwell time.

Visual design again is key in the Every Last Drop website, which uses cartoon illustrations to detail water usage in the UK. Here, designers keep text to a minimum and instead showcase easy to understand and visually stimulating graphics. This method encourages users to learn about a serious topic by using playful scrollytelling.

In 2023, UX/UI designers should explore creative ways to bring scrollytelling into their products to surprise and delight their users.

Consolidating cross-service experiences?

Simplicity is key – and consolidating cross-service experiences will be a continuing trend in 2023.

In 2022 we primarily saw enterprise companies integrating specialised systems from independent suppliers into their products. Moving into 2023, the next generation of cross-service experiences will be defined by a focus on extending and improving the customer experience. When it comes to choosing cross-service partners, enterprise leaders will consider companies whose products complement the needs of their customers’ own journey and requirements.

Hive SmartCharge Saver is an add-on that works with Hive EV Charging and any British Gas tariff. It uses intelligent scheduling to charge your electric car at the cheapest, greenest times on the grid.

In 2023 Hive are further consolidating their cross-service experiences, they’re already working on the next generation of SmartCharge features that will give their customers even greener and cheaper energy.

From solar panels and home batteries to Virtual Power Plants that link you up with other electric car owners, they’re “getting ready to connect you to the energy system of tomorrow.”

2023 is shaping up to be another transformative year for UX/UI Design.

Bolstered by recent technology-led advances, product teams have an even greater opportunity to bring a more human approach to product design.

It'll be this data and user-centric thinking that cuts through an ever growing world of apps, services and platforms.

Ready to push the boundaries of your product design this year?

Drop us a line to explore how we can help bring your brave ideas to market -

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