Whether through playful microcopy, the friendly nudge of subtle haptics or wildly nostalgic color palettes, modern UI/UX designers are focused on honing the elements that make online experiences human.
This technique is called emotional design. Introduced in the early aughts by Don Norman, a beloved father of UX, emotional design appeals to three stages of the user’s response — visceral, behavioral and reflective — as they navigate a product or platform. Contemporary designers leverage visual, written and tactile elements, among others, to engage with each stage of the user experience.
“It is only at the reflective level that consciousness and the highest levels of feeling, emotions and cognition reside,” Norman wrote on the subject. “It is here that the full impact of both thought and emotions are experienced.”
This tried-and-true concept of emotional design has evolved to become the driving force behind some of 2023’s most riveting UI/UX trends. This year, unique visual elements and personalization will reign, predicts Makenzi LeMay, a UI/UX designer with Identity Digital.
“Bold and fun UI trends are on the rise — like abstract typography, motion design, geometric shapes and dopamine-inducing palettes,” LeMay told Build In Colorado. “Pairing those UI trends with emotional lead and personalization UX approaches will result in positive user experiences.”
LeMay has her eye on design that empowers users to have a hand in shaping their online experiences.
Bold and fun UI trends are on the rise. Pairing those with emotional lead and personalization UX approaches will result in positive user experiences.”
“Creating a space to customize an experience helps maintain a relationship between the user and the product,” LeMay said. “We can use data to understand what our users’ needs are, but it is important to create a space where they can tell us who they are.”
For his part, Frontsteps Lead UX Designer Jermaine Lugo is invested in an emerging human-centered framework called design thinking. The framework adds the step “empathize” to the traditional design flywheel.
“It has my undivided attention at the moment,” Lugo said. “Design thinking is a powerful problem-solving tool that encourages organizations to focus on the people that they are creating for.”
As the conversation with Lugo and LeMay makes clear, users want to feel authentically seen and understood when they interact with a product, and contemporary designers are eager to rise to the occasion.
Identity Digital is the self-described “not dot com.” The company holds a portfolio of new top-level domains, such as “.careers,” “.live,” and “.charity.”
What’s a UX/UI trend that’s really inspiring you at the moment, and why?
I am most excited to help our users navigate their purchase intent through empathy and storytelling, with a strong focus on emotional design and personalization.
As researchers, it will become more important to dive deeper into our users’ needs by studying their day-to-day interactions and explorations with a mindset of empathy. At the end of the day, the most important question is “How can we, as designers, best serve our users?”
It’s important to dive deeper into our users’ needs by studying their interactions and explorations with a mindset of empathy.”
How do you plan to incorporate this trend in your work in the year ahead? What impact will this have on the user experience?
Overall, my goal as a designer is to curate a meaningful experience. Through an emotional-lead and personalization design approach, I plan to continue creating and maintaining bold UI trends that elicit happiness and fun through visual design — while incorporating deeper storylines that best relate to our target audience.
My goal is to give our users a space to build confidence and feel taken care of during their experience. Our users are taking courageous steps to build an online presence. The biggest win is empowering our users to tell their story through UI, UX, illustrations and marketing adverts.
How do you see this trend evolving in the future? And how will your work help drive that evolution?
We have already seen the rise of personalization through platforms like streaming services, shopping suggestions on social media and curated playlists and summaries by music applications. Personalization will become an expectation rather than a preference in the web and product world. It will be essential to stay ahead of this trend by taking it one step further and allowing our users to curate their own journeys. A personalized and customizable experience will become a staple.
The emotional-lead design approach will continue to be important. Users seek authenticity and dependability. With digital spaces and remote culture on the rise, creating an experience where we can better empathize and provide an opportunity for online connection will likely result in higher retention for our user base.
Frontsteps is a comprehensive HOA/COA software solution that connects communities inside one platform, enabling teams to automate and streamline tasks.
What’s a UX/UI trend that’s really inspiring or exciting you at the moment, and why?
Studies show that, when examined at an organizational level, a mature design thinking practice can achieve an ROI between 71 percent and 107 percent, based on a consistent series of inputs and outputs. This kind of ROI would get anyone excited.
How do you plan to incorporate this trend in your work in the year ahead? What impact will this have on the user experience?
I plan to incorporate design thinking into my professional career by enrolling in a “Design Thinking and Innovation” course held by Harvard University. Additionally, I anticipate that following the six-step framework — empathize, define, ideate, prototype, test and implement — will help my organization eliminate the guesswork when creating products for our customers.
The six-step framework of design thinking — empathize, define, ideate, prototype, test and implement — will help my organization eliminate guesswork.”
The hope when working with customers is that, by prioritizing their needs above all else, you give them the best user experience possible.
