Wednesday, 24 February 2021

[2021]: Modern Web Design & UI Trends to Lookout For

 

Every year website and app designs get rejuvenated and redesigned with modern techniques and hot elements embedded into the previous custom patterns. With a tint of freshness, simplicity, and definition, the design elements can be mixed and matched to reach the heights of realism.

Breathing life into the digital world, website designing has been leveraged and leveled high to render exceptionally-engaging and communication-oriented websites powered by digital product development.

And it is to no surprise that,

“Designs Speak Louder than Words and play a Significant Role in Business Conversions!” 

Out of the 2020 website designs, many are extensions of the previously predicted patterns but also include some unique ones that help you create mind-boggling websites that are worth exploring for modern users.

Best Website Design Trends bringing Heavy Conversions & Superior User Experience

#Congenia Colors

Scrutinizing the digital nature of the job market today, coloring a website with just the right elements of cheerfulness and hope can derive an uncommon user experience. Web designers today put a sheer focus on color schemes and target the ones being easier on the eyes.

In 2021, they will focus on bringing something outside the extremes of light and dark will ground to soft and muted colors that will tend to relate to a more natural feel. Not all website visitors are fond of dramatic innovations and connect more with faint and subdued backgrounds, making the design feel much alive and talking.

The below image is a combination of subtle distortion of light and dark that is well rounded in its web design ambiance, more concerned with accessibility and comfort.

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#Scrolling Transformations

While scrolling a website, a user is doing more than navigating the website.
He’s interacting!

Scrolling transformations is a way to develop a focused interaction with the user, allowing him to participate or involve in the things happening on the website. It’s one of the subtle and indirect forms of communicating with the user where sometimes each scroll can feel like a new website page.

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Horizontal or vertical, both types of scrolling patterns can be put to best use along with where they can serve as a practical way to disclose secondary information progressively, say an image gallery, a new update, etc. 

[Prefer Reading: “UI-UX Design Duo: The Necessary Integrand of a Successful Digital Product.”]

#Dark Mode

The dark mode is everywhere and with its increasing popularity, it’s been made available both in browsers and mobile devices where one can toggle between light and dark modes within a fraction of time.

Being the latest web design of 2020, dark design mode will last for long as it offers high visibility and contrast using soothing colors and provides an optimum user experience without much eye strain. 

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Dark color impacts the overall vibe of the website message and content, so designers must experiment carefully with the color palettes that create an engaging visual feel and do justice with readability and functionality.  

#Parrallax Design

Parallax designs were very commonly witnessed in classic video games but recently became a fashion in the web design world. This cool trend is now seen as a part of the scrolling feature of a webpage that comes across as equal parts real and surreal.

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The complex programming into the foreground and background extremes, separating the page elements perfectly render a parallax effect, that is gaining high traction in web-based animation.

Its major differential is its depth of transforming a screen into something more analogous and relative to a theater stage. The technique used stimulates 3D depth by moving the background slower than the layers in the foreground which can be compared with a real-life scenario of viewing passing scenery while driving. 

#Black & White Illustrations (Colorless UI)

It’s true that minimal plain design can still be an engaging experience. Adding a tint of dynamic effects, animations, and micro-interactions black and white theme illustrations are still famous and a preferred choice of many.

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These simply include flat drawings (with or without animations) or big bold content letters that puts a heavy impact on the user with their whimsy playful nature. Colorless website designs seem more real, influential, and in-the-moment and are known to glue visitor’s attention on the website, holistically.

These illustrations seem to “match” almost any design aesthetic as well, making them a popular option for all kinds of industries or website types.

[Prefer Reading: “Can Design-Development Phases be Leveled with Prototypes?”]

#Big Bold Typography 

To make the written language legible, readable, and appealing, big bold typography took over and eliminated the need of adding images or graphics. 

It’s rightly said and seen, the bigger the letters, the heavier the impression. When you have fewer words that aim to speak everything, this trend works the best irrespective of choosing any thick or thin font style.

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The bigger size of the font seeks all the heed and can be blended with busy backgrounds, fancy images, or flat interfaces for your content/text to stand out. This website design can be well-matched with the gaussian blur pattern that adds further enhancement to it.

Pro Tips:

  • Keep a trendy typeface
  • Choose a simple background, and
  • Manage text corresponding to vertical/horizontal spaces
    Just commit these three to the memory and you’re good to go!

#Gaussian Blur

This trend helps you focus on images and gradients and is used in more prominent spaces in web designs. A pleasing gaussian blur of color is a subtle design option that is known to perfectly capture the eye lens.

“Simple can be Extraordinary!”

Colors can be mixed and matched or simply used for creative and cohesive web designs with gaussian blur in the background. Nor did they make web designs refined and refreshing, but also mobile applications and other sorts of interfaces and artworks.

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#3D Representations

The three-dimensional illustrations are known to bring reality and virtual reality together that has given web designers a wide spectrum to play with almost everything using 3D. Adding color transitions, this trend can be just the right option to seek in the creative process.

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With a delightful and more captivating appearance, 3D elements are inexpensive to implement where designers and companies embrace this evergreen web design to create triumphs that are admired by users. 

Adding to the overall user experience, three-dimensional representations can go with the flow with minimalist layouts, making a huge impact.

#Abstract Art Compositions

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Shapes including geometric primitives (squares, lines, circles…) are seen as minimalist and sophisticated design patterns that can be restrictive or be used to exude freedom. In 2021, photography would take a backseat and would be surpassed by abstract art elements, however, can still be peered with images and figure illustrations.

Websites possessing abstract art designs can compose to be more impressive, expressive, and alive, even in the absence of familiar human faces.  

Let’s Light Up Your Web Design!

The above-mentioned designs, whether they are extensions of the previous year or are the latest in the field, will be all at their best performance when designed and combined with a thoughtful and intentional scheme.

Dedicated website designers at NetSet can leverage these design trends and make them highly usable, layer-able, and playful for your next website development project. They can help you optimize your website with synthesized designs and patterns that will deliver highly-engaging web design results.

Tuesday, 23 February 2021

Do Businesses need to Bet on BaaS (Blockchain-as-a-Service)?

 Block chain

Blockchain has shown its revolutionary potential, to transform the world, in almost every field of human endeavour. With its deployment in diverse domains like medical, finance, engineering, supply chain, government operations, cross-border trade, etc. the technology has proved itself to be scaled for much broader use next to Blockchain Development.

With the burgeoning demand and implementation of Blockchain, businesses have found ways to harness the power of this robust technology and have buckled up to offer Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS).

“A Cloud Service modality that aims to facilitate the use of Blockchain Technology.” 

The emergence of BaaS has developed another type of market that forms an important part of the blockchain economy. Let’s delve deeper into the category and explore the new branch budding out of Blockchain.

Blockchain as a Service (BaaS)

Blockchain as a Service (BaaS)

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BaaS has gained significant traction where this service allows consumers to use cloud-based solutions to build, host, and use their blockchain solutions, functions, and smart contracts. Third parties install and maintain blockchain networks for a company’s technologies and support them to build blockchain-powered products under an established blockchain ecosystem.

All in all, businesses offer fully functional blockchain platforms as per the customer needs.

(The developed blockchain landscape is monitored and administered by cloud-based service providers.)

Even though the concept adheres to the working and engagement principles similar to that of Software as a Service (SaaS), nevertheless, its adoption has accelerated the fixation of complex issues, facilitating transparency, efficiency, and cost at a recognizable level.

The advantages offered by the technology have urged many IT organizations to explore it strategically, but the inherent technical complexities and deficiency in domain expertise often led them to lose pace on the adoption plans.

Moreover, not every organization may need high authentication, or not all developers within an organization would have experience working on the platform. This what led big tech giants to adopt BaaS and offer blockchain integration solutions to better adopt, operate, and configure the technology for operational use.

The Working

 

Blockchain-as-a-Service works relatively with Blockchain as a service provider who is responsible for orchestrating the entire blockchain implementation and maintenance of its nodes. 

As per the business needs, blockchain service providers handle all the backend and complex services while taking strenuous care of the crucial artefacts of blockchain technology like hosting requirements, security protocols, bandwidth management, optimisation of resources, and much more.

One can consider BaaS similar to web hosting. As you get various options of hosting your website with its maintenance like you manage to have your own server or a computer, or you hire staff for website handling or ultimately you opt for choosing a specialised company that hosts your website on their server and takes over all the responsibilities.

Blockchain-as-a-service works likewise where you get their complete network and is one of the best approaches for mass adoption of blockchain. 

Top Features

#Quick Deployment

Get fast deployment of blockchain integration without complex configuration concerns. Blockchain-as-a-Service offers extensive services without any inconvenience or hassles.

#Application Access

To amplify the pace of application development, Baas offers blockchain SDKs, standard Fabric SDKs, built-in connection information, etc.  

#Security Service

Keeping high on security, the service supports cryptographic algorithms and SGX security protection, creating a multi-dimensional blockchain security network.

#Organization Management

The service allows managing enterprises that are in business as well as the users of the organization and grants access to the blockchain application.

#Chain-code Management

BaaS allows managing chain codes (smart contracts) for overwriting installation and creating instances, and further updating them in the network.

#Permission Management

Allows enterprise-ready management and monitoring.

#Monitoring

The blockchain service gives real-time updates and automatic alerts of the state of the blockchain while monitoring connections to CloudMonitor.

Primary Elements to Evaluate Blockchain-as-a-Service

To value the adoption of Cloud with Blockchain (BaaS), here we list significant parameters that must be examined before betting on the service.

Take a rundown:

#Suitability of the service:

Depending on the context where you want to apply the blockchain, you have to take into account which implementation to use, the architecture of the solution, and find the right service that satisfies all the requirements of the case of use.

#Adaptability: 

Here we refer to the possibilities offered by the corresponding service when configuring it to our liking: number of nodes, location of the same, consensus, time, sizes, etc.

#Cost: 

Like all cloud services, this service has its associated cost. A detailed cost assessment is required, which varies depending on the use case and the service provider.

It is essential to carry out a preliminary analysis study in order to make the best decision. After all, like the technology itself, these services are evolving and there are times when it is better to deploy on-premises.

[Prefer Reading: Blockchain: What it Holds for Businesses Today?”]

Thursday, 11 February 2021

UI-UX Design Duo: The Necessary Integrand of a Successful Digital Product

 

It’s a Human-Centered World!

People work for People.
Technology works for People.
Even the devices built, work for People.

When every innovation or advancement, taking place, revolves around users, customers, and their variegated experiences why do businesses still believe that a good product or service could essentially sell itself?

Again, read the first line. Did it strike something?

No matter the industry or sphere you work in, this materialistic audience crave enhanced digital experiences at each step of progression. 

Let’s commit a few facts about User Experience first:

  • User Experience is the most Voluminous Keyword of the Internet Product Development sphere.
  • User Experience has an upthrust and crosses every bar of the ladder each day. (growing user expectations)
  • User Experience begins within 17microseconds of a visitor/user landing up to a website, a device, an app, or even while utilizing a service.

I believe these certitudes are enough to make you realize the significance the term carries with itself. 

Grabbing the conceptual and contextual theory, let’s slide towards the business perspective of UX and spotlight some major aspects concerning the keyword.

User Interface (UI) & User Experience (UX)

User Experience defines and describes each interaction your customers have with your product or service or brand.

User Interface is what the user is going to use or the part of your product/service he interacts with (like screens, buttons, icons, features, etc.) 

Concerning both these terms, remember: 

“The exposure of your brand and its assets is no longer limited to just knowing about the product, instead, it expands to the experience of purchasing and using the product as well.” 

A good experience with a good impression always reflects great benefits in visits, conversions, sales, and ROI.

UX is the UI?

As a matter of fact, a user interface is an interface between the customer and the business.
Thus, the UX design is UI design we build by all the effective means through which the business and customer connect.

While experimenting with a product, say an application, we don’t realize that when we evaluate the user experience, we unknowingly gauge the usability of the product and the vice-versa is also true.

UI/UX Design, What it is all about?

UI/UX Design is a design philosophy that seeks to create products that solve the problems or needs of users, achieving the highest satisfaction and the best possible experience when using them and with minimal effort.

The maxim of this way of designing is to build a product that manages to satisfy as much as possible what the customer demands thanks to knowing it thoroughly.

User experience design can be applied to any type of product: from a refrigerator, a television to a car or software.

And it is that what has to be clear to you is the objective of the UX: to create a unique experience adapted to your client.

In other words, when it comes to web pages, it makes it easier for users who visit your website to navigate so that they can find what they want and what you offer in the simplest way possible.

Therefore, you need to know what needs your users have, align them with the objectives of your business, and taking into account your technological or technical limitations. 

A perfect UI/UX design checks on the following critical factors that further offer conversion opportunities and competitive benefits:

The Usability
It is simply to improve the ease of learning and efficiency. The usability of your product gets enhanced when the interaction designers make it easy for users to learn and experiment with a new product in the most natural way. 

Information Architecture
Its the element that is responsible for meeting the needs of the visitor by connecting users with content in an organized and classified way, making it easier to locate.

Graphic Design
The visual and graphic elements (fonts, colors, icons, images, etc.) are used to attract the attention of users and make their browsing experience more pleasant and positive. 

Mobile First
Keeping mobile phones at an arm’s distance, UI-UX designs must be adapted to the mobile environment which means the design and layout must be perfectly visible both on computer and mobile alike with the standard settings. 

Prototyping
Prototypes guarantee a good web design by testing their preliminary versions and ensure their feasibility and suitability as per the purpose of the project. It’s a useful element that gives an idea about the functionality of the design before applying it. 

The Satisfaction
If your UI-UX designs combine usefulness and usability, provided your product delivers value and quality then it will certainly reach the expected levels of user contentment. The user’s greatest satisfaction is proportional to the value and experience rendered in terms of performance, quality, and vision.

[Prefer Reading: “Can Design-Development Phases be Leveled with Prototypes?”]

What makes a Good UI Design?

User Interface and User Experience are similar in a context where they have a proportional dependency too, thus, it can be said that a good user interface can create a positive user experience.

A good user design at its core is:

  • Useful: 

The content of your website has to be original and satisfy the needs of your client.

  • Usable: 

our website has to be easy to use and navigation has to be simple and intuitive.

  • Desirable: 

Your website has to generate emotions and good feelings in your users through the images, the corporate image, the identity, your brand. This part is more focused on UI design but it must also be taken into account in UX.

  • Findable: 

The content of your website has to be navigable and locatable both within your own page and outside (SEO).

  • Accessible: 

Your content must be visible to your users and accessible to people with disabilities.

  • Credible: 

Everything you publish on your website has to be reliable and as transparent as possible. You have to create a sincere connection with the user.

  • Valuable: 

You have to make sure that the content and information you offer is unique and of value to your user.

All in all, it is compelling, delightful, and emotive that fulfills a user’s inward desires when first interacted with your digital product. 

“A human-centered design understands the end-user.” 

Thus, the present need is to build Human-Centered Designs that focus on Research, Empathy, and User Experience. 

The vital sections of a website or an app that derive their most interest are:

  • The Logo
  • Main Navigation Menu
  • Search Box
  • Feature Image
  • The Content
  • The Bottom/the End

This proves that first impressions are 94% Design related where the look and feel of your digital product are highly responsible for influencing the audience. Poor UI/UX design is associated with rapid rejection and mistrust that adversely affects the user’s first impression of using your product or service.

[Prefer Reading: “How does Personalization help to Scale App User Experience?”]

Where NetSet Can Play a Role?

UI and UX are a world to discover and we at NetSet help you explore their realm in the most efficient way, taking a fast track. Our design experts are able to bring life to design ideas, employing the best practices during the entire design process, from start to finish.

Get human-centered user experience designs ready for your next digital product that offers an irresistible and inevitable user interaction within a stipulated interval of time. We ensure your UX is your X-factor, helping you with every step of your user experience design journey.