UX Design Trends That Will Shape 2022
A glance at some potential UX trends in 2022, including dark themes, virtual and augmented reality, 3D graphics and animation, and scrollytelling.
To say that 2020 and 2021 were a rollercoaster ride is an understatement.?While it was a year of pure chaos from a health, social, and political perspective, it was also a fast-paced 12 months of product, innovation, and experience. With 2021 nearly behind us, let’s check out what the predicted UX trends are for 2022!
The world of digital design is constantly evolving. With each passing day, platforms grow more innovative, the market is more competitive, and keeping your audience’s undivided attention for a minute of their overstimulated daily lives becomes a challenge. Last year, more than ever, the pandemic shifted our consumer habits. One of the most striking changes has been the turnaround in online shopping. Thus, brands had to step up their game and improve their UX and UI not to be left behind! But 2021 was a good year if we’re talking about UI and UX design, so we can expect to see some of the 2021 trends in 2022 as well, of course.
UX / UI: What does that mean?
You probably heard about?UX?and?UI, also called?user experience?and?user interface, but what do they stand for?
UX design
User experience (UX) is the interaction and experience users have with a company’s products and services. UX’s principal goal is to offer the best user experience and meet the customer’s needs. It’s all about getting to know our users, finding the perfect tone and strategy of communication, and looking for an easy, friendly way to provide for the user, based on his tastes, needs, and opinions. In UX, designing the experience of a client optimally is a must.
UI design
User interface (UI) design is used to improve the?user interaction with a product. Unlike UX, UI is more focused on the visual aspect to catch the user’s eye and encourage him to stay on the website page?or an app. Interaction between users and computer systems, software and applications are crucial. UI designers work hard on the look, feel and interactivity of the product. The more intuitive the interface of a product is, the better. User UI includes icons and buttons, typography, color schemes, and responsive design.
Why Good UX Design Means Better Business
According to Forrester, “good UX boosts employee productivity, empowering them to more efficiently meet organizational goals”. In a recent study, Forrester showed that a well-designed user interface could raise your conversion rate?by up to 200%, and a better UX design could yield conversion rates up to 400%. Bottom line: good user experience is good for business.
Top User Experience (UX) Design Trends 2022 You Need to Catch Up To
What are we going to see in 2022 in the UX domain? What will be the main UX trends for 2022? Experts agree that some 2021 trends are here to stay for a little longer.
1.?Dark theme
If 2020 was still “The Rise of Dark Mode,” 2022 will finally determine the mainstream. Big players like Meta (formerly Facebook) or Apple have discovered dark mode as an alternative to the standard layout and continue exploring it. But what makes dark mode so special? These are some of the main reasons:
2.?3D elements
It’s official — 3D makes a comeback. 3D will replace all interfaces, even those that were previously made using flat structures. Experts indicate that 3D elements will be one of the most important trends and advise you to start diving into the idea of implementing them in your business. 3D is the key to improving usability and will make the design way more original. Developing 3D effects can make the user interface more informative and interesting.
3.?Abstract data visualization
We all love data. Data display helps us gain insights and understand large amounts of information in an engaging way. But let’s face it, graphs and charts are overused and so out-of-date. 2022 will be the data revolution. UX designers will have to think outside the box and create innovative, animate infographics easier for users to perceive.
4.?Scrollytelling
Remember this word because it’s going to change the UX panorama. Scrollytelling will be pretty much on every popular website and apps you’ll see in 2022. Dynamic texts appear when scrolling down grabbing the user’s attention and making them actually read. Although creating this kind of project requires time and effort, the result is totally worth it!
Here are some benefits of Scrollytelling:
5.?Virtual and Augmented Reality
?VR and AR became popular due to the Covid pandemic. During the lockdown, we were able to visit and walk around the most famous museums in the world in our PJs. Covid forced developers?to use augmented reality, squeezing the best out of it. Take IKEA Place, for example. Users can place 3D models of IKEA products in any place in their house to see how good they will look there. Definitely, VR and AR will continue to play a major role in UX design in 2022.
6.?Optimization for more screen sizes and pixels
?In 2022 we’re going to see a lot about adaptability. App designers have recently been mostly focused on mobile phones when designing interfaces for apps, but it’s time to take it to the next level. Smartphones and desktops have changed during the last years —foldable phones, gadgets without frames, curved-edge phones, so developers will have to rewrite the interface from scratch or take this moment into account when creating a new resource with an appealing and attractive design.
Why are trends that significant?
In this digital era, no one can possibly know what the next big advancement in tech will be or how to harness it successfully. The world is constantly changing, and digital content is evolving at its pace. At ThinkUp, we believe that the best way to persevere and to thrive is by being flexible to changes and managing to plow through adversity. Apps appear and disappear without leaving any trace, so how can we keep the boat afloat? Easy. Evolving. Veering towards newer horizons. Following the cutting-edge trends
To sum up
There are millions of trends that we can follow in UX / UI design, but we must always keep in mind that all of them have one goal in common: comfort and ease. Remember, design always changes, and so do trends, so the most important thing is to always look for an easy, friendly design that users will find appealing and fresh. User-friendly is a must for your UX design to be a total hit!