In recent years, design has moved from minimalism to flat design, but some feel this style lacks authenticity. Emerging design trends in 2017 reflect a search for authenticity through nostalgia, sustainability, immersive experiences, motion, and a focus on user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design optimized for mobile.

2. In recent years, design has progressively
gone from minimal to completely flat; and
for some, this style doesn’t represent an
accurate message. Users are being drawn
to design that seems “real”, whether real
means VR and AR apps that almost feel
lifelike or packaging that showcases a
product instead of the brand behind it. This
search for authenticity, whether perceived
or real, is the driving force behind most of
this year’s emerging design trends.
Design trends
to watch in 2017

3. Nostalgia, in some shape or form is always in. More
millennials are joining the workforce, and with them, a
pushback to the early ages of the internet and the zine
color stories of their youth. Design has recently become
so minimal that being intentionally colorful and just slightly
imperfect can make a bold statement.
Source: Vibe Magazine
90’s retro

4. More companies are making an effort to respond to their
consumers’ concerns about sustainable practices, and in
some cases, health. That means sourcing information is
becoming easily available, labels are getting simpler, and
ingredients becoming the star of the show while branding
is put on the backburner. Straightforwardness is becoming
a differentiator, and that can be incorporated into every
aspect of a business, right down to design. It’s gotten to
the point where it’s easier to stand out by not having
distinctively branded products.
Source: Roots and Bulbs
Debranding

5. Augmented and virtual reality aren’t exactly new, but for a
while, they seemed more like a party trick than the next big
thing until Niantic’s Pokémon Go proved skeptics wrong
as it quickly became an international hit. VR, in particular,
is used to create everything from movie promotions for
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them to a whole new
type of movie.
This technology puts the viewer in the role of the hero,
creating an experience that’s vastly different and far more
exciting than being a mere spectator. The real question is
whether or not these experiences will become a norm or if
people will get sick of them entirely.
Source: Pottermore
Immersive and
interactive experiences

6. Motion design is everywhere, and something as simple
as tapping a button on an app is given more meaning
because of motion. The way we think about personality
is closely intertwined with how someone moves and
this translates into motion design. Thoughtful movement
within a design conveys energy and gives your user a
focal point, all while creating a dynamic and subtly
pervasive element that invites users to lose themselves
in an experience. CSS animations are becoming so
prevalent that they’re even beginning to set a whole
new standard for keynote presentations.
Source: Invision
Motion design

7. The days of taking a desktop site and simply condensing it
for mobile are long gone. The design and marketing
worlds have been pushing mobile-first formatting and UI
until
they stuck; and that shift is even having an influence on
preferred software. For quite a while, the majority of web
designers and developers were relying on Photoshop and
Illustrator, but now those tools are being supplemented
with newcomers like Sketch and Invision, which were
created with UX and UI in mind. These new tools even
have a less steep learning curve, making interaction and
experience design more accessible than they’ve ever
been. Now designers everywhere are excited to break
through the conventional boundaries of interfaces and
define what UX and UI mean for new technology.
Source: Invision
The rise of new UX
and UI tools

8. Let’s get started
As attitudes toward technology begin to shift, design trends
have to adapt in response. For 2017, that means design
will reflect the world’s search for authenticity. It can be
easy to get caught up in how quickly these trends emerge
and evolve. The key thing to remember is to keep the user,
and their experience in the front of your mind.
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