{"id":5001,"date":"2018-07-13T14:36:33","date_gmt":"2018-07-13T11:36:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tubikstudio.com\/?p=5001"},"modified":"2023-07-24T11:34:28","modified_gmt":"2023-07-24T11:34:28","slug":"15-hot-ui-design-trends-for-web-and-mobile-in-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tubikstudio.com\/blog\/15-hot-ui-design-trends-for-web-and-mobile-in-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"15 Hot UI Design Trends for Web and Mobile in 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

Half a year is away – so it’s a perfect time to discuss hot design trends of this year. Let’s review some popular trends in user interface design for websites and mobile applications that are on the top of the wave now.<\/span><\/p>\n

Full-Screen Background Images<\/span><\/h2>\n

One of the trends found widely on diverse websites is the usage of full-screen background images, be it photos or specially rendered visualizations. This approach makes the screens visually and emotionally appealing. Also, it supports the feeling of the integrity of all the layout elements.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"big<\/p>\n

One of the slides for the landing page of the Big City Guide<\/a> applies the theme photo: the famous and easily recognizable landmark presents the city of Berlin to the users, making the page both elegant and informative.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"creativo<\/p>\n

Here’s the home page of the website made for the design studio specializing in exterior and interior design visualizations. The high-quality original graphics created and rendered for the page take all the background area: this way the image immediately sets the theme and presents the company services.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Several Interactive Layers<\/span><\/h2>\n

Creative experiments are constantly carried out by UI designers to find new interesting ways of making the webpage engaging and interactive. One of the growing trends is applying several interactive layers that make scrolling experience and interactions look original.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"save<\/p>\n

This is the animated concept of a charity website\u00a0devoted to saving the oceans. The designer makes two layers of the\u00a0copy move simultaneously when the slides change. By the way, the concept features one more popular trend of using textures and photos as the underlayer of text content, so-called image-filled typography.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Custom Digital Illustrations<\/span><\/h2>\n

Custom digital illustrations<\/a>\u00a0haven’t lost their positions; they are getting more and more presence on the web and mobile user interfaces. Made in various styles, custom graphics\u00a0effectively support the quick perception of the information on the page or screen. What’s more, they set\u00a0the solid ground for originality.<\/span><\/p>\n

Websites and apps apply custom\u00a0mascots<\/a>,\u00a0icons<\/a>,\u00a0and illustrations<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0enhance the looks of a page or screen as well as boost usability and intuitive navigation<\/a>.\u00a0In addition, images improve the accessibility of UX design pushing the limits of perception for users who have natural problems with text recognition such as, for instance, the dyslexic or non-reading preschoolers.<\/span><\/p>\n

One more growing trend is creating digital illustrations as title images for blog articles<\/a> (btw, you can see many of them here on Tubik Blog). It’s definitely a cool trend\u00a0because it adds aesthetics and beauty to blogs and websites we often read as well as broadens the creative horizons for artists.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"add<\/p>\n

The illustration created for the article\u00a03C of Interface Design: Color, Contrast, Content<\/a>. The designer chose the keyword \u201cColor\u201d as a core semantic element and showed the literal process of coloring something with paint. The contrast is reflected in the color palette of the artwork while the content is shown with the elements of the furniture in the office shown in the picture. The cat becomes a bright detail which adds dynamics and humor to the scene.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"web<\/p>\n

The illustration for the landing page<\/a> of a digital agency was built upon playing with the keyword \u201cGoals\u201d. The image of a basketball player was perfect for the theme as the moment of hitting the basket is a real reflection of achieving the goal. Rich catchy colors add the feeling of confidence and strength to the illustration.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"UI<\/p>\n

Original icons created for the Cuteen app<\/a>: custom graphics mark out specific categories of content in a catchy and engaging style.\u00a0Using the technique of closure, the designer made icons look dynamic so that it could give the feeling of the frozen movement.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Storytelling with Character Design<\/span><\/h2>\n

No doubt, the trend of custom graphics has opened a wider perspective to storytelling in the interfaces. More and more websites and mobile apps turn to specially designed characters showing the story, setting the atmosphere, sending the message or presenting the benefits in the way that corresponds to the mood, tone, and voice of the platform. Original characters help to make the interactions more human-like, set strong visual associations with the real world and instantly transfer the needed mood. What’s more, depending on the composition, the characters may become an effective tool to make the page or screen dynamic and lively.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"website<\/p>\n

The first set of custom illustrations made by Tubik for one of our recent projects\u00a0Florence App<\/a>. It is an online marketplace where self-employed nurses can find high-paying shifts across the UK. Characters create visual storytelling and present the features and benefits of the app.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"booking<\/p>\n

This is a design concept for a simple service helping users to find accommodation by the sea. Theme illustration supports the needed atmosphere and creates a strong emotional appeal.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"world<\/p>\n

This\u00a0illustration is deeply social: it\u2019s devoted to World Cancer Day which was marked globally on 4 February. The slogan for this year was \u201cWe can. I can\u201d \u2014 and this is how\u00a0the designer saw it, in one illustration showing all the path from pain to life. United, we will fight it!<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"social<\/p>\n

This animated set of illustrations is an onboarding<\/a> tutorial for a social network app. Based on storytelling, it aims at showing the functionality and nature of the app in a pleasant-looking and entertaining way which would correspond to the general style of UI design.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Split Screens<\/span><\/h2>\n

One of the hot trends of this year is the active usage of split screens in both web and mobile interfaces. This trend is nothing new – it goes away and comes back in various spheres of design, and now it’s definitely back and alive. The approach is believed to be effective in terms of responsive design as you may play with content variations not missing the consistency. What’s more, it opens the limitless area for color combinations and experiments. Some websites use split screens to present the duality of options of equal importance.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"dating<\/p>\n

The landing page for a dating app applies a diagonally split screen with color contrast, which creates visual harmony and consistency with diagonal shadows on the theme illustration. It makes the image elegant and impressive.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"web<\/p>\n

The encyclopedia website applies split-screen for the entry page, this way separating properly readable text part from beautiful photo content.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

As for mobile,\u00a0split screens become a user-friendly trend for interfaces based on the dark or bright background scheme<\/a>. It is a step towards proper readability in them which is often the issue of debates: applying boxes or spaces with the light background for core data blocks, designers solve this problem and add elegant contrast to the screen or page.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"vegan<\/p>\n

The Vegan Recipe app applies color split on the background when the users are swiping the cards of\u00a0recipes in the catalog, and also there is a contrast split of bright and light parts where the light one contains copy and is informative. The split\u00a0parts of the screen are transformed together with interactions keeping the process live and clear.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"watering<\/p>\n

The Watering Tracker<\/a> app uses a horizontally split screen: the upper part with the dark background is favorable for the elegant presentation of charts and visuals while the lower part applies the light background to keep the high level of readability.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Bold Typography<\/span><\/h2>\n

Bold and catchy typography<\/a> continues to keep its high presence in web and mobile layouts. In most cases, it becomes one of the key design elements and designers pay much attention to keeping it readable and scannable: typographic hierarchy<\/a> and choice of proper fonts are\u00a0among the core tasks of every UI design project.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"visual<\/p>\n

The landing page for the Big City Guide<\/a> applies the clear visual hierarchy of copy blocks and makes the name of the city the most catchy element of the layout. What’s more, it applies the technique cutting or inscribing the title keyword or a headline into the visual elements on the page. The approach strengthens the harmonic integrity of the layout elements and makes typography felt tightly united with everything in the interface.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Upper<\/p>\n

The Upper app<\/a> is simple and minimalistic, it doesn’t use any special\u00a0custom graphics, so text becomes the core design element. Thought-over and well-balanced bold typography makes it elegant and highly readable.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Buttonless UI<\/span><\/h2>\n

Although buttons are still one of the vital elements of UI design, this year we see more creative experiments on mobile user experience in the perspective of UI interactions without buttons. This approach saves precious space on the screen for more information and it is even believed to be the initial step to the virtual interfaces based on gestures only.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"nature<\/p>\n

One more educational concept from our team \u2013 an encyclopedia app<\/a> that presents interactive infographics for a variety of themes, this time elephants. All the interactions with the data happen based on gestures without any buttons<\/a> applied in the layout.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Vibrant and Bold Colors<\/span><\/h2>\n

One more trend in UI design is a great variety of color palettes<\/a> designers choose for applications and websites, including the bright and dark ones. The diversity of new fonts and typefaces, as well as usability studies, continue pushing the standards. So, designers are trying new combinations which will take advantage of diverse colors but won\u2019t lack in usability. More and more creatives are discovering new horizons combining traditional techniques with innovative approaches in the domain of color choice.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"music<\/p>\n

This is a creative concept for Music News App helping collects lyrics, news,\u00a0and\u00a0quizzes about music all in one place. UI is presented via a bright color scheme<\/a> and custom illustrations which make an app look original. The background of a home page applies geometric shapes that change their place and colors when users swipe through the screen.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Engaging Interface Animation<\/span><\/h2>\n

Interface animation<\/a>\u00a0is still a hot and debatable topic. Even with a big army of those who find UI animation an unnecessary feature overloading\u00a0user interface and making it more complicated, most users\u00a0expect the motion to be an integral part of interaction\u00a0experience. So, designers and developers\u00a0seek sophisticated methods to make animation pleasant-looking and problem-solving\u00a0feature of modern apps and websites.\u00a0Microinteractions<\/a>\u00a0supported by clear finalization via motion create fast feedback for the user and make the\u00a0experience positive and efficient while navigation simple\u00a0and intuitive. Animated buttons, switches, toggles, and other interactive elements inform the user in split seconds activating all the potential of fast visual perception.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"finance<\/p>\n

Here’s the application enabling people to track their expenses and income individually or in a group. The fonts are chosen to provide high readability as the screen is full of various data. Animation creates a stylish transition from the pie chart to the list applying color marking.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"slumber<\/p>\n

The Slumber app<\/a> features a nice and catchy point of the main screen – a custom illustration that is animated together with preloader and makes the process of waiting not boring and aesthetically appealing.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Hero Images for Landing Pages<\/span><\/h2>\n

Hero banners<\/a> are big images catching the user\u2019s attention in the first seconds of interaction with a webpage. They contribute much to the attractive visual presentation of the main content. Hero banners proved themselves as highly effective in setting the mood or transferring the message. Moreover, as well as any other striking graphics on web pages, this is a kind of content that is both informative and emotionally appealing. Prominent hero banners can satisfy multiple goals such as:<\/span><\/p>\n