UI/UX design is constantly evolving. As the year ends you will find several blog posts with a list of UI/UX design trends to look out for. Truth be told, these trends have a significant impact on the way designers work and the experiences they create. This blog post will cover top UI/UX design trends you should watch out for in the coming year as they will make an impact in the design industry.
Whether you are a senior designer, a junior designer, or a hiring manager reading to stay informed about UI/UX design trends to know what skills to prioritize in the coming year, having a basic understanding of design fundamentals and the impact of user-centered designs on products will enrich your reading experience.
UI/UX design trends for 2024
Return of Skeuomorphic Designs?
There have been talks among designers, about skeuomorphism making a comeback and the end of flat design.
Despite reservations that flat designs are easier to code and more responsive than skeuomorphic designs, you would find that companies have updated their logos to 3D format following the introduction of web-based tools such as Vectary and Spline, and Justinmind, facilitating the prototyping of 3D models for applications and websites.
Even Google Trends data reflects a noticeable uptick in searches related to skeuomorphic designs.
AI Integration
2023 was the year of AI, literally, and going forward, we expect to see more AI integrations in design. Figma recently added an AI integration, Builder.io, that turns Figma designs into impeccable, responsive code in minutes. And Relume launched RelumeAI to create wireframes and sitemaps in Figma and design better in Webflow. In 2024, expect to design more efficiently and faster with AI as your design best friend.
More focus on user needs
One of the most defining UI/UX design trends in 2024 will be a renewed focus on user needs, manifested in the creation of personalized and accessible experiences. Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all interfaces. Instead, design will be driven by deep empathy and a commitment to catering to individual preferences, abilities, and contexts. We’ll see a surge in AI-powered personalization, tailoring interfaces to user data and behavior, making interactions feel effortless, familiar, and intuitive. Accessibility will also become a core principle, with designers ensuring interfaces are usable by everyone, regardless of ability.
Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) and Extended Reality (ER)
Extended Reality (ER) is no longer a distant sci-fi dream. From training employees through VR simulations to virtual try-on experiences with VerveAR and connecting people through shared virtual games. ER is quietly transforming our world. Extended Reality (XR) – encompassing both Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) – is poised to explode as a major UI/UX design trend in 2024. Top companies like IKEA are already ahead in pioneering its integration in the design industry with their AR-powered shopping app, IKEA Place.
Web3 in UI/UX design
This was long overdue and it’s finally here. Web3 is bringing in an era of user-centric experiences, where interfaces allow users to take control of their data. Expect to see UI/UX design trends that prioritize transparency and trust, with interfaces that communicate data ownership and usage.
Conclusion
Keeping up with UI/UX design trends to upskill and stay relevant in the design industry is great. However, the secret to staying relevant in UI/UX design is knowing and mastering the basic skills. You truly cannot know everything, but knowing the basic and right things will get you ahead in your design career and keep you ahead of other pixel pushers. Trying to be a generalist will have you be an average designer. We advise mastering the basic skills and complimenting with 2 to 3 secondary skills. For example, you could decide to be a Web 3.0 UI/UX designer or an Extended Reality UX designer. Whatever you decide to be, be good at it.
Have a great career year ahead!
