Every year sparks a new series of trends in design, some evolving from the previous years and others forming anew. As the years progress, we see increasing improvement in user-focused applications. User Interface (UI) is the design and organization seen visually on a website. In 2024, these UI trends will aid designers in creating immersive, user-focused applications:

Dark Mode

Websites and applications are adopting darker color schemes to fit the new dark mode trend. Dark mode is a light-on-dark color scheme that can reduce eye fatigue and aid in usability and visual accuracy. This is mentioned in research found in “ACM Transactions on Applied Perception,” but it also points out environmental lighting plays a hand in the user’s preference. Dark mode also aids in consuming less battery, with research by Pranab Dash and Y. Charlie Hu at Perdue University published in “MobiSys ‘21: Proceedings of the 19th Annual International Conference on Mobile Systems, Applications, and Services.” Dark mode isn’t limited to just black or dark grey; it includes all colors but on their darker scale. Gradients, glowing effects, and highlights can add interesting details to a dark-mode-themed design. It is often incorporated into an option where a user can turn it on or off depending on their preference or environment.

AI

Artificial Intelligence (AI), human-simulated intelligence of machines and software, has been becoming increasingly widespread and closely watched by the public, calculating what AI’s next move is. For the UI experience, it will bring a more customizable interface. AI will provide designers insight to make more informed design choices and help designers provide more user-centered designs supplied by data. It uses insight from the user to adjust and allow customization catered to the user’s habits or choices. Generative AI also provides a helpful tool for designers as they can use generative images to cut time in some designing phases. AI can help designers offer more personalized, automated, and accessible applications.

3D Design

3D Design choices will be an element that grows to other varieties of applications outside of gaming and e-commerce. This design element focuses on lighting, shading, texture, and layers to build depth in a design. The 3D design will provide visual depth to the application, allowing for a more immersive design. Some elements that may take on a 3D effect are icons, backgrounds, images, and more. Minimalism compliments this design choice to prohibit the design from looking overly cluttered.

Animation

Animations are another trend heading into 2024; they are visual elements where some items will have movement, whether through a click or happening as the browser is opened or scrolled to the area where it is located. Animations can be integrated into micro-interactions, icons, and other elements throughout a design. When you click on a button or element on the page, movement can be added, showing the user it reads the click or interaction like a bounce. Animations can provide both functional and decorative approaches, but it is necessary to have a balance between them. Animations can aid in usability and accessibility, influencing user decision-making and indicating relationships between elements. It also allows for interactions with physical objects. Animations can tell the user it has read their action and it is being executed.

These are some of the many trends projected to grow in 2024; some may have been seen last year but have continued into this year’s trends. These trends may not fit every brand, but some elements can add exciting detail if they are something that fits your brand. When considering incorporating trends into your website, one important factor is your users, what they might like, and how they will interact with the new elements. We are always excited to see these new trends and how they will shape web design in the future.