How to design in 2023

Noone's style

I'm a fan of preludes, but not here...

2023 design trends

Motion design

I Suffer From Short Term Memory Loss" Scene - FINDING NEMO (2003) Movie  Clip - YouTube

UX is no longer static - due to our attention spans dropping to approximately 0.618 of a fish, we crave motion and interaction (Source)

Motion design examples mix

GIF: Google Translate offering male and female translations

GIF: Animated flight tracking app screen

Clean design

Too much detail is harmful for, again, our attention. Just. The. Information.

Clean design examples mix

Some rules (and some more - read'em)

  1. Don’t use too many effects

  2. Use just a couple of colors (2-4)

  3. Make big readable headings

  4. Make UI elements just a little bit rounded

  5. Use bright backgrounds

  6. Pay attention to white space (don't be afraid of it)

Multicolour soft gradients

Aurora's becoming popular. Here's a simple generator just in case. And a more complex one.

Multicolor soft gradients examples mix

High Contrast / Monochrome

Part of clean design IMO.

High contrast / monochrome examples mix

The dark option is evolving into...

Dark futuristic/cosmic UI

Easier to catch attention, usually, as it combines aurora, contrast, big typography and sometimes motion:

Dark UI examples mix

Real-life materials imitation

Glassmorphism is definitely on the rise:

Real life forms and materials examples mix

Blue background with yellow-orange gradient circles. Two glassmorphic rectangles mimic a smartphone

Gigantic typography

Okay.

Gigantic typography examples mix

Quote: "Sans-serif, geometric typography is not going anywhere and will always be a safe, functional choice for interfaces."

Sentimental Design

As breathy, warm voice is more pleasant and trustable, sentimental design can be a breather from geometric and contrasted ones:

Sentimental vintage design examples mix

Some of the trends emerging from another big report

No-code platforms

Especially Webflow vs Framer ⇒ interaction simplification.

Virtual reality

Immersion + interaction = more net attention span!

Decentralization

Web 2.0 (user creates content) ⇒ Web 3.0 (user creates and owns the content)?

Motion/video experience design

It aligns with TikTok/Vine/Reels being on the rise, and attention spans dropping.

AI-driven design

Interaction simplification.

Summary

We can safely summarize in one main trend methinks: ultimate simplification + interactivity + contrast in the wild hunt for users' attention.

Sidenote

A nice, niice data viz color scheme generator!