Why Flat Design Has Become Popular And Where Is It Headed

Why Flat Design Has Become Popular And Where Is It Headed

What makes a website design appealing to users, is it the fancy template or the presence of heavy images? The answer to that can be none of these for users generally do not have the time or patience to wait for such a website to download. Yes, you read it right that websites with heavy graphics take their own sweet time to download. In other words, the efforts designers put into building such websites with fancy graphics often run the risk of being ignored by users. This has led to the emergence of a minimalist kind of design concept called the flat design.

What is a flat design?

Instead of having design elements that are typically 3D in character, the latest in flat design lets users have an illusion of that. This new design concept uses minimalism as a principle and has images that are simpler to create compared to its heavy duty cousin and appear catchy as well. The best part is its ability to be compatible with different screen sizes, browsers, resolutions or better, being mobile responsive. Moreover, with an added advantage of loading faster on mobile platforms, it has been widely accepted as the new normal in website design.

Is it a reaction to skeuomorphism?

As a design concept skeuomorphism uses elements that replicate real objects on a screen. These elements give effects with shadows, highlights, gradients, bevels, glows, and textures. For example, skeuomorphism can make the icon for ‘calling’ on a mobile look like a real telephone. We can see the use of this concept in the form of ‘shutter sound’ in a digital camera or while turning a page in an ebook. However, the heavy graphic usage in skeuomorphism takes its toll on a device’s memory and its ability to fit into a mobile screen. This limitation gave flat design an upper hand as evident in the layout of Windows 8 and iOS 7.

Principal characteristics of a flat design Deriving its name from the use of flat looking elements this type of design incorporates a two dimensional style, be it in the form of textures, fonts, or layouts. The principle characteristics of this design are as follows: The use of simple elements: The elements used here come in the form of buttons or icons that mostly resemble simple geometric figures like squares, rectangles, or circles. In fact, designers add a touch of bold colours to make these more attractive.

Typography: The fonts are simpler here as heavy ones do not contrast well with a flat layout. Besides, the overall appearance of content and layout are consistent with each other.

The use of colour: A flat design interface has more range of colours, which can be used for maximum effect.

Less is more: Going by its minimalist concept less number of design elements are used. This is an important attribute to be applied by any website design company for a garishly designed site can put off visitors.

Why Flat design has gained prominence?

Responsive: The ability of this grid based design concept to easily fit into any screen size irrespective of the device makes it responsive. Also, in a world where an increasing number of people access the internet through smartphones, the design’s compatibility with any mobile screen size, resolution, and browser has made it popular.

Trendy: The fact that leading IT companies like Microsoft, Apple, and Google have adopted this design concept has made it trendy.

Easy to use: Heavy duty graphics are difficult to grasp by designers and even more difficult to apply. On the other hand, the simpler flat design can be configured easily. In fact, it is the flexibility of this grid based architecture that lets it fit into any kind of design requirement. As opposed to heavy duty graphics where the content often gets overshadowed this concept lets the content shine by providing a perfect contrasting layout.

Simple visual: Simple visuals with a proper interplay of colours, typefaces, and detailing appear to be stunning. Moreover, the sharp design elements in the form of buttons and icons that are arranged in a minimalist way look appealing. This design format ensures easy comprehension and navigability as far as users are concerned.

No matter how popular the design concept has become or how often is it used by any website design company it has its share of detractors as well.

Lack of design options: Limited in its scope and design elements, a flat design’s minimalist approach does come as a handicap for companies who want to showcase variety. Instead of creating uniqueness in the design of websites and mobile apps, the concept brings about a ‘one size fits all’ kind of template that tends to appear as generic.

Decrease in usability: Minimalism has its limitations as well for users often get confused with icons. In other words, since all icons look somewhat similar users find it difficult to decide which ones to click and which ones to leave.

This lack of clarity in terms of usability can put off users. The detractors of flat design insist the real looking icons of skeuomorphic concept to be better understood by users.

The way forward As opposed to a flat design’s minimalist and simplistic way of creating layouts, the requirements of today in terms of better usability and comprehension have given rise to flat 2.0 design. This new format uses shadows, highlights, and textures to offer a better visual experience. The format is more about achieving a balance by negating the minuses and retaining the pluses of flat design 1.0. In fact, Google has given it a new lease of life by coining the ‘Material Design’ format. The format marries the erstwhile minimalist flat design concept with a few visual elements to create a whole new user experience.

What the future holds for flat design is something to look at. However, given the changing dynamics of user experience it is certainly going to get bigger and better in the days to come. Can it overshadow the skeuomorphic concept completely or blend its characteristics in order to provide a better visual experience, do let us know of your views.

You can read the full content: https://www.wesrch.com/gp/why-flat-designhas-become-popular-and-where-is-it-headed-4285

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