Top 10 Mobile App UI UX Design Trends To Follow In 2021

With the ‘phone in hand’ revolution over the last few years, we have a phone in almost every hand on this planet. This means users browse several websites, apps in a small fraction of time dividing their attention span to a few seconds – before they decide to discard and go about or to stay longer. To survive in this fight for eyeballs, UI/UX are of prime importance. People are attracted with new technologies and trends while outdated, obsolete things may be a turn-off for many. A very small thing might also lead the user to uninstall the mobile app forever never to return back.

Here is an analysis on some of the upcoming Mobile app UI/UX design trends in Mobile apps that will dominate this opening year of the twenty first century’s third decade.

As people access the internet on the move or from almost anywhere, the comfortability of the eye gets increasingly more important. Unhappy eyeballs have the power to throw the app into the bin. People access apps anywhere from while travelling in a metro, sitting in a coffee shop, while driving an automobile, as they talk with someone to those using mobiles inside their mattresses. The privacy of what they are doing and the comfort as the content strikes the eyes attack the conscious and subconscious mind of a person enabling them to create an opinion for the app they are using. More and more mobile apps are giving the facility of dark mode to users. When a user is accessing the mobile in low light conditions the eyes would strain in visiting a bright page on the mobile. A dark background is good for the eyes.

Also Read: Reasons why UI/UX design is important for business growth

Especially, when a page requires to read, users may find it easier to go through the content in black or dark backgrounds. Another big advantage of dark mode is a battery saving of around 15% or more depending on the app. People on the move may be short on batteries or trying to save them for future use. These users would want to switch to night modes, without which they may prefer not to use the app. More and more apps have started incorporating Night Mode options on their apps with a host of features that are easy for eyes and the battery.

With the bombardment of information and media on users, minimalistic designs with large impact are considered best in the changing world. A minimalistic design gives little elements to users with only necessary functionalities. This will enable the user to pay attention only to the required details quickly and take decisions. In a crowded content the real message may be lost or the user may be either deviated or let-off.

Minmalistic designs ensure that the brand or the product influences the customer to take the decision and adopt the flow as they require. ‘Less is More’ is the underlying principle for minimalistic designs. The concept might be new for web designing but, it has been around since a long time in art and design. It has its roots in Japanese culture which balances simplicity and art in architecture, designs, graphics, interiors etc. Minimisation is THE choice of the people in coming times.

With content writing becoming more and more professional, people tend to get over used to the professional write ups. Regular sophisticated writing and explanations are boring for many people, who fly on the content quickly often skipping the entire essence of what message we are trying to put across. A leading content that will be interactive and short and sweet is more preferable to increase consumer interest. If a content slightly life-like that touches a chord in a person’s heart, it may lead the user to read with interest and wait for what will come next.

People are already reading a lot of content every day that goes in and out of the head. If we want the content to stay into their head and get them involved with what we are communicating, we need the content to be something that asks them, that tells them something that they did not think about. Content will play a major role in the years to come. Professional content writers need to be more and more creative and experimental in their web writings.

Buttons and elements in regular shapes may pass-off without much attention. The designer needs to come up with new organic shapes that can capture the attention of a user. The shapes may be 2D, 3D and may change their shapes in real time as functions are executed. Blobs are functional objects for images, audio or other multimedia elements. They are actually a collection of binary data stored as a single entity in a database management system. In English ‘blob’ is a slang for shapeless and indistinct form or object. The free features of blobs gives a lot of creativity to designers and programmers to amaze the user.

Bringing the virtual more and more closer to the real is the task technology is working on today at all levels. With the enhancement of the weightage of time spent in the virtual world in a human life, technologies that bring the virtual world to life would be more preferable. Augmented reality is an interactive experience of the real-world environment where computer generated objects are made to give an experience closer to the real world. Virtual reality creates a simulated environment for the user. Hence, instead of watching something on the screen in 2D, the user himself/herself becomes a part of the environment with a more immersive experience to the whole thing.

Also Read: The key benefits of redesigning your digital product

VR and AR with their spectrum of possibilities can attract the user in the brand new experience and spend more time, thereby getting influenced by the brand or the product. By the end of this year, technology is expected to see a lot of new creative things in VR and AR. Web designers can gain maximum advantage from the advancements. VR and AR are most suitable for mobile apps as the handheld small device gives the freedom to users to interact in any posture.

Regular elements for functions in a mobile app or a website are becoming monotonous as users and visitors. The app needs to fascinate them. 3D elements like objects, functions, buttons, content, menu etc. can give a fresh new experience to users. 3D elements have been in for a long time, but, this is the time to make their use to the optimum level. Three dimensional objects would be a UI UX designer’s highway to become an eye-catcher.

The three dimensional elements can come to life with the function keys executed, it could be made to animate, play a game or graphically attract the user. Just an ordinary design can also be made to look impressive by the right use of three dimensional design. More and more companies have started using futuristic designs in their web presence to create a lasting impression and engage the user more.

The touch interface is being replaced by voice and video interaction at more and more places. There are users who feel more comfortable to tell something than to write and describe. Giving a user to use voice instead of writing is getting leverage. Videos are replacing plain images. Voice and Video give a wholesome multimedia experience to the user, making them more comfortable and interested. UI UX designers need to expertise in making optimum use of voice and video channels in their designs. Making the customer more expressive and doing things passively along with other things, without spending actual time, can be possible with voice and video interfaces in the mobile app. The usage of voice and video channels can only increase from here as new generations like to do things on the go.

Effective animations can build a strong connection between the user and the brand. To start with even a creative loading animation can help increase user retention. A large proportion of users leave while the app loads especially for apps and functions that take time to load. A creative loading animation would keep the user engaged by the time the data is processed and functions are loaded. Usual activities like scrolling, sidebar navigation and welcome messages can be animated to make the user experience more swift and likeable. Out of the box 3D animations are also killing the competition these days. Well thought out and interactive animations mostly converts to more time consumed by the user using the mobile app. As everyone knows, increasing user engagement is the key to business today.

Gone are the days when people will read preachings or marketing messages. They would only spend time to read something that interests you. Storytelling is an art that uses facts and narratives to communicate something. Storytelling is an age old trick to engage a person as it stimulates imagination and passion. In today’s hi-tech world it would be useful to have content writers who are good at storytelling. The content that will communicate with users in the mobile app needs to unreveal things one after the other as if a story is being told. Stories have a sense of mystery and curiosity. As people get bored with more and more content hitting their eyes, a simple storytelling technique can keep them glued asking for more.

Normal symmetrical layouts have been around for over a decade now. Jump your creative instincts to create layouts that are wildly different. Create a UI/UX that breaks the symmetry and keeps the visitor wondering about something they have never expected or seen before. Let users remember you for showing them something new and it will increase their attachment for your app and brand ultimately. Give asymmetric layouts a try in 2021.

Uaxe  is one of the most creative UI/UX design agency with a focus on enhancing the value of the brand through visionary intelligence. Uaxe assures through its over one million man-hours of experience in customer service, that the solution provided would be most appropriate in converting visitors into clients and drastically influence repeat business. We assure you that Uaxe would be the most awesome UI/UX design agency for your awesome brand and product.