Top 4 UI Design Trends For 2023

by
Patrik Svoboda
1.1.2023

We selected these four trends based on our work experience and observations of how UI design has shifted over the past year. As a result, you can already see these slowly appearing on the websites of famous brands worldwide, whether you love them or not.

The four UI design trends that will make an impact in 2023 are:

It’s important to note that both a new design and a redesign must align with the company’s goals and target audiences. But not to worry – we’ll guide you through the whole process, as we did for La Lorraine and Amnesty International. So, let us take you on a journey exploring the hottest UI design trends you can expect in 2023.

Brutalism

Brutalism is brutal, at least to its minor design elements, which it tends to oppress. The main reason brands love brutalism is because it makes them stand out – it’s dominant and different at first glance. That can be either a blessing or a curse, depending on the skill of the design team implementing it.

When applied to a website or mobile design, brutalism tends to experiment with the layout, colors, and distinctive typography. Most elements are in complete opposition to the ever-present minimalist approach. Take, for example, its subtle borders and shades; brutalism makes borders highly prominent and typically uses zero-blur shades.

The 5 prominent elements of brutalism:

  • Huge fonts and typography, even taken to extreme sizes
  • Rich, web-safe colors
  • Monochromatism
  • Geometric shapes and sharp edges
  • Outlined images and buttons

You can find big names such as Gumroad and Balenciaga among the popular brands that successfully implemented brutalism.

Balenciaga
Gumroad

3D Art

3D art relies on the quality of its development, as a bad 3D object can slow the loading time of your website quite brutally (pun intended). Still, it’s a trend that attracts more and more eyes, designers, and developers for one simple reason: affordability. With specialized 3D apps and tools becoming more accessible by the day, more people can experiment with this style.

For now, 3D art is mainly used as web decoration. You can usually encounter it on experimental websites like Chirpley, or luxury-brand sites like Longines that want to provide a uniquely different experience to their visitors.

Chirpley
Longines

Gradients

Gradients are already widely adopted by the design community, and you’ll probably see more gradients even on tangible products. It’s a nice, aesthetic, and popular trend to fill in the empty spaces in a layout. Light and dark color palettes are the most common, and gradients usually complement or blend in with another style.

The most popular gradients styles are:

  • Linear gradient, as used on the Right To Be website
  • Multicolored gradient, masterfully implemented by us Netvor or Flayks

Right To Be
Netvor
Monopo

Animated Illustrations

Illustrations are trendy because, in contrast to photos, they don’t picture a specific person. Also, there are no limits to what you can create other than your imagination, and they’re easy to tell apart. Also, animated illustrations are an evolution of still illustrations, taking the art, user experience, and enjoyment to a new level.

An integral part of animated illustrations are micro-interactions – tiny animations that help grab and guide users’ attention to a specific element in the design. Please take a moment to find a few examples of micro-interaction animations in our previous article on UI design trends. And if you’re looking for a neat example of animated illustrations in action, check out Weltio’s website.

Weltio

What to expect in 2023

Design is one of those areas where trends shift at a more leisurely pace, in contrast to fashion, for example. Still, it’s essential to keep up to date with the latest developments, if only not to miss anything important. Unfortunately, if you are looking for a single recommendation on what design to use in 2023, you won’t find it in this article. As we stated in the beginning, UI design depends on your specific goals and circumstances, and it takes way more than just chasing the latest trend.

However, if you are searching for a team of experienced designers to help you choose the right design for your needs, you are at the right place. And all it takes is a single message.