Design revolution
In 2022, we will observe a significant increase in the demand for technologically advanced products, which will be a response to the still shaping “new normality” in the pandemic reality. After another turbulent year, the physical world has become even more connected to its digital counterpart. We became friends with smart devices, adapted our home offices to productive remote work, and noticed the transfer of many companies’ activities from paper to bytes of data.
The software industry has accelerated! We trust machines more than ever, which affects the way we want to experience them in our everyday live. So in 2022, we will be using multi-experience platforms, conversational interfaces and algorithms – smarter than ever before. And that’s not all …
Process automation
“If the process can be automated, it should be automated” – this concept will become the norm in product design in 2022. Admittedly, automation has grown in popularity over the last few years, but with the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become even more desirable.
Companies and organizations, in the face of the new reality, are investing more and more resources in improving processes. RPA (Robotic Process Automation) and “intelligent automation” definitely take the lead here. The main goal of RPA is to free the worker from performing tedious and repetitive activities that require valuable time and concentration. At the same time, intelligent automation means creating algorithms that are able to perform increasingly complex tasks, such as approving a loan application or scanning an invoice.
Another interesting trend in product design that leverages automation is the task-based approach, which replaces the tool-based approach. In practice, this means that the user of many business applications will receive a selected file of tasks to be performed, delivered by a special algorithm. Result? Simplified workflows and higher productivity.
Conversational interfaces
Lockdown and social isolation have shown us how much time we spend communicating with devices. Thanks to technological giants who are constantly developing their applications and raising the bar higher and higher, the human-machine interaction seems almost natural. It can be based on writing (chat) or on voice messages – much more prefered by users (e.g. Google Assistant or Siri from Adobe). Text and voice interfaces have become part of our everyday life.
The next step will be to move conversational interfaces from personal devices to other products such as household appliances, cars and medical equipment. This expansion would not be possible without the ever-increasing capabilities of Artificial Intelligence (AI), an integral part of any conversational experience design.
Motion design and animation
Since Facebook announced in 2021 that the name of its company is going to change to Meta and introduced the Metaverse concept, a virtual reality network described by Zuckerberg himself as “embodied internet”, the development of animation and motion design has been unstoppable. New opportunities which allow us to use them across different platforms and on many levels of complexity – arise with the development of technology.
The cleverly applied motion design and animation create a visual rhythm that attracts and keeps the viewer’s attention. Even a slight movement and reaction to the user’s actions make the product stand out and have a greater impact on the recipient. Including animation in product design can in many cases improve the brand’s experience and even shape its personality and image.
Inclusive design
This trend will definitely gain strength in 2022. Inclusive design takes into account differences such as race, gender, age, ethnicity, and socio-cultural background. It optimizes the product for users and makes it usable to the largest possible number of recipients. Inclusiveness in design avoids stereotypical assumptions made by privileged groups and opens the narrative to those previously overlooked, traditionally excluded from using a given interface or moving in a specific environment.
NFT (Non-Fungible Tokens)
A new era in the digital asset segment. A technology that completely changes the rules of ownership and begins to dominate the world of art, commerce and entertainment. What is it and why is it breaking popularity records lately?
NFT is a cryptographic token (data set) based on Blockchain technology. It is one-of-a-kind and unique, which makes it different from regular cryptocurrency. This means that it is a kind of certificate of authenticity – tokens are non-exchangeable, cannot be copied and are the digital property of the holder. They can represent tangible and intangible objects, such as works of art, music, virtual real estate, and even… emotions. When customers buy such a “digital product”, they can be sure that they have something that nobody else has, with no copyright or originality issues.
NFT is becoming a new way of investment that can potentially make a big profit when we decide to resell our digital good. Because, the more unique a given thing is, the more it is worth.
The range of using this technology is explored all the time, but undoubtedly – it is very wide. The challenge in designing NFT-based products at the moment focuses primarily on building trust and credibility, both among sellers and buyers, ensuring the security and transparency of the entire transaction process.
MXDP (Multiexperience Development Platforms)
These are programming platforms that provide a multitude of experiences. It will be one of the more significant product design trends in 2022, driving digital transformation. MXDP enables the development of software that uses various combinations of modalities (touch, voice, gestures), devices and applications that users interact with on a daily basis (internet, mobile devices, AR / VR, chatbots). And all this to meet the needs of recipients.
Digital nostalgia
Although we are increasingly eager to use advanced technologies that provide us a futuristic experience, at the same time we love to use something we already know. So it’s no surprise that designers are looking for inspiration in the past and developing the trend of digital nostalgia. Designs that evoke images, sounds and even smells from previous years – soothe emotions, bring us peace and generate positive feelings. Nowadays, many brands use the aesthetics of the last decades, but what is important – they interpret it anew!
Summary
Trends are good – follow them, analyze them, try the new ones, and experiment. However, you should not follow them blindly. You should choose those that will allow you to create a better product for the end user. At the moment there are countless possibilities! So we wish a you successful projects 🙂