5 UX/UI design predictions for 2021

Design trends are like living entities, constantly evolving and adapting to the world around it. Designer and consumer preferences go hand in hand when it comes to how design looks and functions. With the growing demand for intuitive workflows, artificial intelligence, more white space and less clutter, UX/UI design is pushing its way into the spotlight more than ever.

Here are a few business aspects we believe will utilize these UX/UI Design predictions in the coming year, as we continue to navigate modern working environments. These design trends will continue to impact every aspect of business for the foreseeable future.

Simplified Onboarding

As of now, most employees are working from their homes, and will be for the foreseeable future. Companies still have no plans of going back into the office, and won’t for a while. 2020 became the year that employees found that they actually enjoy a few aspects of working from home. Because of this, we see simplified virtual onboarding becoming more and more important as even more work processes go online.

Many companies have already begun simplifying and moving their onboarding process online to save valuable money and time. This will only grow as the modern working environment evolves. This is where UX/UI Design plays a large part in streamlining this entire process.

Through designing a seamless onboarding process from start to finish, the employee can smoothly transition into the company. This can be done with the employee filling out their online paperwork before their start date, offering virtual training manuals and also lends flexibility to the onboarding process.

Design will play a large role in the design process of onboarding through the use of showing a progress bar at the top, simplifying steps, and saving the page if there’s an error or a glitch. There is no end to how UX/UI Design can simplify not just the onboarding process, but all future work from home technical processes.

AI

Artificial intelligence has seen a rise in recent years – starting with Watson IBM appearing on jeopardy in 2010 to installing sleek GPS systems in cars, to today, with companies utilizing AI to provide personalized user experiences. Some of the most famous companies worldwide have found success with AI, like Spotify and Netflix. Both use AI learning to offer suggested content based on your previous choices, and users love this. These personalized features have become a staple to most people who expect and demand similar content set to their preferences.

AI is concerned with learning the patterns and workflows of users, and optimizing the experience based off of the user’s behavior. As personalized experiences continue to explode in popularity, we predict streamlined digital experiences that utilize AI will see nothing but upward growth this year.

As more users lean on the support from chat boxes, Siri and Alexa, we are becoming an AI driven world. We predict that AI learning and its integration into our lives will grow and stay for a very long time.

Bright Colors + Impactful Typography

While dark mode might be the continuing trend for operating systems, website design seems to be turning towards bright colors. Pastels are still very much in, and white space on pages is essential to avoiding a cluttered background.

While images are often the first thing a visitor notices, they immediately turn their attention to the words on the page. Language is just as important to communicate your message. Bold, modern typography will also be on the rise. Sans serif fonts will be at the forefront of design in 2021, along with exciting visuals and colors.

Visually attractive and attention grabbing graphics are very much needed on companies’ websites today. We predict you will see more and more bright and appealing colors and simple graphics in 2021.

Minimalism

This is an ongoing trend. Why does the less-is more-mentality appeal to consumers and designers? We are bombarded with images, words, animations every time we go online. Sometimes, when you create a ‘peaceful’ website it may stand out more than something loud.

As we discussed earlier, stand out graphics and attention grabbing visuals combined with a minimalist website is the symbiotic relationship to strive for. This is a step in the right direction – leaving behind pages cluttered with text and overwhelming amounts of information. We will be seeing this kind of minimalist design everywhere in 2021.

Informal Language

We predict how customers and visitors are spoken to will continue to lose more formality. Text that sounds like it was written by a human will be even more important. Injecting your company voice with personality will be everywhere this coming year. With the quarantine shutting down travel, bars, parties etc… the “perfect life” narrative has changed. Influencers and celebrities are showing the behind-the-scenes of their lives, ditching the facade. Companies will begin to follow suit.

We will definitely be seeing less ceremonious language on company websites and their social media. What we will start seeing is company voices standing out. Current examples are fast food chains playfully trading insults on social media. E News hopped on the latest virtual trend, changing their bio to whatever Miley Cyrus comments on their instagram post.

This trend is sure to last a long time, with many companies’ online presence displaying personalized tones and injecting more human touches into their brand.

Wrapping Up

We believe these UX/UI design predictions will be everywhere this time next year. 2021 is going to be the year of eCommerce, so design is more important than ever. Our lead graphic designer is an essential part to our company branding, design and presence. Not only does her intuitive designs showcase our brand identity online, but to our clients as well.

Websites, now more than ever, need specialized UX/UI design. Websites can ensure higher conversion rates through intuitive workflows, attention grabbing call-to-action buttons and minimalist design. Having a skilled graphic designer is pretty much imperative if companies want to compete in today’s online marketplace. These design trends will only continue to evolve and grow in importance.

If you are looking for an optimized web design that will keep up with the trends in 2021, give us a call! Meet our team and discuss how to optimize your site for the upcoming year.