We’ve come a long way from the flip phone. These days, mobile devices consist of smartphones, smartwatches, tablets, laptops, and the who knows what of tomorrow. And with tech moving at lightning speed, UX designers need to bolt into action as well by staying current on, well, everything.

You’ll be happy to know some things haven’t changed. UX design is always going to be about optimizing the user experience. For example, you still want to ensure the experience is compatible across all mobile devices (device-agnostic design). But with the blitz of voice, video, VR, and so much more, life for a UX designer can get a bit overwhelming.

Don’t worry. We’ve got you covered.

Here are 3 trends UX designers need to know about mobile right now:

  1. Visual Design – Special Effects Amped Up
  • Whether the mobile device is on a user’s wrist or laptop screen, good UX visual design is the same: animation, custom illustration, curved corners and images, and vivid colors.
  • Material design has already superseded flat design, by adding more detail, animation, and better layout. This design trend will continue by using overlap effects, including graphics, colors, and fonts, to give a 3-D effect. Combined with textures and animations, the design effect becomes much more dynamic to increase user interactivity.
  • Mobile device users love voice and touch functions – but they don’t love clutter. Therefore, a big trend is to only show buttons when requested by the user.
  1. The Human Connection – What Makes Your User Tick?
  • Storytelling is a huge trend. And the future of UX design will embrace all aspects of it, especially its unique ability to drive emotion and motivate. To that end, designers need user data, including psychological guidance, to frame the most compelling story. UX designers may do well to partner with psychologists and other specialists in the fields of human behavior to get needed insights.
  • User data will also impact design adaptions to age demographics. For example, larger font size and cleaner, simpler screen images may be more appealing to older users, while younger users are more often more focused on instant gratification.
  • Designers will seek to craft their story with a beginning, middle, and end. A logical progression inspires the user to stick around through the end message.
  1. Video – May Account for 85% of all Internet Traffic in 2019
  • Users love videos. Information is delivered quickly and interactively. Live videos and video ads receive billions of views, and storytelling is the key to success of those videos. How that story is presented is a key design challenge. Incorporating augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR) technology can elevate the design story immensely.
  • Users lose interest quickly. By some estimates, social media has reduced our attention spans from 12 seconds to eight seconds. Short, fun, interactive videos capture and hold user’s attention.

No matter what the hot trends of the day are, UX design is all about visual presentation that is dynamic, aesthetically appealing, clear, and compelling – on every device. If you always keep that in mind, your users will love you – even if they never know who you are.