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Top Emerging Trends In App UI Design (2025 OUTLOOK)

08/11/2022

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While an app is made with a specific group of people in mind, that is, people who have a problem that the app solves, its user interface has to consider the existence of several sub-groups within that group. UI designers have to ask themselves a wide range of questions, such as;

“Does everyone understand what a certain symbol means?” “Could there be an end-user who is blind?” “Will everyone be able to see this button or read this language?” And on top of that, they also have to consider business interests like branding and cost efficiency. So how are they getting better at harmonizing all this? To answer that, let’s discuss the emerging trends in app UI design:

Augmented Reality (AR)

AR is gradually becoming a more common aspect of various app UIs, particularly because of its wide range of possibilities when using real graphics to communicate. This technology shows that you can communicate quickly and induce different responses by superimposing extra graphics onto an image or video of an actual entity captured.

For example, you can create something that’s funny because it’s not real, like showing yourself with dog ears or a flower crown. And on the contrary, you can also create something that’s captivating because it’s almost real, like a view of your living room with a couch or your face with makeup.

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Source: Unsplash

AR gives you a chance to visualize elements you’d otherwise have to put together physically and does so with unprecedented accuracy such that the imaginary representation is as close to the real thing as possible. Some examples of excellent AR usage include Modiface, See My Fit/Virtual Catwalk, IKEA Studio, Amazon Salon, Snapchat, Gucci Sneaker Garage, View in Room and Asian Paints.

Voice UI

Technically, Voice UI isn’t entirely new. For a while, many software tools could respond to commands with something like an error message or instruction in audio form. However, what’s changed recently is that thanks to artificial intelligence, users can converse with the software on a device.

This is already in use with Google Assistant, Siri and Alexa, but there’s still room to expand. For example, designers can create interfaces that automatically pick up ambient noise in a room and use it as a guideline for adjusting music volume or as a trigger for something else, like a display of birthday party graphics and lighting when a crowd yells “Surprise.”

Virtual Reality (VR)

VR takes the concept of visualization one step further by immersing you into the space you’re viewing rather than simply pasting it onto a screen. It enables you to perceive dimensional changes when you move within a space, like an object getting closer or farther away.

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Source: Unsplash

It’s one thing seeing an object at the end of a room on a screen while being told the length and width of the room. However, it’s totally different when you’re actually in the room. You’re no longer trying to extrapolate from a smaller image on a screen that is also a certain distance away from your eyes.

VR’s capabilities come in handy when trying to do something like touring a house remotely. Moreover, it is about more than just viewing objects. VR can be used to relay commands that involve body movements, which makes it ideal for use cases like rehearsing a surgical procedure or assembling and repairing an intricate machine.

Some good VR apps include Provata VR, Space Explorers, Tilt Brush and Gravity Sketch. VR is also common in the gaming world.

Haptic Feedback

Haptic Feedback is designed to address a user through their sense of touch. In that sense, haptic feedback messages are usually conveyed as vibrations within the device a user handles. Initially, this technology was used in a basic manner, like notifying someone that they are being called if their phone is in silent mode or that they’ve chosen the right or wrong option on a screen.

Later, it advanced into an exciting way to keep a user engaged by trying to simulate what it’s like to be in a particular situation, like the rattle in a car when it leaves a smooth tarmac track and goes off-road onto a rough and bumpy Murram strip. This use case has been prevalent in gaming controllers.

Nevertheless, haptic feedback continues to evolve, with companies like NewHaptic using this technology to create fluid Braille touch screens that use tactile pixels (taxes). Clearly, haptic feedback could be a great tool for making apps more accessible to people with disabilities.

Additional trends

Many other UI trends are impressive, even though they may not have the most significant impact on user behavior. These include a dark mode, flat UI, glass morphism, metamorphism, animated illustrations, buttonless design and minimalism, asymmetrical layouts, and more.

Ultimately, UI is an intersection of expression and technology, which means many designers will come across the same concepts, but the difference will be in execution. On that note, here are a few questions to answer before you jump onto a UI trend:

  • Does it make life any easier for the user, or is it merely a fancy nice-to-have?
  • What does it say about your brand? (futuristic, sleek, nostalgic, sexy, young and vibrant, sophisticated etc.)
  • How much computing resources does it require? (Will it end up slowing down the app and making it heavier, or will everything still run smoothly)
  • Is it inclusive, or does it speak to the strengths of a few while sidelining many who have a specific weakness?
  • How much money will it cost to install and maintain?

Lastly, remember that UI design goes hand-in-hand with many other elements of a software product. For instance, an e-commerce app’s item display may require a slider to see different angles of a product, while a fitness app may only need a thumbnail for each workout.

There are other considerations, like whether the subtle tones of neomorphic buttons would work well for a CTA, which usually needs to stand out.

Wrapping Up

UI design is a far-reaching aspect of app development that often requires various team members’ input. This can be tricky to execute while responding to changes in user demands and other project challenges during the development lifecycle. If you need professional guidance on addressing every facet of app UI design, contact us for a free consultation.

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For example, enforce the following format: pbi-203 - refactor - [description…] [task-name] - [scope] - [changes] Setup: Install Commitlint: bun add -D husky @commitlint/{config-conventional,cli} Configure rules in commitlint.config.cjs: module.exports = {     rules: {         'task-name-format': [2, 'always', /^pbi-\d+ -/],         'scope-type-format': [2, 'always', /-\s(refactor|fix|feat|docs|test|chore|style)\s-\s[[^\]]+\]$/]     },     plugins: [         {             rules: {                 'task-name-format': ({ raw }) => {                     const regex = /^pbi-\d+ -/;                     return [regex.test(raw),                         `❌ Commit message must start with "pbi-<number> -". Example: "pbi-1234 - refactor - [optimize function]"`                     ];                 },                 'scope-type-format': ({ raw}) => {                     const regex = /-\s(refactor|fix|feat|docs|test|chore|style)\s-\s[[^\]]+\]$/;                     return [regex.test(raw),                         `❌ Commit message must include a valid scope and description. Example: "pbi-1234 - refactor - [optimize function]".                         \nValid scopes: refactor, fix, feat, docs, test, chore, style`                     ];                 }             }         }     ] } Add Commitlint to the commit-msg hook: echo "bunx commitlint --edit \$1" >> .husky/commit-msg With this, we have completed the commit message validation setup. Now, let’s test it to see how it works. Now, developers will be forced to follow this committing rule, which increases the readability of the Git History. Automate Branch Naming Conventions Enforce branch names like feature/pbi-199/add-validation. First, we will create a script in the project directory named scripts/check-branch-name.sh. #!/bin/bash # Define allowed branch naming pattern branch_pattern="^(feature|bugfix|hotfix|release)/pbi-[0-9]+/[a-zA-Z0-9._-]+$" # Get the current branch name current_branch=$(git symbolic-ref --short HEAD) # Check if the branch name matches the pattern if [[ ! "$current_branch" =~ $branch_pattern ]]; then   echo "❌ Branch name '$current_branch' is invalid!"   echo "✅ Branch names must follow this pattern:"   echo "   - feature/pbi-<number>/<description>"   echo "   - bugfix/pbi-<number>/<description>"   echo "   - hotfix/pbi-<number>/<description>"   echo "   - release/pbi-<number>/<description>"   exit 1 fi echo "✅ Branch name '$current_branch' is valid." Add the above script execution command into the pre-push hook. echo "bash ./scripts/check-branch-name.sh" >> .husky/pre-push Grant execute permissions to the check-branch-name.sh file. chmod +x ./scripts/check-branch-name.sh Let’s test the result by pushing our code to the server. Invalid case: git checkout main git push Output: ❌ Branch name 'main' is invalid! ✅ Branch names must follow this pattern:   - feature/pbi-<number>/<description>   - bugfix/pbi-<number>/<description>   - hotfix/pbi-<number>/<description>   - release/pbi-<number>/<description> husky - pre-push script failed (code 1) Valid case: git checkout -b feature/pbi-100/add-new-feature git push Output: ✅ Branch name 'feature/pbi-100/add-new-feature' is valid. Prevent Accidental Force Pushes Force pushes can overwrite shared branch history, causing significant problems in collaborative projects. We will implement validation for the prior pre-push hook to prevent accidental force pushes to critical branches like main or develop. Create a script named scripts/prevent-force-push.sh. #!/bin/bash # Define the protected branches protected_branches=("main" "develop") # Get the current branch name current_branch=$(git symbolic-ref --short HEAD) # Check if the current branch is in the list of protected branches if [[ " ${protected_branches[@]} " =~ " ${current_branch} " ]]; then # Check if the push is a force push for arg in "$@"; do   if [[ "$arg" == "--force" || "$arg" == "-f" ]]; then     echo "❌ Force pushing to the protected branch '${current_branch}' is not allowed!"     exit 1   fi done fi echo "✅ Push to '${current_branch}' is valid." Add the above script execution command into the pre-push hook. echo "bash ./scripts/prevent-force-push.sh" >> .husky/pre-push Grant execute permissions to the check-branch-name.sh file. chmod +x ./scripts/prevent-force-push.sh Result: Invalid case: git checkout main git push -f Output: ❌ Force pushing to the protected branch 'main' is not allowed! husky - pre-push script failed (code 1) Valid case: git checkout main git push Output: ✅ Push is valid. Monitor for Secrets in Commits Developers sometimes unexpectedly include sensitive data in commits. We will set up a pre-commit hook to scan files for sensitive patterns before committing to prevent accidental commits containing sensitive information (such as API keys, passwords, or other secrets). Create a script named scripts/monitor-secrets-with-values.sh. #!/bin/bash # Define sensitive value patterns patterns=( # Base64-encoded strings "([A-Za-z0-9+/]{40,})={0,2}" # PEM-style private keys "-----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----" "-----BEGIN OPENSSH PRIVATE KEY-----" "-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----" # AWS Access Key ID "AKIA[0-9A-Z]{16}" # AWS Secret Key "[a-zA-Z0-9/+=]{40}" # Email addresses (optional) "[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\.[a-zA-Z]{2,}" # Others (e.g., passwords, tokens) ) # Scan staged files for sensitive patterns echo "🔍 Scanning staged files for sensitive values..." # Get the list of staged files staged_files=$(git diff --cached --name-only) # Initialize a flag to track if any sensitive data is found found_sensitive_data=false # Loop through each file and pattern for file in $staged_files; do # Skip binary files if [[ $(file --mime-type -b "$file") == "application/octet-stream" ]]; then   continue fi # Scan each pattern using grep -E (extended regex) for pattern in "${patterns[@]}"; do   if grep -E -- "$pattern" "$file"; then     echo "❌ Sensitive value detected in file '$file': Pattern '$pattern'"     found_sensitive_data=true     break   fi done done # If sensitive data is found, prevent the commit if $found_sensitive_data; then echo "❌ Commit aborted. Please remove sensitive values before committing." exit 1 fi echo "✅ No sensitive values detected. Proceeding with committing." Add the above script execution command into the pre-commit hook. echo "bash ./scripts/monitor-secrets-with-values.sh" >> .husky/pre-commit Grant execute permissions to the monitor-secrets-with-values.sh file. chmod +x ./scripts/monitor-secrets-with-values.sh Result: Invalid case: git add private git commit -m “pbi-002 - chore - add unexpected private file” Result: 🔍 Scanning staged files for sensitive values... -----BEGIN OPENSSH PRIVATE KEY----- ❌ Sensitive value detected in file 'private': Pattern '-----BEGIN OPENSSH PRIVATE KEY-----' ❌ Commit aborted. Please remove sensitive values before committing. husky - pre-commit script failed (code 1) Valid case: git reset private git commit -m “pbi-002 - chore - remove unexpected private file” Result: 🔍 Scanning staged files for sensitive values... ✅ No sensitive values detected. Proceeding with commit. [main c575028] pbi-002 - chore - remove unexpected private file 4 files changed, 5 insertions(+) create mode 100644 .env.example create mode 100644 .husky/commit-msg create mode 100644 .husky/pre-commit create mode 100644 .husky/pre-push Conclusion "Humans make mistakes" in software development; even minor errors can disrupt workflows or create inefficiencies. That’s where Git Hooks come in. By automating essential checks and enforcing best practices, Git Hooks reduces the chances of errors slipping through and ensures a smoother, more consistent workflow. Tools like Husky make it easier to set up Git Hooks, allowing developers to focus on writing code instead of worrying about process compliance. Whether it’s validating commit messages, enforcing branch naming conventions, or preventing sensitive data from being committed, Git Hooks acts as a safety net that ensures quality at every step. If you want to optimize your Git workflow, now is the time to start integrating Git Hooks. With the proper setup, you can make your development process reliable but also effortless and efficient. Let automation handle the rules so your team can focus on building great software.

              24/12/2024

              46

              Bao Dang D. Q.

              Knowledge

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                Automate Your Git Workflow with Git Hooks for Efficiency

                24/12/2024

                46

                Bao Dang D. Q.

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