Design trends are ever-changing, but the purpose remains the same. Businesses need to retain their customers and earn more customers each day. Users’ needs and expectations are never constant. It keeps increasing and businesses need to cater to their expectations and accommodate it in their design.
In the process, the most important aspect to consider is that the design should not be focused on what we prefer, but what the customer prefers. The goal is to ultimately create a design that is attractive, engaging, and easy to use for the end-user or the customer.
Today, with improved network speeds, it is possible to create and view complex and attractive design ideas for web and mobile applications and product design.
Popular Design Trends to Follow in 2020
Here are the popular design trends that your business can consider and follow in web, mobile, and product design to create a better user experience and earn customers’ trust and loyalty.
1. Customer-Centric Design
Customer-centric or user-centric design is framed around the needs and limitations of the end-users. Shift from business-centric to user-centric model in design. Focus on customer-centric design is the need of the hour because the success of your business depends on your customers.
If the customers find it difficult to use your web and mobile applications, you cannot expect them to trust your product and brand. So, the main rule of user-centric design is creating a user-friendly design that the end-user can conveniently understand and leverage.
Another important factor is the users’ limitations. When designers design the application based on their likes and preferences, it is likely that a user who is not so tech conversant, may not be able to understand how to use the application. So, it is important to think from the users’ perspective to achieve the best and most customer-friendly design.
In short, think like the end-user and design accordingly. Design what the customer or user is likely to find convenient and good. Keep this in mind at every stage of your design. This is achieved by design thinking with emotion mapping. At every step, keep solving the users’ problems realized in the design thinking process. Keep brainstorming until you find that the design is user-friendly.
2. Intuitive Design
Another popular approach in design at present that is proving successful is intuitive design. Intuitive design, as the word suggests, is a design that is self-explanatory to the user. If a user finds a need to seek help for using your app at every step, he/she will lose interest in the application and will never return. A user is likely to recommend the app to others only when he finds it self-explanatory and easy to use.
The main element of intuitive design is simplicity; a design that is simple and does not confuse the users. The user interface should be designed based on how the user is expected to react on first use. The design elements should be self-explanatory and must provide all that the user needs.
Do not keep excess details on a single screen. This distracts users and makes it difficult for them to find what they need. For example, when a new user trying to open a Gmail account goes to Google.com, the display is so simple and self-explanatory that the user can immediately find the link to “Gmail” on the top. Had there been numerous design elements, advertisements, links, or images on this page, the user would have struggled or waited for somebody to help him find the link to Gmail. Isn’t this one of the design secrets behind the huge success of “Gmail” globally?
3. Voice User Interface
Users now prefer voice commands instead of using their hands for ease. So, today, businesses need to start designing voice user interfaces too. At present, it is a challenge to design a VUI as it is not so common and there are less experience and data available to design this.
Voice user interface in an app needs to inform the user what he or she can do with the app. You also need to tell them where they are or what functionality they are using! Provide them with voice-based menu options (up to 3 at a time) for the most common features they possibly need. Also, provide them the way to ask for more options if the given options do not serve their purpose. Do include a voice-enabled search on the app.
For example, a recipe app with voice support is preferable when you are cooking and cannot touch the mobile screen with your hands. The app would ask the user what recipe he wants. It would then give a few options in voice and ask the user to choose one. It will play the recipe audio instructions step-by-step. It also needs to offer a way to go back to the previous step easily, in case the user misses out some details.
4. Augmented Reality
Augmented reality helps merge the users with the brands and their products. For example, a home furniture’s AR app (IKEA) that allows users to “place” the furniture in their home-setting and see if it suits. The user’s real home environment is merged with the brand’s furniture here. The user gets the privilege of knowing if this is the right fit for his home, before purchasing the product. If one product does not look great, the user can easily test another on the app until he is satisfied. Thus, the user won’t get the apprehension of purchasing the wrong product and regretting it later.
AR designs help make the user journey easy. This applies to all, mobile and web app designs as well as product design. When you see it, you believe it; that is way AR in design generates trust and interest among users and helps improve business.
5. Virtual Reality
Virtual reality helps immerse the users in a fully artificial or virtual environment designed to imitate a real-environment. Simulations in design through virtual reality offer magical results in customer or user engagement.
The simplest and most common example of this is the driving simulator app that helps users learn the basics of driving and understand the challenges in an entertaining virtual apparatus that feels as exciting as playing a game.
In designing for VR, the challenge is not only designing for people but also designing for the system. So, it is important to focus on the problems that the prospective users face in the real environment through the VR experience. VR designs are gaining immense success in product design as well as mobile and web app designs due to the simple fact that these entertain the user.
6. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
AI and ML are proving magical in web and mobile apps design as well as product design. The list of top design trends is incomplete without AI and ML. Brands are commonly using this to enhance user experience and engage users.
AI and ML have a very important role to play in mobile, web, and product design. AI uses computer vision and facial recognition to gather useful information about the user to include age, gender, location, and even users’ mood. Designers can leverage this data to improve the app and create a better user experience.
AI chatbots are gaining popularity in mobile and web applications, as these give a personalized experience to the users and make their journey easy and smooth.
7. Storytelling Through Animated Characters
Another popular design trend that would dominate in 2020, is storytelling through animated characters. The virtual or animated characters guide the app users on how they can make the best use of the app and inform them about the benefits and features of the app!
Using storytelling, you can provide engaging app demo to the users making their journey easy and exciting!
Imagine an animated lady, guiding you through the e-commerce application, telling you all the features and options available on the app and instructing you how to find the product you need. Won’t you recommend this app to those friends who are always reluctant to try new or complex apps?
Wrapping Up
Design is the crux of web and mobile apps and even products. This is why design firms continuously innovate on design. Customer engagement is important for every business and the root of customer engagement is a design that customers love and understand.
“Design adds value faster than it adds costs.”
Joel Spolsky
A highly interactive design may cost more. But, businesses have realized that spending time and money on creating the right design proves to be profitable in the long-run and covers all the expenses incurred on it.
So, it is important to follow the latest design trends for building your app. Contact Ultimus Lab and we will create the right app design solution for your business needs.
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