With the rapid growth in technology in recent years, mobile phones or cell phones have fundamentally altered the lives of people; it has changed their way of working, socializing with people, organizing, and entertaining themselves. Smartphones have given a new face to service sectors in the form of mobile applications. These are designed such that people can perform specific tasks at their fingertips. Talking about the design trends of mobile apps in 2021, the apps will look more colorful, vibrant, more polished, more engaging, and in every way, the apps will be more of what we have seen and used in the past.
According to researches, we have found out that many app designers are looking back in time to gain some inspiration and trendy ideas for design some of the coolest and interactive apps. The designers would probably like to work with a retro flair, use throwback color palettes and designs that will bring a feeling of nostalgia among its users, along with some hottest and the most popular and interactive trends that will add a new life and spark to the upcoming applications. Based on the research here is the list of top 10 trendy designs that apps of 2021 will have.
1. Fresh color palettes
One of the most branding trends of 2021 is the usage of fresh color palettes and maxed out colors in the apps. Now no more basic colors will be seen while using the apps, instead, the UI/UX designers have decided to fascinate the users with a new range of vibrant and energetic colors. The app designers are focusing on every color of the rainbow but the colors that will be the stand-outs in the upcoming apps are purple, blue, pink, and neon. These are the colors that pop up even in the dark mode feature and bring in a glowy and cyber funk feel in the apps. You can also find usage of mismatched colors as they catch a user’s attention due to their uniqueness.
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2. Transparent and semi-transparent elements
Another feature that will fascinate the app users in the year 2021 is that the gradient, color pops, and overlays are going to be transparent and semi-transparent on the user’s screen. Experimenting with transparency channels will be the new trend in the mobile apps as it creates depth in what we see, defines space, and creates a focal point. The sensation app designers are constantly working on this technology to beautify the apps.
3. Dark mode
As per researches, people spend at least four to six hours daily on their cell phones, which not only drains the phone’s battery but also ends up putting a strain on their eyes. Many brands such as YouTube, Instagram, and Apple offer multiple themes selecting options in their products and have adopted a dark theme in this year only. In the year 2021, the designers will focus on making dark modes for apps and use neon and glowing gradients to pop up the elements on a dark background. In the coming years, dark mode in the apps will be the new trend.
4. 3D design
One of the biggest trends in the coming years will be the usage of immersive 3D elements and designs in the apps to fascinate the users. AS the trend of AR and VR technologies are gaining momentum now, so the designers have the perfect idea of combining the two techniques to create hyper-realistic 3D graphics to lit up user’s screen and provide them with a fascinating experience. For the year 2021, the UI/UX designers and entrepreneurs are taking a step forward to prettify their apps and websites with this 3D technology. This can help app developers increase their potential customers and encourage them to spend a long time on their apps.
5. Surreal illustrations with product photos
Days are gone when you could find classic and realistic images of products on apps. Now take a step forward with the new trend of UI/UX designs of putting surreal photographs of items on the app and website. As we all know that e-commerce platforms and online stores are on the top priority list of the users, so the main idea of designers is to amaze people and attract them by showcasing interesting and bizarre elements and photos of products.
6. Geometric and 3D shapes design
The simplicity of a design will be mixed up with depth, gradient, and shadow of 3d designs along with round, organic, and irregular shapes. In 2021 the apps will have soft, irregular shapes gaining attraction and making it easier to interact with the stereotypically cold tech environment. The designers in the coming years will not make simple and flat designs rather their designs will be abstract and confident, and will surely fascinate the users. The apps will have deceptively simple and alluring designs and shapes, which will depict the creation and imagination of the app designer.
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7. Dynamic functional animation
The main component that adds new life to mobile apps is animation. The moves and motions bring a rhythm to the interaction and deliver a lot of information. Small animated elements gain user’s attention while scrolling, offer smooth in-app interactions, enhance the usability of the app, show page hierarchy, and navigate people through interface elements.
“The animated elements can bring more emotions to your app product, hence the UI/UX designers think of what feeling they want to awake in the user’s heart before working on the layout.” – as elaborated by Krzysztof Biga, the COO & co-founder of Miquido, in one of his recent blog posts.
In 2021 you will find more enhanced graphics and animated elements in apps, which will give you an exciting experience.
8. New enhanced typography
The key to designing creative mobile apps in 2021 will be typography. The main focus will be to have scalable and eye-catching typography so that people who are used to rapid scrolling can read the statements. Although bold fonts are a part of old typography, yet this trend will gain momentum in 2021. The app designers will use bold fonts to make titles and captions eye-catching and to add a sense of information. Another new trend in this niche will be 3D typography, which will add an artistic flow to typography. The ultra-realistic lettering, 3D animation, texture, and pattern will rapidly become a great symbol of innovation in typography, utilizing all fashionable techniques and using them for typography most stunningly and fascinatingly.
9. Voice User Interface (VUI)
Voice user interface uses the technology of speech recognition to facilitate a connection between user and technology. Virtual assistants and voice chatbots will be the new hottest trend in mobile apps in 2021. VUI will act as a personal assistant who will not only understand the current needs of the user but also predicts their future needs. It will change our way of searching for information and taking notes as this UX design allows the user the advantage of using voice interaction with existing graphical interfaces making it interactive and convenient to use. Many brands such as Apple, Android, and Google have already implemented this trend in their design process of UI/UX. In 2021 this human-centered design technology will go a step forward to give its users a thrilling experience.
10. Face Id
All of us need to have some sort of security to protect the information on our devices. Earlier we can have a sense of security through passwords, pin, and pattern lock. Then in recent years, designers developed fingerprint lock, that gave users the benefit of passwords not being leaked over the shoulder but it too has some sort of disadvantages.
But now the new technology has given birth to face recognition on phones which is the fastest and most convenient way to unlock a phone as no buttons are required and it automatically analyzes multiple parts of the face. However, it will not be a new technology in 2021 as in 2020 many Apple, Samsung, and Google phones have already implemented this as a basic hardware feature, but in 2021 designers will make this feature better and accurate and they will try their best to fill in the gaps and make face id secure enough.
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Final words
An indeterminately large number of mobile apps are present on Google play store and Apple app store which are a mix of old and bold fashioned fonts, older color palettes, and textures. The new upcoming apps in 2021 will give you a completely new and exciting experience; the app design will make you feel good. The new dark mode will make your eyes feel relaxed while reading late at night, the new color pallets and 3D design will be interactive to use and everything will be simpler and fun to use.
The UI and UX trend promise to amaze people in 2021 by using new mobile app designs and using completely new approaches. The mobile application industry will continue to grow at a rapid pace hence creating a highly competitive development space, making it important for app designers and developers to keep updated about the latest trends and technologies.
