Design Trends – How Did We Get Here?

When you think about it, it is actually pretty hard to believe that we went from an obsession with textures and drop-shadows to flat simple typography in just a few years. There are many different factors that caused this shift in the design world.

• Too Much Information

In a constantly connected media-driven world, consumers deal with a continuous flow of relevant and irrelevant information. This forces them to expend a lot of energy just evaluating and filtering through information. The growing popularity of mobile devices with smaller screens has emphasised this problem. The flat and thin designs of today allow consumers to take a break from information overload.

• Technological Evolution

Over the last decade, an array of new technologies and devices has entered the market. After the initial fascination in the advanced interface capabilities of these devices, consumers have realised that content is what really matters. They simply want the interface design to get out of the way so that they can enjoy great content. It is also worth noting that the technological literacy has grown throughout all demographics. In the past, designers had to make sure that important elements stood out on the screen. Now, they can utilise more subtle elements without sacrificing performance.

How to Go Flat and Thin

Believe it or not, creating a powerful flat-and-thin design comes with numerous challenges. As you start to take out common design tricks such as textures, bevels and drop-shadows, you realise the importance of the few tricks you have left.

• Does it Make Sense?

Before you start any project, you must ensure that the style you are choosing to use makes sense in the application. If you’re going to rely on flat design, it should align with the target users’ needs and work well with the target devices, applications and other platforms. Your hard work will be worthless if flat design is the wrong solution for your application.

• A Simple Process

When aiming for a simple design, you must follow a different process while your work. Look to minimal painters and pre-PC era designers for inspiration. Take frequent breaks so that you can work with fresh eyes. Do side by side comparisons to choose the best design option. Check your scale on an array of different devices to make sure they work. Before adding any element, ask yourself whether you really need it or not. The goal is to stay minimal.

Although there are countless other best practices for flat-and-thin design, these should get you started. Always remember that design has no real rules. Use your own ideas and create something unique!

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Product Design

Product designers focus on generating and prioritising functionality. They strive to deliver value to users. This can be done by following the product’s stated purpose or by modifying that stated purpose when no functionality presents enough potential. Product designers must think about how a user experiences their designs and how that user should encounter the intended product in its lifecycle. They also ensure that the user is called up on to act and has the ability to act after encountering the product.

Product designs involve very little illustration compared to the other design types; however, some diagrams, flow charts and rough interfaces can often help drive the product’s functionality home. Product design typically consists of an abundance of verbal materials such as essays and outlines that portray how a product’s functionality will meet a user’s needs. Prioritisation is paramount to good product design, because there is never enough time or resources available to work on secondary elements.

Interface Design

Interface design is based on translating the concept conveyed by a product designer and articulating how the user actually experiences an encounter with the product. For example, if the product is a website, interface designers try to arrange and define various design elements to help the user understand the information.

The goal of interface design is to make the product easy to use so that as many users as possible experience the value promised by it. The medium of an interface design is extremely important, as it controls the opportunities available. Interface designers must constantly envision themselves in the role of the user and study how people of many different backgrounds interact with the product.

Visual/Graphic Design

Visual design exists to make sure that the product presents a feeling of quality and evokes the proper emotional response from users. As the most aesthetically based and subjective design type, visual design is the most immediately recognisable type. This is why most people associate the general “design” term with visual design. Visual designers take cues from product and interface designers so that they can deliver the proper emotional reaction with the product. In visual design, interface elements must be attractive and appropriately-toned to reinforce the value and purpose of the product.

Details are also very important in visual design. A simple change in colour saturation or an ineffective design element can completely throw off the aesthetic appeal of a design. Visual design incorporates high-resolution images, animations and other elements into a product’s overall design to make it stand out among the competition.

Different products need different amounts of emphasis in each design type. If your product’s target market doesn’t find value in user-interface or how the product looks and feels, then you probably shouldn’t spend much time or resources on interface and visual design. On the other hand, if your product one that needs to invoke an emotional response in sceptical users, then visual design may be most important. The different types of design make it possible to complete a design project in the most efficient manner possible.

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