Web design is constantly evolving, and UX/UI is one of the stages of this development. Graphic designers, interface designers, product managers, marketers – all these people are constantly exploring the visual component: details, fonts, colors, composition, graphics. That is why we would like to look back and summarize the main trends in the world of UX/UI design in 2021.

Trend 1: Same-styled Icons

All designers who provide digital product design services know that any process starts from GUI elements – icons. As interfaces in 2021 must be perfect in every pixel, you have to pay double attention to icons. If you want to ride the wave of a trend, don’t use icons from different “families”. All icons have to be of the same dimensional characters. Icons from varied families in the interface violate the harmony of the project.

Trend 2: Minimalistic vibes 

The history of the interface has experienced many experiments. Having gone through a variety of forms, the design community has come to the conclusion that a perfect interface should not detract from the essence and should not look like it was worked on more than the product itself. 

Trend 3: Shadows and gradients

The trend with gradients and shadows existed earlier, but it is still important now. However now they appear to have more airiness and volume. All of this is accompanied with tender gradients and new stylish 3D icons. This is, in reality, the same simplicity, just more voluminous.

Gradients had also changed and become more complicated. It is no longer sufficient to employ the linear gradient as before. You must utilize a color overlay and blend different hues. Furthermore, the Color Blur is ever more used in interfaces. Primarily as a backdrop. This provides depth and volume to the interface.

Trend 4: Pastel colors

Since pastel colors are the synonym of minimalism, they perfectly complement the new trend in UX/UI design. They fit well with the concept of a healthy user interface, do not create visual noise, on the contrary, fill the design with ease without overloading it.

Trend 5: Unique illustrations in 2D

Illustrations are still in trend. There is only one issue, as with icons, a huge number of illustrations have emerged on the web, which greatly devalues them. In 2021, the trend was original illustrations, unlike anything else. And the bolder they were, the better. 2021 has been a golden era for illustrators. 

Trend 6: Animation

Illustrations are good, they reflect the content and are simply pleasing to the eye. But even the variety of illustrations became boring. To make them more interesting, people began to animate them. This applies to icons as well. 

SVG and JSON animation is an animation created by code. Here you might be guessing that you are gonna need a programmer to create and integrate such animation that will be supported by all browsers. However it doesn’t mean that designers give the floor to the IT specialist, it means that they work in pairs to create animation the customer needs. 

Trend 7: 3D icons and illustrations

The emergence of a trend for 30D icons and illustrations is due to the fact that knowledge in the field of 3D has become more accessible. There are many courses and lessons. Designers took advantage of all this and began to develop this theme by creating libraries of 3d objects. 

Trend 8: Brutalism and anti-design

In the past few years, brutalist web design has been gradually gaining attention and popularity among designers. Brutalism is based on the architectural movement of the same name. Brutalism in digital design is a style that intentionally tries to look rough, casual, or unadorned.

Anti-design seems to be the same as brutalism but pursues other goals and has another form of expression. Anti-design sites often feature a complete lack of visual hierarchy. Some use harsh colors, disorienting patterns, odd cursors, and unnecessary distracting animations.

2021 became a year of development and experiments in web design, as well as any other upcoming year will always be more innovative than the previous one. And looking at all these trends, we’ve experienced in 2021, we think that for successful web design it is very important to find a balance between trends and classics. In 2022, these trends will still be relevant, so keep this article bookmarked and stay tuned in the digital world.