The new trend of mobile design: simplifying and simplifying

We have been living in this "minimalist" world for some time now, and then where are we going?

For the past few months, pioneers in the field of design innovation have pushed "minimalist design" to a new level. Facebook, Airbnb and Apple follow similar principles, simplifying their core offerings, and the new trend of "complexion Reduction" is reflected in their mobile design.

What is the "simplification of complexity"?

Have you ever heard of the tendency to "simplify and simplify"? That's for sure, because that's just the terminology I created. Lately I've noticed a new trend that goes beyond flat design to minimalist design, and the weakening of independence. Some people will say that this is just a new phase of minimalist design that is used in the mobile domain, but I think it is quite different. There are definite commonalities and features that define this new trend. So I decided to give it a name. No problem with a name, right?

This hot new trend sweeping through Silicon Valley has the following decisive features:

Increase the title of bold

Simpler and more general icons

Reduce the use of color

The result? Many of our favorite application interfaces are starting to look more and more like the same brand.

Evidence

As early as May, when Instagram released the newly designed UI, I noticed this new trend for the first time.

Their changes, including the addition of the ubiquitous blue and dark grey, are bold headings, simplifying the bottom navigation bar and icons. Only black and white interface and eye-catching title, highlighting the content, clear function. I admire this simple and orderly interface and think of another platform I have admired for a long time: Medium. Medium since its release in 2012, the black and white interface has been used to perfection, since then each design revision, are in the removal of complex; in fact, Medium is one of the pedigree of simplifying, they do not know this. Congratulations to medium!.

My Facebook peers updated the Instagram interface shortly after I opened Airbnb and it looked so familiar and I was shocked. It's the first time I've opened this app since they released the new design in April, but I feel familiar with the interface.

The media impact of Airbnb's UI makeover isn't as big as the one-month Instagram makeover (probably because it doesn't have a shiny new icon), but it also uses many of the same simplified techniques.

The mobile version is designed with a larger and thicker headline, which removes unnecessary graphics and colors, simplifies icons, makes them more versatile and easier to identify. Just leave the black and white interface, highlighting the content, the function is clear.

Apple is a recent example in which designers are fascinated by the tendency to simplify. Earlier this month, at Apple's WWDC conference, the tech giant released a series of expected updates, including the release of iOS 10, which is being debugged, "the most significant update ever made in iOS!" "(But since iOS 8 o'clock said so, at least it was the most significant update since iOS 8)

I was particularly attracted to the press conference. That's the revamped design of Apple Music. Although the most important aspect of its revision is User experience promotion and new features, the first thing I noticed is its simplicity. Caitlin Mcgarry,macworld's newspaper reporter described the update very accurately, "it has a new look, huge cards, bold fonts, clean white background, highlighting the art of recording." ”

Sounds familiar, doesn't it? The design is slightly different from the design of Instagram and Airbnb (they use a solid icon!). What is Apple doing? But the key elements are: a bold headline, a black-and-white interface.

What does all this mean?

As I mentioned above, this means that more and more of your favorite apps will become very similar. Why? Like the National Football League (NFL), the scientific and technological community is also a mutual imitation of the circle. These revisions were positively positive (some complained that the black-and-white interface was "devoid of individuality", but they soon got used to it.) You open an application for its function, not personality, so I predict that the new and old applications will embark on a wave of simplification.

This means that the iphone's main screen will soon turn into a colored mosaic that will lead you into the playground.

Now, whether or not you support this monochrome fashion, it is undoubtedly a development direction. The process of product design is evolving and evolving, and is no longer a detached form of the past, encouraging too much design. The process is now more holistic and really focused on the user. In the previous product design process, the UI designer might take the UX or product-given prototype and ask for "Make it nice". Then the designers will draw hours, days to add, remove, adjust colors, perhaps the best solution will always be in front of them ... Directly with the prototype map! Because the boundaries of UX and UI designers are blurring in today's design process, designers don't have to worry too much about their specific responsibilities (such as making it nice), instead focusing on the ultimate goal of creating the best product for the user.

The ultimate guide to Simplicity

Have you accepted the trend of simplification and are you ready to embark on this wave? Well, follow these guidelines and you'll create great apps right away.

Remove Color. Of course, you can keep a color, but use it with extreme restraint. Everything else is best in black and white. Let the content fill the color for the app.

The title of enlargement, bold and black is added. You see the headline? Add it to 20 to 30 pixels and increase it.

Simple, slim, easy-to-identify icon. Your icons are best for general use and cannot be colored. If you want to do better, you should arrange it in this order: main interface, search, main action, secondary action, me.

The remaining white area becomes twice times the original. No, it's three times times as much. Can even be up to four times times. This must not be an error.

The app icon is more vivid. If you just like to design something bright and shiny, you can use it on the app icon. This is the embodiment of personality and brand place, to make it dazzling!

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The new trend of mobile design: simplifying and simplifying