I briefly mentioned Flat Design in my previous blog post, but what is it actually? Flat Design is one of the latest trends in Web Design and in User Interfaces in general, Apple’s iOS 7 has moved away from the skeuomorphic design of iOS 6 and adopted a basic form of Flat Design.
Essentially Flat Design is a minimalistic approach to design, it makes use of solid colours with little or no gradients applied and has a very 2D look about it. No textures, bevels or other skeuomorphic details are used, or in other words, no design techniques are used to make elements look three dimensional. For the most part, Shadows are not used, with the exception Long Shadow Flat Design.
The evidence of Flat design is often most noticeable in icons and logos. Take a look at the difference between the old and new versions of the Google Chrome icon:
So Flat Design can be summarised as simplistic design and I think that in most cases, it makes for a better user experience, sometimes, less really is more. Some brands, companies and designers have embraced flat design very quickly while others remain sceptical, which do you prefer?
Are you a fan of Flat Design, do you still prefer skeuomorphic design or do you like both and decide which one to use depending on the design? Share your thought with us!
Tags: Google, User Experience, Website Design
