It's no surprise how popular mobile devices are in today's society, considering all the apps, games, and gadgets available to get users really sucked into their computer-on-the-go.
Smartphones and tablets allow you to stay connected to all your important work, emails, and contacts with the push of a button, no matter where you are in the world (coverage permitting). That's a pretty big deal!
In fact, according to SmartInsights.com, mobile users surpassed PC users when it came to viewing websites in 2014.
Knowing how popular mobile devices are makes it easy to see why many designers are beginning to focus on mobile designs over the standard website. "Flat" designs are becoming increasingly popular, as are module layouts, which are easy to stack and view on a cell-phone or tablet. Microsoft even chose this type of theme for Windows 8! In today's blog, I'll be listing 3 mobile-design trends for applications and websites that are popular this year.
Hidden Menus & Elements
When it comes to developing sites and apps for mobile devices, it's important to keep in mind that the users only have a limited amount of space for reading content. That's why it's imperative designers create layouts for apps and mobile sites that are still easy to use, but also easy to view on even the smallest screen.
That's where the hidden menu's come in! I'm sure all of you are aware of the "hamburger" icon and what it does. It's usually seen somewhere at the top of all mobile sites/apps to open a menu. Rather than use a list that takes up space, this "hamburger" design is used as a widely-known symbol to let users know that they can find navigation/settings information using this button.
Hidden search bars are also becoming quite popular in mobile designs. It's important that designers save as much space as possible for their most important content, so while a search function is important, it shouldn't take up much space. A simple slide-out search icon is easy to fit into any small space and important to have on sites that include a lot of information. Using CodePen's "Slide out search bar" tutorial is an easy way to learn to code your own "responsive" search bar.
"Card" Layouts
Card layouts provide quick facts and figures that are easy to understand at a glance and remove the need for multiple pages or links to information. These layouts are very popular and have pretty much taken over mobile apps and widgets.
"Wearable"-Tech
With the new popularity of smart watches it's only a matter of time before wearable-tech becomes a staple in modern society. Having a wearable device allows you to stay connected with your social media accounts, as well as your phone or tablet without needing to have your mobile device on-hand.
The Apple Watch, for example, gives you real-time updates from your phone, and allows you to create fitness schedules. Unfortunately, the apple watch can only connect with iPhones and other apple devices.
The new Razer Nabu can connect to a wide variety of mobile devices, allowing you to get real-time updates on text messages, phone calls, and email alerts. The Nabu can also track work-out schedules and sleep schedules, helping the user to track and maintain their fitness goals.
Many believe that smart-watches and other wearable tech will take the place of cell-phones and tablets. It's important for graphic designers to recognize how important mobile (and even wearable) technology is, as the popularity of these devices is not going away and will only continue to grow.
For more information on emerging mobile technology and design trends, check out the list below:
http://colorlabsproject.com/blog/top-uiux-mobile-app-design-trends-watch-2015/
http://mashable.com/2015/01/02/mobile-trends-2015/
Hidden Menus & Elements
When it comes to developing sites and apps for mobile devices, it's important to keep in mind that the users only have a limited amount of space for reading content. That's why it's imperative designers create layouts for apps and mobile sites that are still easy to use, but also easy to view on even the smallest screen.
That's where the hidden menu's come in! I'm sure all of you are aware of the "hamburger" icon and what it does. It's usually seen somewhere at the top of all mobile sites/apps to open a menu. Rather than use a list that takes up space, this "hamburger" design is used as a widely-known symbol to let users know that they can find navigation/settings information using this button.
"Card" Layouts
Card layouts are usually popular with weather apps and other widgets that show in-time information. You get the most basic information on the "card" and can tap/click an element for more relevant information. Imagine the way cards work in the real world. These digital cards contain the more important information on the "front" and can be flipped or expanded for more details depending on which icon you tap.
For example, the Weather and Clock Widget for Android shows real-time temperature, humidity, and wind-speeds on a card-layout and allows the user to tap any of these elements to get detailed info as well as future predictions.
Card layouts provide quick facts and figures that are easy to understand at a glance and remove the need for multiple pages or links to information. These layouts are very popular and have pretty much taken over mobile apps and widgets.
"Wearable"-Tech
With the new popularity of smart watches it's only a matter of time before wearable-tech becomes a staple in modern society. Having a wearable device allows you to stay connected with your social media accounts, as well as your phone or tablet without needing to have your mobile device on-hand.
The Apple Watch, for example, gives you real-time updates from your phone, and allows you to create fitness schedules. Unfortunately, the apple watch can only connect with iPhones and other apple devices.
The new Razer Nabu can connect to a wide variety of mobile devices, allowing you to get real-time updates on text messages, phone calls, and email alerts. The Nabu can also track work-out schedules and sleep schedules, helping the user to track and maintain their fitness goals.
Many believe that smart-watches and other wearable tech will take the place of cell-phones and tablets. It's important for graphic designers to recognize how important mobile (and even wearable) technology is, as the popularity of these devices is not going away and will only continue to grow.
For more information on emerging mobile technology and design trends, check out the list below:
http://colorlabsproject.com/blog/top-uiux-mobile-app-design-trends-watch-2015/
http://mashable.com/2015/01/02/mobile-trends-2015/
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