Endloop

Smartphones have become an integral part of our lives including the mobile apps. It seems we have reached the end of innovation of app design and development, but that is far from the truth.

Today we have the hot trends in mobile app design and development that are going to rock 2018.

Let’s check them out!

Top app development trends 2018

So, what are the top app development trends that you need to take a note of this year? Here is a look.

1. Blockchain

Blockchain evolved for recording the transactions of cryptocurrencies in an anonymous and unalterable manner. Blockchain gives a secured technology to record any transaction and is gaining traction even in mobile apps. Currently, many blockchain products and services are being developed across the world in sectors like finance, food safety and supply, mobile games and so on.

You can already find mobile wallets developed based on blockchain technology on the Android platform.

2. Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI has been taken to a new level and in 2018 it could break from enterprise use to general mobile apps. The expensive technology has already attained a level of perfection in Apple’s Siri which is not a live assistant.

Intelligent apps will be the next big thing with the AI market predicted to grow to $47 billion by 2020, according to International Data Corporation (IDC).

3. Accelerated mobile pages (AMP)

Google and Twitter have brought out a new project which reduces the loading time of mobile web pages. The version is a bare minimum version of HTML which requires no sitemap.

App developers can develop high-performance web apps which load fast, have low bounce rates and works efficiently on all mobile devices.

It is also suitable for SEO enhancing server performance and mobile ranking. Users will be able to smoothly browse pages even if the server encounters increased traffic.

Top app design trends 2018

1. Less is more

A few years back material design trends made apps and websites more user-friendly by making them clutter free and simple. Light background with subtle colors- the change is continuing with mobile apps becoming minimal in use of design elements.

The purpose is to make things easy for the user- just find the button to click!

You may also have seen modern apps using the different shades of the same color to reduce distractions.

2. In-app gestures

Why should mobile apps be just limited to pressing buttons!

Modern apps are increasing using in-app gesticulation for easy and exciting navigation. After all, it is more fun to pinch, swipe, tap, spread, double tap and more than just pressing a button.

We may discover new gestures in mobile apps in 2018 which enhances the experience of using a smartphone and also make it faster.

3. Functional Animations

Animations are not just for entertainment.

Functional animations used in correct steps can help a user understand what to do next or find out the meaning of something. App developers are using their creativity and coming up with fancy and beautiful functional animations.

Every product or service wants to deliver a rich experience to their customers. The same applies to the world of web and app designs where user satisfaction is a priority. The need brings in a lot of processes and stages in the development process of an app or website and introduces terms like UI, UX, wireframe, mockup, and prototyping.

How do you know about the UI & UX of your app?

Most businesses know that the UI and UX of your app is the first thing that they need to focus on. Without it, even if you have a lot to offer, it could get pretty hard to build on customer engagement.

To begin you need to understand what UI and UX are.

User interface (UI)

At the basic level, UI is the visual element of the webpage or screen you are going to use to interact with a device. In an app, it is made of visual elements like buttons, pages, sidebars and other graphical layouts that enables navigation and functionality.

User experience (UX)

UX is a much broader concept and represents the individual experience that is developed through interacting with a company’s products and services. User experience encompasses the complete journey of the customer and includes many aspects-

• The activities undertaken by the user to discover the product
• Series of actions carried out to interact with the interface
• Thoughts and emotions encountered while solving problem
• The overall experience of interacting with the product

In case of app or web development, it involves meeting the demands of the customer in a seamless way. This will include various elements like navigation, page loading speeds, ease of accomplishing the desired task and so on.

Integrating UI and UX in the final product

The feasibility and integrity of UI/UX design are carried out through the process of the mockup. Mockup comes after the wireframe process which lays out the basic visual elements of a web page or app.

Wireframes can be considered the basic blueprint of the app. It can contain placeholders, content boxes and other visual elements which make it easy to understand where everything belongs.

It is just a skeletal presentation without any aesthetic details.

Mockup

The mockup is the next stage of the wireframe. It can be said to be a mid-fidelity representation of the final app’s appearance and a basic representation of the functionalities.

Mockups are also static but enriched with visual elements like colors, images, typography and other details. It can be said to be the enriched visual design draft of the web page.

The top things to do

You can get a basic idea of how the webpage can look and function even though the functionalities are not there. For example, you can visually show how an icon may change once it is clicked with the changes highlighted.

After creating mockups developers go for a prototype which includes some of the functionalities. The process of UI/UX design and testing with a mockup in essential in the app development process and ensures the final product is free of errors and glitches.