Dear reader, if you came here today it's because you can't wait to know what are the 7 golden rules to create the perfect User Experience in your website. Or because you simply want some inspiration for your new graphic creations. If that's your first reason for reading this article, we feel sorry for you but the perfect UX design doesn't exist. You're going to have to learn to live with this huge weight on you. However, if you are looking for ideas on how to implement your interfaces so that they are in line with current standards, then the next few lines may interest you. In this article We've summarized for you 7 UX trends expected this year. Useful hints to keep your website or app alive and up to date.
What is User Experience and why is it important? Today more than ever it's the user's perspective that counts when designing a graphic interface. He is at the center of the design choices: which colors to use, where to place the different interface elements, with which animations to signal interactions: everything must be designed to meet the needs of those who use that interface and thus ensure an excellent User Experience, or a satisfactory relationship between a person and a product, in our case a digital and web interface.
However, technological progress as well as the evolution of fashions and user habits constantly present us with new challenges, because they push us to rethink and redesign the layout of our applications with a certain frequency.
A graphic layout that worked 3 years ago is not necessarily still valid. The shapes of new devices, the dimensions and the methods through which it is possible to interact are constantly changing. In doing so, they render obsolete graphic solutions that until recently were performing well. Today's user is more aware, is attentive and knows how to recognize a fresh and engaging interface from a dated and probably unreliable one. For this reason, it is essential for all professionals to always look around and see what trends are in vogue at the moment and in the near future. So settle in, grab your pen and inkwell and jot down what the latest trends in UX design are.
User Experience Best Practices of 2022
7 new trends to improve the user experience
We certainly can't say that Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality in 2021 are new, however it is necessary to point out how their popularity and areas of application are increasing, seeing the introduction of these technologies in more and more disparate contexts. Already in vogue in the gaming market, VR and AR are slowly spreading also in less playful areas, proving to be useful tools to support and assist people, such as in retail or health care, or in education and the art world, being used in a more educational/informative perspective. A possible introduction in the near future also in the tourism sector cannot be excluded. For the type of service offered, the travel experience could be enriched very soon with virtual experiences, both in the pre-stay phase and during the trip itself.
Siri, Alexa, Cortana will have more and more siblings, able to support consumers whenever they need it. The spread of chatbot systems is already proving to be an indispensable tool for providing constant support to users and optimizing the work of teams, and will continue this trend in the years to come. Websites, apps and eCommerce will increasingly leverage machine learning for an increasingly customised user experience tailored to the needs of the individual user.
The gradual improvement of the situation related to COVID-19 and a rapprochement to normality will lead companies to prefer bright and colorful designs for their websites and apps. With a view to a positive vision of the future, the brand should also reflect this thought, abandoning dull tones in favour of more relaxed and lively solutions. If we have seen an increase of dark themes in many of the sections, we assume that people will tend to prefer white backgrounds and icons, boxes, buttons instead marked by light and bright tones. All of this is done by skilfully juxtaposing the different shades with each other.
"Touch me, touch me" sang Samantha Fox in the 80s. But times change and so do trends, especially in the digital sphere."
Connected to AI implementations is also the progressive diffusion of touchless interactions, especially voice ones. Interacting via voice with one's own device allows one to save time and perform other actions in the meantime. An experience that we already have in our daily lives, in the perennial request for information from our smartphone with a "Hey Google" or asking Sky to show us a certain channel. Contactless solutions are also on the rise, able to be activated by a simple body gesture. Always coming from the world of entertainment, they are crossing the boundaries of gaming to land in a world where contact with foreign surfaces is increasingly discouraged.
"Complicating is easy, simplifying is difficult" Bruno Munari
It is in the words of the artist and designer of the 20th century that the most difficult challenge for designers and user experience researchers can be found: Improve the user experience not by adding extra elements and stimuli, but by stripping the interface of all unnecessary frills, which risk only creating confusion in the user's mind. Solutions that emphasize user experience through simplicity. Because in an increasingly fast-paced world where we are bombarded with thousands of pieces of information every minute, this is what the modern user needs.
The user is increasingly mobile and uses the smartphone in any situation and context. It is therefore important that the copy is always easily readable, so what to do? Enlarge the font. Big headlines, underlined keywords with prominent bold are one of the top trends in web design 2022. The font can also be a great ploy to give dynamism to the page and improve not only the usability of the website but also its user experience. Don't be afraid to exaggerate, rather use less verbose descriptions that get to the heart of the matter and play with the size of fonts and spaces between paragraphs. Your user interface will benefit in terms of appeal and ease of use.
The user must always be aware that your action has been received by the device. And much more when your attention is fragmented and reduced to a few moments. So any micro-action (a click or a tap on an icon, on a button) performed on a website or an app must be accompanied by a microinteraction.
Microinteractions can bring numerous benefits such as:
We have reached the end of this article. We hope that these lines have turned on in you some light bulb on possible solutions to test in your website or web app. If you don't know how to apply them and need support in bringing them to reality, write to us at info@onectus.com. We'll find the right solution for you together. Ah, don't forget to keep following us. Fill out the form if you want to stay up to date on our articles and news.
