10 Latest and Promising UI Design Trends

Lately, I’ve been spending some time observing the direction UI design is heading in. I’ve stumbled upon some very creative, promising, and inspiring trends that I think will impact UI design in the near future.

Here are 10 trends I’ve observed:

1. New Homomorphism

You read that right! Neuromorphism is on the rise, and I guess it’s here to stay (whether you like it or not). It didn’t last very long in its original form, but it’s moving towards something more sophisticated and accessible. It’s almost like skeuomorphism, but with a fresh, modern, more aesthetic vibe.

2. Soft Gradient

Gradients are everywhere! In fact, I see them a lot in backgrounds and on UI elements like buttons, cards, and graphics. Mixing more than two colors to create colorful blurred backgrounds is also a thing!

3. Geometric elements

Both are used as the main background or subject, or just as details to make the design look more interesting - geometric elements gain more and more attention. Often they are mixed together to create a mosaic - and the result looks really cool!

4. Soft background

I must say I love this trend. I have seen many amazing, light, eye-pleasing designs with very sophisticated, bright pastel color schemes, and it makes for a very modern, non-intrusive, fresh and pleasant look where the content plays the main role. Otherwise it is just a subtle background.

5. Illustration and 3D

Illustrations are still in fashion. Different styles, different color schemes, more or less abstract so they match the character of the product. Not just flat, but imitating a 3D look. I believe that after all these years of using stock images for every digital project on the planet, this is a nice change! I give here some tips on how to create simple illustrations:

6. Abstract Shapes

Used for backgrounds and different UI elements. They make the interface look more "organic" and playful, which I think is a good thing. Edit the simplest shapes (square, ellipse) with the pen tool, play with different border radius, experiment with different colors/gradients and you might get very interesting results. Or just save a few minutes and try a simple yet amazing tool called Blobmaker.

7. Dark Mode

Dark mode is a color-inverted version of an interface to make it more accessible at midnight. Since I’m a typical night owl, I often use dark mode to swipe through my favorite apps before going to bed. When creating a dark mode, remember to maintain the right contrast between different elements and typography.

8. Elements at an angle

Not only for Dribbble shots, but also as a way to present different content on the website in a non-standard way. It makes the content look more interesting and eye-catching. How to quickly achieve this effect? ​​First, make a collage of the elements at 0° degrees. Make them a group. Then, change the group angle (from 30° to 50°) and voila! This way you don't have to change the angle of each element manually.

9. Soft shadows

10. Simple thick font