Top three interaction design trends we love in 2013

In 2013, the web got flatter, simpler, and more mobile-ier. Here's our round-up of three things that really had us singing happy songs as interaction designers this year:

Responsive web design entered the public consciousness

Responsive Design

Responsive Design was something that had us excited for some time now, both in terms of what it could do for the user experience and for our clients' bottom-lines. But it took a bit of time for the concept to gain traction, mainly because it’s a bit of a difficult concept to grasp. So when an entire TV commercial is tooled up to show off Sportsnet’s responsive website, you know RWD has become more than an obscure philosophical approach debated within the web design community. In fact, by some estimates, roughly 1 in 8 websites are now responsive. And we couldn’t be more thrilled. It means more and more sites are accessible to more and more people, devices, and contexts. That’s why we declare 2013 as “The Year Responsive Design Went Mainstream".

Everything’s “flat" now

Flat Design Flat Design

In 2012, the Interwebs were abuzz with the idea of “flat design”—design that scorned unnecessary ornamentation and dubious visual metaphor. Suddenly everyone was an expert interface designer simply because they could use the word “skeuomorphism” in intelligent debate. Fast-forward to 2013, and Apple now led the charge with their much maligned/anticipated iOS 7 redesign. Gone are the gaudy leather trims and faux-distressed metal surfaces. And while we certainly think there’s always room for the affordances inherent in referencing physical objects in screen-based interactive design, we feel the dominant trend towards clean, open, and simple interfaces is generally a pretty good thing.

Hamburgers to go

Hamburger Icon Hamburger Icon

The surge of mobile introduced a new iconography into the broader interaction design lexicon, leading many sites to behave more like apps (especially when viewed on mobile devices). The most notable newcomer was the three-bar symbol affectionally referred to as “the hamburger menu icon”. In 2013, we saw many responsive sites adopt this shorthand to let users know that, hey! there’s a menu under there somewhere. And users responded with a unanimous “OK, I get it!” This allowed designers to hide the navigation until needed, clearing space on small screens for the important stuff, like actual content. Because no one wants to visit a site on their smartphone only to wade through screens of navigation options, right? We’ll take that hamburger to go, please.

The impact of mobile on interaction design was unmistakable this year, setting new standards and influencing users' behaviour and experiences. Moving into 2014, we're looking forward to seeing that line between "mobile" and "desktop" disappear altogether, giving rise to a "multi-screen" approach to design that lets users get the content they want—anytime, anywhere. Soon, they'll be singing happy songs along with us, too.