Whether you are a web developer, a graphic designer or a creative in the app design industry, 2020 is the year to look out for when it comes to emerging trends. According to Tech Jury, application use takes up 20% of total media time with today’s digital device users, and with more than 2 hours daily spent on different apps per individual, it’s no wonder why the industry is taking off now more than ever.

Junior developers, student designers and small businesses alike can find something to look forward to in app development going into 2020 due to its shifting trends and space for innovation. With that in mind, let’s take a look at several of the best app design trends worth checking out this year.

Unique Visual Design Choices

While it is true that some of the biggest brands out there, such as Coca-Cola, can serve as inspiration for designers and developers due to their professional style guide implementation, 2020 is the year of change in that regard. Implementing unique blends of fonts, color palettes, visual elements, as well as illustration and animation is the name of the game.

Use your brand’s competitors and their app design choices as a reference but never as a baseline for your own style guide development. Research your target audience and niche – make the choices of fonts, colors and visual style of your app match the tone and product/service you aim to provide.

Brand Storytelling

What separates your business and its portfolio from the competition (besides the quality of your service) is the brand itself. That being said, your brand should be an integral part of the app you design for the customers and clients to use going into 2020.

You can integrate a forum or a blog feature as a separate section of your app or make announcements or send short messages through your UI directly to all of the app’s users. Another way to make use of your brand is to design a persona which will act as a chatbot or a mascot for your app, further humanizing your brand and allowing your users to identify with it.

AI Assistance

Speaking of chatbots, AI-assistance and voice recognition will play a major role in the app design industry in 2020. While some people enjoy simply speaking to their phones rather than type in text and commands, some have no choice but to do so for a variety of health-related reasons.

Including AI in your app can bring about several benefits to its UX, including higher accessibility and lowered barrier for entry for less tech-savvy users. Most importantly, AI will allow you to gather relevant user data and feedback on how well your app functions for different demographics.

Personalized Content Writing

While you should always be professional and respectful of your user base, personalized content will still help you achieve better success in the long run. In the case of Duolingo, a language-learning app, we can see that push toward personalized UX illustrated perfectly.

Yes, your app’s UI should absolutely respect your users’ time while also providing them with original, relevant options and content to enjoy. On the other hand, personal pronouns and an affinity toward creative writing, puns as well as small tips or insights from your industry will undoubtedly outperform any cold and calculated copywriting in 2020.

Localized UI Elements

Continuing the trend of app accessibility, localized UI elements and app translation will play a large part in how certain apps are perceived in 2020. If your app is used by an international audience, it’s worth exploring the notion of localization into several languages apart from its native choice.

To achieve that, the best practice is to focus on creating the single-language UI before thinking about additional choices. Specialized platforms such as Pick Writers will allow you to find companies to retrofit existing writing into different languages and thus avoid any errors which might crop up if you choose the DIY option.

UX and Accessibility

We’ve touched on the notion of accessibility and health-related obstructions preventing a large number of people from enjoying their favorite apps or websites – but what does this mean in practice? App design trends are slowly shifting toward inclusivity and approachability, allowing people with sight or hearing issues, as well as other physical conditions, to successfully use digital devices.

That being said, you can elevate your app’s UX features by including a color-blind mode, computer-generated voice reading, scalable fonts and UI, as well as voice-controlled browsing just to name a few. The more options you add to your app in 2020, the better your public perception and subsequent support and user base will be as a result.

Native Dark Mode

Whether it’s a web-based app or a smartphone application you design in 2020, including a native dark mode in its list of features will significantly boost its wider appeal. With so many users browsing the web or playing games in the dark of night, dark UI will allow your app to find more users willing to give it a shot.

In terms of visual style and UX, the dark mode on your app should be a natural contrast to your default, day-time elements. This means that no UI elements should be moved or altered in any way apart from ensuring that your app will not harm the users’ sight in night-time use cases.

In Summary

As we go further into 2020 and beyond, more app trends and development innovations are bound to crop up regardless of which niche you operate in. As creative individuals in a constantly-evolving industry, it is our job to separate efficient and noteworthy trends from those which are simply passing experiments.

Make sure to gauge the interests and sensibilities of your target audience before settling for dramatic redesign or rebranding choices if your marketing strategy is already implemented. Try to include these (and other) app design trends in your upcoming development projects in a natural way – you might be surprised with the results.

Elisa Abbott is a writer and editor at Best Writers Online. Elisa closely collaborated with many small business owners which brought her many insights into various industries.