6 Leading UI Design Trends to Follow in 2022

The rise of mobile computing, immersive reality and voice-activated devices are just some factors that are changing the way that we interact with technology.

The importance of the UI/UX design is growing more and more essential in modern web development. Every day, there are new trends that attract the attention of both designers and end-users equally. This article will provide an outlook on current leading UI design trends to follow in 2022 (and probably beyond).

1. Dark mode

The next big trend is the dark mode which might be a familiar thing for some of you if, say, your smartphone already has it. All popular brands have rolled out some form of a dark theme by now, and their popularity can't be denied. The people want light interfaces for day viewing and dark ones when they switch to night viewing or turn off the lights in the room.

In 2022 dark mode might become the leading UI design trend because it's visually pleasant and saves battery life. As mobile devices become more widespread, user interface designers may choose to implement dark mode in order to reduce battery consumption on mobile devices.

Dark mode is about using background colors to simplify the UI and reduce distractions, especially on devices with AMOLED displays. This change takes advantage of pixels that are not backlit to also display information or let users create their own custom color schemes for different contexts. In general, users prefer clean dark-themed websites since they are easy to navigate.

2. Advanced micro-interactions

Advanced micro-interactions will take over because they provide value, delight and engage users by creating memorable experiences through efficient interactions. Micro-interactions are visually appealing; they make an app or site more attractive and engaging, thus it offers better user experience. They also play a key role in capturing data that could be used to serve personalized content or ads for each individual user.

Micro-interactions are small features that do one thing well. They can be as simple as timers that count up instead of down, slideshows that play automatically after an image is viewed or buttons that animate when hovered over. These elements make interactions more interesting by adding character and personality. Small details like these will continue to become more important across all types of technology products because they make interactions feel magical.

3. Mobile-first design

Mobile-first design is important for almost all companies, but it will become the de facto standard in 2022. Mobile-focused design allows people to more easily accomplish tasks across many different devices and hardware. This becomes increasingly relevant as more smart home technology becomes available.

With mobile-first design, designers are creating experiences that prioritize content above all else. The key is focusing on one's core user demographic and extrapolating features from there. Mobile-first ensures that the basics are covered before additional frills are added in. By sticking with simple websites for their core audience, branding can be more easily distinguished across different platforms by means of color palettes, typography, etc., which incites conversion due to brand familiarity.

Mobile-first design is the way forward because this practice can help businesses achieve better results from their digital marketing campaigns instead of being able to serve all users with just one web presence. Therefore it's vital for any business website to have responsive designs that work across all possible devices.

4. Metaverse

Metaverse has been proposed by Neal Stephenson in his seminal 1992 novel Snow Crash, where he describes a virtual reality system that consists of thousands of servers running simultaneously on millions of computers worldwide. This VR system is informally called the metaverse, where Stephenson's protagonist lives. The idea of virtual reality has been around for decades but it never really took off because of different problems with hardware and the internet. This might change in a few years when VR headsets will be readily available to most people. It still remains a quite hard technical challenge to create seamless VR experiences, so we won't most likely see this technology being used in most websites but more on apps and games.

The metaverse is an interactive virtual universe, built on open standards, which will be fully accessible using Virtual Reality (VR) headsets. It's not just another social network but rather a complete VR experience in which users can do virtually anything they want - create their homes and spaceships, meet other people with the opportunity to form communities or teams, travel intergalactically and much more. Web developers can contribute to the metaverse by creating new 3D apps for use within the platform alongside advanced development tools in VR format.

5. Bold typography

Bold typography is one of the most eye-catching design trends in UI design that kept evolving over 2018. As it can grab attention easily when used correctly, it's best to keep the type size bigger than usual and make sure you use one font at a time.

Rather than stick to simple styles such as bold and regular, advanced typography will include new text qualities such as embossed and engraved. Embossing and engraving replicate the effects of high quality letterpress printing on uncoated paper stock – usually achieved with hard tooling – which gives a tactile effect not unlike touching a pencil tip onto paper. While it may seem somewhat gimmicky at first, designers can use this technique in innovative ways to create texture and separate sections from one another without having to resort to excessive colors or shapes.

6. Dynamic color palettes

Another hot trend in web design, this time in UI design, has been the use of gradient colors which are nothing more than quickly interchanging palettes. This is already something quite popular with mobile app designers but I think that it's going to enter even larger fields with for example business software or maybe even games in 2022.

Designers have been obsessed with duotone lately and it's not difficult to see why. The technique is simple enough to use but versatile enough to become a staple of any designer's toolkit. Some designers often go a step further and create their own color palettes which is certainly going above and beyond, even if unintentional. Black and white are surefire ways of creating bold designs as these colors tend to catch the eye more easily.

Final thoughts

There are a lot of great things coming up in the world of website design. Think about how you'll be able to integrate these trends into your existing projects or create something original for this season alone? And don’t forget: have fun with it!