User Experience industry is a dynamic place which constantly keeps on evolving. This year has seen UX awareness spread among and across different sectors. Besides, people have become smarter, technology has evolved. So where will all this lead the UX to in 2016?
Here are our predictions for UX industry for 2016.
1. Rise in Micro interactions:
A micro interaction informs a user about his status at a particular point within a product.
As the attention span of the users is shrinking, it is imperative that UX designers focus on designing engaging and informative experiences.
Micro interactions are a great way of achieving this goal.
To understand the importance of micro interaction we look at a simple example of uploading a file. The first micro interaction is to ask the user to choose a file to upload.
Once the file chosen, the user can click on the “Upload” button and once the uploading begins, the user is shown the upload progress bar. This ensures the user is always updated with regards to the uploading process.
2. Minimalist Designs:
Minimalist design is a design that does not have unnecessary elements and its goal is to make content a focal point.
One major confusion that has been found generally is that minimal is often considered as same as simplicity; it is not and both are quite different.
Minimalist is usually concerned with having least number of elements. In fact, products with minimalist designs carry a lot of hidden complexities.
The days of heavy design with lots of text are gone and this is where the minimalist design comes into play.
Users have become smart and want to spend their time wisely.
The rise of content consumption is another reason why going minimalist is the right course to take. This type of design also minimizes distractions at user’s end and keeps the spotlight on content that will be consumed by the end user.
3. Rise of Prototyping Tools:
The design industry is continuously evolving and seeing huge transformation. Besides, clients have become more demanding and expect to see well crafted prototypes.
Prototyping tools offer a very affordable way to create prototypes without spending a bomb. In fact, since 72% of designers are designing for the web and mobile. Prototyping tools are a great way to design and test interactions across different platforms.
The UX industry has realized how helpful and efficient these tools are.
Hence, it isn’t surprising to see that the industry is seeing an influx of prototyping tools like never before. In the near future we can expect to see tools that can merge wireframing and prototypes together.
Two major reasons that will fuel the growth of prototyping tools are:
• Rise of mobile apps
• Increasing design awareness
4. Personalized Communication:
Undoubtedly, this is an age of personalization and since UX is all about User, it gains even more importance. As mentioned earlier, the content consumption is on the rise more than ever before.
Companies to need to capitalize on this and use this trend to differentiate themselves from their competitors.
Today’s user expects to have a personalized experienced rather than just a generic one. Companies need to deliver the content that relevant to the user’s need and is of course personalized.
If companies want to make their products stand out then personalization is the key.
5. Increasing UX Awareness:
Now a days, users have become demanding and want more in return for using a product. With so many options to choose from, users don’t want to waste their time on trying too many products.
They have become choosy and whatever product they choose, they expect to have a memorable and a positive experience. Although users might not even realize that what they are expecting from a product is good UX, they are, in fact, they are doing just the same.
This awareness about using products that deliver value for their time and money has spread among a large section of users. In other words, users have become a lot more aware about UX.
There will be other trends and advances that will occur but the UX predictions for 2016 mentioned above will likely have a major role to play in shaping the industry for the future. Irrespective of the trend, UX professionals must always be open to upgrading their skill set and knowledge &incorporates them in their works.
Here are our predictions for UX industry for 2016.
A micro interaction informs a user about his status at a particular point within a product.
As the attention span of the users is shrinking, it is imperative that UX designers focus on designing engaging and informative experiences.
Micro interactions are a great way of achieving this goal.
 |
| Micro Interaction Keeps User Engaged |
Once the file chosen, the user can click on the “Upload” button and once the uploading begins, the user is shown the upload progress bar. This ensures the user is always updated with regards to the uploading process.
2. Minimalist Designs:
Minimalist design is a design that does not have unnecessary elements and its goal is to make content a focal point.
One major confusion that has been found generally is that minimal is often considered as same as simplicity; it is not and both are quite different.
 |
| Minimalist Design: UX Design Trend for 2016 |
The days of heavy design with lots of text are gone and this is where the minimalist design comes into play.
Users have become smart and want to spend their time wisely.
The rise of content consumption is another reason why going minimalist is the right course to take. This type of design also minimizes distractions at user’s end and keeps the spotlight on content that will be consumed by the end user.
3. Rise of Prototyping Tools:
The design industry is continuously evolving and seeing huge transformation. Besides, clients have become more demanding and expect to see well crafted prototypes.
Prototyping tools offer a very affordable way to create prototypes without spending a bomb. In fact, since 72% of designers are designing for the web and mobile. Prototyping tools are a great way to design and test interactions across different platforms.
The UX industry has realized how helpful and efficient these tools are.
Hence, it isn’t surprising to see that the industry is seeing an influx of prototyping tools like never before. In the near future we can expect to see tools that can merge wireframing and prototypes together.
Two major reasons that will fuel the growth of prototyping tools are:
• Rise of mobile apps
• Increasing design awareness
4. Personalized Communication:
Undoubtedly, this is an age of personalization and since UX is all about User, it gains even more importance. As mentioned earlier, the content consumption is on the rise more than ever before.
Companies to need to capitalize on this and use this trend to differentiate themselves from their competitors.
 |
| Personalized Communication: Key UX factor in 2016 |
If companies want to make their products stand out then personalization is the key.
5. Increasing UX Awareness:
Now a days, users have become demanding and want more in return for using a product. With so many options to choose from, users don’t want to waste their time on trying too many products.
They have become choosy and whatever product they choose, they expect to have a memorable and a positive experience. Although users might not even realize that what they are expecting from a product is good UX, they are, in fact, they are doing just the same.
This awareness about using products that deliver value for their time and money has spread among a large section of users. In other words, users have become a lot more aware about UX.
There will be other trends and advances that will occur but the UX predictions for 2016 mentioned above will likely have a major role to play in shaping the industry for the future. Irrespective of the trend, UX professionals must always be open to upgrading their skill set and knowledge &incorporates them in their works.
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