10 Design Trends2014UX/UI trends for mobile solutions

In the past year we have seen less and less skeumorphic design

but this doesn’t mean that we’re moving towards two dimensional

interfaces. On the contrary, interfaces will become more layered and

taking full advantage of the z-axis. This approach gives a sense of

depth to the interface making the experience more tangible.

1. Layered Interfaces

Why do it?

Done right, this approach gives a real sense of 3D depth and will

establish a clear relationship between elements and interactions. This

is achieved by putting elements not in use at the back while placing

current interaction at the front.

While the ultimate goal is to simplify our interfaces and make them

more functional and usable, we should think twice when separating

content by lines and dividers.

2. Divide by elements & spacing, not lines

Why do it?

UI design is moving towards removing any unnecessary elements to

focus much more on functionality. Less lines and dividers will always

give your interface a cleaner, modern and more functional feel.

Always remember that there are other ways to separate content with

methods such as using blocks, spacing or different colors.

The screen is not only a touch target but also a gesture target.

Touching and gesture capabilities, as well as more gesture-based

actions have emerged. Swipe gestures are used to: go back, reach

the menu or trigger actions such as share, like or delete items.

3. Swipe, swipe & swipe

Why do it?

Although it may not be entirely self-evident initially, a gesture, once

discovered and learned, can become a delight to use and can bring

“magic” to the user experience, reducing steps in the user flow while

interacting with the interface. This allows for a quicker, more efficient

and comfortable experience for hand gestures since a larger area of

the screen is used for a function.

With the use of smartphones and mobile devices clearly increasing,

we find that people are using them in many different situations

and locations - while on the the subway, at work, at home, when

exercising etc. Users don’t want complex gestures, like three finger

tapping or needing both hands to use the phone. Users will use

the phone with one hand and rely on their thumb more as they find

themselves in stuations where they don’t always have both hands

free to use the device.

4. Thumb-focused interactions

Why do it?

When designing, take into consideration that your app will be used

in several contexts, people will not always be in the situation where

they can use more than one finger or both hands to interact with

your interface. Design for the lazy, this can increase the usage

of your app!

We will see a lot more apps with very simple color schemes. The use

of simpler color schemes is usually associated with the flat design

approach and the philosophy “less is more”. Using neutral colors for

the general scheme and adding just a bit of another stronger color for

calls to action, helps the user focus on the actions we want them to.

5. Simple color schemes

Why do it?

Simplifying the interface improves the user experience while having

too many colors can have a negative impact upon it. A good use of

colors highlights the action you want your users to carry out.

This year we will see an explosion of apps using this design pattern.

We’re pretty sure we’ll not only see this in the mobile space, but on

the web too.

6. Icons - Stroke & fill

Why do it?

This gives better contrast between active and inactive sections.

Recognition of active tabs, controls and toolbars is more straightforward.

Designers are moving away from textures and skeumorphic designs

to a new approach where motion and depth create a 3D effect.

Movement and animations are vital elements when embracing

this new paradigm, giving fluidity and more meaning to the user

experience. The specs and technical capabilities of the new

mobile devices allow designers and developers to create more

complex animations.

7. Animations - Do it well or don’t do it

Why do it?

Animated demo tutorials are a great way to capture users’ attention

while educating them on how best to use the app for the first time.

But don’t animate just for the sake of it, have a clear motivation

behind the animation effects, the abuse of motion effects can

completely ruin the experience.

The use of Helvetica (mostly light or thin versions) in iOS 7 is still a

hot topic between designers and typographers. We’re not saying

iOS 7 is perfect typography-wise, but the principle of simplifying

and reducing the numbers of fonts and weights is welcomed.

When designing an app think about how can you make the

typography powerful by playing with weights and dimensions, not

different typefaces.

8. One app, one typeface

Why do it?

This one goes hand in hand with simplifying color schemes and user

elements, as well as using space as dividers. The ultimate goal is

simplicity, functionality and usability.

Blur effects arise as a logical solution to a minimal user interface,

allowing a certain amount of play with the layers and hierarchy of

the interface.

9. Blur effects

Why do it?

It’s a very efficient solution when working with layered UX/UI since

it gives the user a clear understanding of the mobile solution’s

flow and hierarchy. This also gives designers a perfect opportunity

to explore different menu and overlay solutions. Even though we

eventually might grow tired of the effect it is an effective solution at

the present time.

2014 is the year of the Phablets. A Phablet is a merge between a

smartphone and a tablet and includes the best of both worlds. With

bigger screensizes come different layouts. Flexible devices are also

on the rise even though they might take longer than 2014 to

become a trend.

10. Phablets

Why do it?

The introduction and rise of Phablets will allow for layout adaptation

and UX solutions which perhaps were only previously taken into

consideration for tablets. Android devices are already on the

market with the Galaxy Note 3, while Apple and Windows will, in all

likelihood, shortly follow with their own devices.

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