Trends on Product and UIUX Design

The current trend, what we are having in the industry of product design and UI UX design is very different and it's beyond our predictability. Even this podcast, I would say you might be listening now or you might be listening after one or two years or three, four years, things would have been happening at that moment. Okay, so take a lot of notes to get to understand how this industry is very dynamic and how this particular industry you can able to even adopt it. So this podcast is going to even address that as well to you. Okay, yes, we'll start the podcast. Welcome guys. Welcome, welcome. So the very first thing as a trend in product design and UI UX design, what I could see is it is lot of sustainability. Okay, so the word sustainability is very prevalent before also. But right now a lot of products, a lot of systems, services, it needs to be sustainable in, in terms of nature friendly, in terms of business sustainability. So sustainability in the terms of everything, a longevity of a business needs to be very much there. Okay, so a lot of business efforts and a lot of thought process and design thinking has been applied to it, but people are in a constant innovation. So that is a trend now. Let's say if it is 1980s or maybe if it is something like 1970s, 60s. So there has not been much emphasized towards sustainability. But right now the trend is like that. Okay, so let's say if you are making a website right now, people are calling carbon free website. I don't know how far it is really the kind of development charges, the kind of inputs and the human who have worked and the power which has been consumed to design that website. So people are able to calculate that also as a carbon footprint so that we can able to tell for a physical product. Yeah, it need not have to be said. We all know how much of material, manufacturing, transportation, everything is involved in manufacturing, right? So the energy involved, the fuel involved, the electricity, the kind of human efforts, the environmental degradation. So everything is being calculated as a sustainability. So for a physical product or a digital project product, if you are able to have that sensitivity towards you. Yes, guys, so you are in the trend of sustainable of this thing. Okay. And even this could be marketed as a feature, this could be marketed as a great, what you call USP for your product or service so that people are able to confirm it. Okay, so this is the very first thing which is, I'm, I'm, I'm thinking this is the current trend now. Okay, so the second trend, what I would say, say is inclusivity. See, whatever we are designing now, it Needs to be for everybody, right? It needs to be for the specially abled people. It needs to be for a different community people. It should be for a different country people. It should be for the underprivileged privilege. So that's how we segregated the society as. But ideally speaking that's not the case. So everybody needs to have that privilege to enjoy everything what is actually being designed in the market. So that's a very what you call a holistic way of thinking about how the product design and UI UX industry is being leading to. Okay. So each and every design studio, when they're recruiting people also they're calling for more inclusivity like from a different gender background, from different cultural background, from different age group, from different thought, different. What do you call people who are having a different kind of a professional background, people who are speaking different languages. Their ethnography is different, their cultural habitats is different. So this is what actually been coming inside the design studios itself. So you can imagine the products and services definitely will be the outcome of that. Okay, so a very good product design studio really takes care of this inclusivity and all these things. Okay? Yes. So the third thing is minimalism. See guys, minimalism is there for a lot of time. Only thing is we are able, we are not able to completely get the clarity of it. Okay. See 1909 the Bauhus movement have started. So everybody knows that Bohus has really created ripples around the concept of minimalism. The Scandinavian countries where they created furnitures like Ikea and cars like Volvo. And also there are a lot of brands which is like very good pen brand which is like it's. It's a very famous German manufacturer pen brand. So Lamy. Yeah, Lamy and also Schneider and Staedler. And so these are all some of the brand which has really reflected this minimalism. So majority of the industries were not following that. So now it has become more clear that people who like who people, if you wanted people's attention and people are really liking things which are very simple, minimal, to the point if they're able to operate that interface to complete the payment, to make the purchase, to just see the product. So minimalism has become a trend now inevitably. So the principles regarding the minimalism needs to be also learned. So. So you can go and check out a material called Dieter Ram's 10 principles. Okay. You can, you can just search a video or you can put in Google you will get the 10 different principles of Dita Ram. So you will know is one of the big principles What Dita Ram talks about is simplicity. Okay, so that's the minimalism because the less is more you would always say. So people are really thinking about it. That should be reflected in their designs as well. Okay, yes. So the other trend, what I would say in terms of product design is actually a user centered design. So previously technology was too much for a product where people will not be able to use it. Or maybe it is too much artistic where people cannot understand how it is going to be compatible for them to use. And also if the product is really designed well and everything, then it will be either very costly, people will not be able to afford it, or if it is affordable, or it is technology. And finally people will not be able to comfortably wear it or use it. Or maybe even like let's say imagine you make a mobile phone which is in the size of a B roll. Will somebody use it? So technology, artistic nature and functionality cost, everything has to be aligned for the user need if it is able to put in that boundary. Yes, this design is perfectly user centric design. See, 20 to 30 years before this was not called like that. So you can find this is becoming a great trend. It's already a trend. It's already happening. Even I would say it. I mean this is also going to change in next six months to one year into a very different way. It's artificial intelligence oriented human user centered design where the entire interface is going to be judged and governed with artificial intelligence. This is really, really crazy. How about a user sitting in front of a website or interface where the entire system will adopt based on that user needs automatically by a preloaded preset data. This is the possibility of having user interface design along with augmented reality. And the next trend, what I'm seeing is right now the use of dark and night modes, use of very colorful graphical interfaces and use of very minimal text. And you know what, the thing is, to the point, if users are communicated with the minimal information right now, they were able to connect very, very fastly compared to the complex information which was earlier communicated. So how you are able to augment that with the use of good dark and night modes, with the use of good gradient colors, with the use of intuitiveness. There used to be only solid colors before, but right now because of mixing two different colors and forming a different blend mode and different different gradients are obtained. Okay, Use of just plain colors is a whole trend. So the current trend is very different and it helps users to even differentiate and give a very fresh and clean look for their brand and products. And service. In fact, the simplicity in what the graphics are being designed right now is actually making the user reduce their cognitive load. So the decision making is very, very faster. They can able to subscribe or purchase your product or service. Okay, now the sixth trend, what I'm saying is augmented reality and extended reality. See guys, virtual reality is very old. It's 15, 20 years before. But right now giving the real world experience and the virtual experience in a mixed way is called augmented reality. Extended reality is even more technology which is like multimedia mix of usage, having more clearer real time, close environment. And how this all comes together and synchronized, that's like a next generation which is extended reality. Making a design interfaces for mobile or laptop or watches is not a trend. Now it is making interfaces for something even bigger than that which is augmented reality. Where there is no physical buttons, but how user is able to touch, how user is able to interact. There is something called haptic control, tactile. So the point is how they were able to interface with that gaze moment, eye gaze moment. So the interfaces are designed with respect to your eye control moment. So people have really gone to so much of detailing how the experience is being delivered, delivered when they put a glass like you know, Microsoft HoloLens, right? It's becoming more technology now. It's because of that and it's also getting affordable. And a lot of other similar technologies is also evolving. So people were able to use that in a very extensive way. And I've got a privilege to work in one of the biggest extended reality project with my organization, which is a confidential project. But I get to really understand how the user experience is really different for designing a learning management system with respect to extended reality. And we did it for a doctor. So the number one client we have and I really learned like how it can be done, how simplicity it has become. The more technology you go guys, the simpler you become. That's what I can really interfere from that project and the learning what I had, the more complex design and everything is gone now. So augmented reality, extended reality, how you can make it very simple close to real environment is what is a real trend. And the seventh trend, what I would say is rebellious asymmetry. And you know what, the broken layouts right now people are not looking for very similar formal, symmetric. It's like how you can able to play around with that, how we can able to break that conventional layout and how you can able to create asymmetrical balance and how we can able to make a rebellious thing which is exactly what mentioned Is ra rebellious asymmetric broken layouts. So if you see a website, if you see an app like let's say something like 99designs.com or Vita watches or iCam. So these are all the some of the websites which they make the conventional layout burnout. They were able to break that convention and they made the interface and interaction even more cooler. Right? So this is another big trend. And the other eighth trend, what I'm seeing in UI UX is making the rule break for typefaces, colors and expressiveness of a brand, right? So there is news there used to be a very common trend or a kind of a guideline or rule for using certain colors and typewriters and all. But people were able to break that and they were able to express more bold. They were able to create a true sense of what a personality of the brand is reflected and how we can exactly bring it raw to the customer. So they are not worried about any kind of a trend or rules or something. So that's what I can see. And you can go and check out a website called Simply Chocolate where if you go and check out that it will be more intuitive for a user and interactive how the chocolate is going to interact with the user so that their entire perspective changes towards that product. You can able to attract a customer and keep his engagement and interest for a very, very longer time. That is the trend which is going on. And the other website which you can check is Ideomotive Co. So these are all some of the websites which you can check how they have broken the conventional layout. Okay, so the ninth important trend is artificial intelligence. This is very important, guys. When it comes to websites applications and when it comes to artificial intelligence, it is actually generating more responses and customized output for the designer or for the manufacturer who is doing it. You can generate hundreds of concepts and hundreds of different different wireframe models and hundreds of different different color variants and gradients and pattern using artificial intelligence. Right now design combined with artificial intelligence is the biggest trend, guys. And you need to be able to use certain tools such as AI tools such as Mid Journey which is used for image interpolation. You can use AI for using Grammarly which is for making very quick presentations from minutes. You can do a excellent presentation and make your own graphics. You have to be proficient in using chat GPT 3.5, that's a free version you can use but if you want you can upgrade for 4 also which is even more what you call real time. Unable to cleanse through the online data and give you Real time information. And you can use AI tools which is enabled for Adobe, which is Firefly. You can use AI enabled for Canva. You can use a software called FigJam, which is a AI tool for Figma. And you can use AI tools for what you call Miro, which is called Miro Assist. And you can use a tool called Ugly Y O O D L I so these are all like assistive tool which will be helpful for you in terms of getting the interview cleared, when you wanted to talk, when you wanted to interact with the interview, or maybe a project presentation. There should be a companion whom you have to guide. Right? So Ugly is a very good tool which can help you. So I, I rightly mentioned AI grammar Gamma tool which is able to give you beautiful presentation in minutes. So people used to take hours and hours of time. Right now the designs are becoming so responsive which is able to even adopt for different, different mobile tablet, website. Whatever your interface you're designing on the wireframes, what you're building, it's going to be responsive for all the device. It can be even useful for watches, it can be useful for even what you call uncommon devices. So that is the kind of AI which is playing now. And you need to be very careful in using this guys because if you're not able to upgrade the AI tools, chances are tool will definitely take you out. Okay? You need to know how to use them. See, this is assistive tool and a technology. It's not something beyond that. You need to be very careful in understanding that. Okay? And right now I used to teach my students in the class Real time how they can use AI tools to do research, how they can use AI tools to create wireframes, mockup presentations and even you can use figma figjam to create more ideation sessions, more brainstorming, more generative concepts, more summarization of your entire projects. So these are all very much possible when it comes to clearly using the technology and leveraging its power, how you can be 2x3x productive. So this is a vital important thing. And the tenth important element, what I'm seeing as a trend is AI is going to understand who is really sitting in front of them. Like let's say if you designed a product like a website, so it can deliver three different outputs for three different target market. Like let's say if your user Persona is different, if your target market is child, if your target market is business owner, the same website can respond in a different way with a different user interface, with a, with the user interface and user experience in a different way so that it is more engaging for that audience to that level of customization. AI tools can able to help. And that is already a trend, guys. And people are a little bit testing out and using the generative AI for making the what you call trials and errors and they were able to successfully test it with the different, different users. And you know what guys, if that is becoming the next generation trend, definitely we need to adopt to learn that it is a very, very must trend, which you need to be aware of. At least if you're not knowing it, you need to be aware of that. Okay, and the 11th important trend, what I would say and the final trend is any guess, guys? It is common sense. Yes, it is. It is always a trend. It's, it's, I would say just classic, which is legacy, which is there with you. And it cannot go in the futuristic or past or present. It is always there with you. See, no matter how much AI tool comes, it cannot replace the intelligence of a human. Definitely the reason why I'm saying this is we have built the artificial intelligence, right? So we need to be very clear on that. Whenever you are able to apply your common sense and your presence of mind and your creativity to think very calmly about a problem to solve a particular user need, that is going to be an inevitable solution. Guys. AI could be an assistive thing for you. AI could be a next tool for you. AI could be a, what you call a kind of supportive technology for you, but it cannot replace you. Nowadays a lot of people are using the what you call tools and 100% they are loving it. They are not drawing the boundary when I can use my common intelligence, presence of mind, sense of the present moment, what is required and the mindfulness is really missing even I would say there are three cautions which you need to take. Whenever you're designing some kind of a technological product. Whenever you're designing something for trend, make sure it meets the customer need. Make sure it is designed for that purpose and functionality. It should meet that customer and make sure it is accessible for different special needs of people with different colorblindness, with different readability, property and people who are dumb, deaf, blind. So your accessibility should be covered. That's the second important caution. I would say the third important thing is make sure it is very creative and honesty. It should align with the brand value and the true identity of a product or service. If you're able to deliver this three caution guys, with a proper understanding, then what are 11 trends? What I've discussed with you is going to make a real, real sense for you. Okay, so let me recap you quickly guys. The first trend is sustainability. The second trend is inclusiveness. The third trend is minimalism. The fourth trend is user centric and with AI technology design. And the fifth is using gradients, accessibility, dark and night mode and reduction in cognitive load. And the fifth use on the fifth trend, what is happening is augmented reality and extended reality. And the sixth tool, the sixth trend is rebellious asymmetric and broken layouts and rule breaking the typeface and colors and making a bold expression of a personality and using AI as a tool. And even you can use AI tools like let's say wix or web tool to even generate websites. Everybody who is having the website builders and the product builders is having an AI counterpart and you can able to utilize that to create more things. And the tenth thing is how AI is able to becoming more smarter in designing different different concepts for different different user with a different different person. So that's another Trend. And the 11th one is common sense. If you're able to use that, nothing is going to really make you take over. Guys. See if you want to really sustain in this design design feed. Understanding your own potential and understanding your own uniqueness and strength is the biggest trend. I would say to close this podcast, if you resonate with me, you can able to hit that subscribe button and you can able to get notified for my further episode. And if you find anything little contrary, if you have anything to be challenging like let's say Jagdish, you missed this trend or whatever you are saying this trend is not there, you can able to definitely have a discussion with me and there is a comment section about this podcast you can freely write to me and I will also learn from you. Let me know how you're thinking about this trend. And now you are able to forecast this particular product design and ui. Okay, so thank you so much guys. Thank you for staying tuning in with me. And if you need my mentorship support in getting your design knowledge to next generation and if you wanted to really take out your best output of how you can able to design better creative products and services. And if you want to write the trend and even set a new trend, you can send an email to me. I'll be checking if you are qualified for my mentorship program to help you improve. Even if you're a designer, you can able to double triple your salary in less than three months using my special formula what I have. Okay, so thank you so much guys thank you for staying tuning in with me. We'll see you in another podcast. Take care. Bye. Bye. All the best.