Voice User Interfaces that eliminate written actions enormously improve the user experience by simplifying tasks in everyday situations. In the coming months of 2018, voice user interfaces will be used more frequently, with already established examples like “Siri” from Apple, “OK Google” from Google, “Cortana” from Microsoft and “Alexa” from Amazon. At the Orlando Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2017, Gartner predicted that in 2018, 30% of our interactions with technology will take place in conversations with voice interfaces and systems.
Synesthesiac Feedback
Synesthesia, an ability that only a small group of people have, enables one to perceive a thing or action through either the combination of different senses (visual, auditory, olfactory, tactile, and taste), or a mixture of these senses with different feelings. For example, a synesthetic person can smell colors, see sounds, hear food, cry at a scent, laugh at a sound, etc.
UX Designers have adapted multisensory interface experiences and implemented the commentary and suggestions of synesthesiac contributors in order to improve their products and their users’ general experience. Large multinational companies have shown a large increase in the use of synesthetic feedback, as well as great interest in researching “synesthetic perception.”
Increase of Micro-interactions
A micro-interaction is a part of functionality that carries out a small action in a simple, quick, and efficient way. Micro-interactions are usually used to execute a single task, interact with specific data, adjust a parameter or data measure, connect devices, turn on or turn off a function, or prevent a user error, etc.
A common example is the many possible “reaction” buttons that Facebook offers to users with each new upload or update. The use of micro-interactions is sure to increase in this calendar year.
More conversational Chatbots
The use of chatbots will continue to grow, as the use of chatbots as produced impressive results higher customer-satisfaction rates thus far.
More attention to color, typography, and color gradients
Ditching gray scales and monochromatic combinations of colors in favor of vibrant, intense colors with surprising tonalities catches the user’s attention, and has become a more frequent trend for this year.
Photo by Robert Katzki on Unsplash
Typography also wins the recent “battle of images,” and it’s often placed over colorful visuals in an artistic manner to evoke “character” on a site or webpage.
Two-tone fusions on a color gradient are also now being used in the background or as an overlay, adhering to certain recent minimalist tendencies with color.
More Icons
The use of icons will continue growing rapidly, as they provide interfaces with dynamic and simple visual cues with few necessary problems to resolve. Vector graphics stand out by providing the user with dynamic options and interactions to choose from.
Alternatives to the Hamburger Menu
This year, a large number of companies will join the trend of eliminating the “hamburger menu” web design due to its exhibited effect on UX. Though this type of design is widely accepted by the public, businesses and designers want to avoid a decrease in the efficiency of their interfaces.
There are many companies, like Youtube and Spotify, who have already made the change, and in doing so, have seen a large increase in the number of clicks on their sites. In the case of Spotify, navigation clicks have increased by 30% since eliminating the hamburger menu.
The increased role of UX design
In 2018, the role of the UX designer has grown and will continue to grow, given the specialization of new technologies like virtual reality, artificial intelligence and augmented reality. More people are taking part in UX design as will, with an increased role in aspects like design collaboration and the authorization of various ideas in order to create quicker prototypes with good UX design.
It’s obvious that these predictions for the proceeding months could change depending on user behavior and technological advancements, but it’s never too early to take note and plan for new designs according to the trends that you think could improve your marketing in the future — remember, with the quickly evolving and changing world of UX design, it’s always better not to fall behind.
