The Future is Now: 10 Design Predictions for 2017

adapted from Nick Babich, Adobe Creative Cloud

Change happens at lightning pace in the design industry and it’s important to keep up to speed with what’s happening to stay relevant. Even if you’re not one to follow trends, as a designer, it’s good to be aware of the shifts going on in the industry.

As 2017 kicks off, I rounded-up 10 of what I believe will be the most important design trends of the year.

1. Evolution of Minimalist Design

In 2017 we will continue to use minimal layouts, and complexion reduction is going to be a big hit. Minimalist design aims to address problems for the users through clear visual communication — by focusing more on bringing forth the user content rather than the UI.

A minimalist user interface combined with great usability is really impressive in action: an easily navigated, simple app can be a very powerful form of communication.

 

 

2. More Microinteractions

The internet has talked a lot about microinteractions in 2016, and they will continue to trend in 2017. Microinteractions, typically in the form of subtle animations, are playing a vital role in UX design especially on mobile devices where we engage in thousands of microinteractions every time we use our apps.

Microinteractions help create memorable experiences by communicating status and changes, drawing attention to certain areas, and providing feedback for completed actions.

 

 

3. Video Becomes King

Vision is said to be the strongest of all human senses. Imagery has long been a staple of user interface design, and its success has slowly paved the way for its natural successor – video. They say a picture paints a thousand words, but a video does that tenfold and there’s a good reason for that — while traditional imagery is static, video is dynamic.

Video is great at catching the eye of users and serves as a means of visual storytelling. It draws users in from the start, especially when it’s used as a homepage background.

 

4. Rich Colours and Dramatic Typography

Rich color tones are already brightening up user interfaces, but vibrant hues will make the interfaces brighter in 2017. Users are going to see a lot more vivid colors palettes, duotones, and bold gradients in UIs come next year.

Like the originality in colors, typography will be a popular tool for evoking emotions and building a personality for products. Typography isn’t just for reading—it’s for making a statement. Using typography you can create engaging, eye-catching composition.

 

 

5. Tailored Illustrations

For more personality than traditional photography, illustrations are quickly becoming a popular alternative. They create visual language that really captures the tone of voice and personality of a brand or product. Visual language also clarifies messaging by boiling down concepts into easily-understood visuals.

Illustrations also give designers more freedom for creative effects such as animations.