Kamila Gebalska

From table-based tiny interfaces through texture-heavy elaborated structures to the recent triumph of simplicity, web design has come a long way and is now in the phase that one could say is the best we've seen so far. Whatever is going to happen next in the department of User Experience let's focus on modern day web designer's most popular choice - flat design.

When Microsoft introduced its Windows 8 User Interface it was like a revelation to some and like a final confirmation of emerging trend to others. This introduction is often seen as a time mark for growing popularity of flat design but one has to remember that flat design was there before just maybe not that visible.

Another factor that we could connect to the emerging need for a simple and, what's most important, as user friendly as possible design is the explosion of popularity of mobile devices. Smartphones and tablets are now an integral part of our everyday experience, they're often an extension of our daily routine. Accessibility, simplicity and ability to use the interface in a comfortable manner are the key features that constitute flat design.

So what is this flat design (and why does "flat" not mean "boring")?

Not that long ago web design was all about being flashy and about grabbing user's attention instantly with many design "gadgets". Web pages were trying to imitate reality as much as possible and to move the interaction with real objects to the browser window. There were a lot of tools to help designers do just that - gradients, heavy shadows, massive graphics, elaborate colour schemes. Having a website was more about "showing off", presenting skills that would keep a user engaged not with the actual content of the website and it's informative purposes but with the website itself as a separate entity bringing a kind of entertainment to the user, an entertainment thanks to which the user could relate the pleasurable experience with a brand more than relate actual information about the brand with the brand.

Flat design does just the opposite. Instead of imitating real objects and real interactions with them it bases on abstract and constant associations with the reality. It works like a shortcut and leads users straight to the point. The information given is sharp and clear and doesn't have to be obtained by using object-based context. Flat design by using basic geometric shapes and relations which are a basis of human perception allows user to immediately recognize the pattern of the interface and thanks to that easily find a way around the interface to locate the information the user is after.  It also helps the user to remember better a specific "map" of the interface which makes the return to the website more probable and enjoyable.

But does it mean that flat design is only a square here, a circle there and some lines put above? Not at all. Basic shapes and basic geometric relations are just a ground for a designer whose job is to turn them into something original. And let's admit that simplicity and accessibility are always an elegant and classy choice.

Another focus of flat design is on simple graphic associations. Instead of bombarding the eye with heavy and detailed photos and graphics the usual choice is to implement one leading graphic element being that a full-width banner, full-page image or video (or others). To complete the graphic part of the interface flat design bases on the icons. Icons provide straight and clear connotation to the information presented within their reach. And with lots and lots of icon design options there is always a certainty that the user will not get bored.

Clear information goes along with crisp typography. Flat design is being most frequently accompanied by sans serif crisp fonts that are a perfect supplement to all the graphic elements. Nowadays with a good support of web fonts in all modern browsers the choice of fonts is also very wide and offers something for each occasion.

To sum up - flat design is all about simplicity and user-friendliness. This absolutely does not mean being boring and eventually being a product of "cookie-cutters". Web design is constantly changing either within its existing trends or into something new.  Yet to me as a designer it is quite improbable to let flat design pass and grow into something completely different. For me this is the first choice now and the basis for everything that comes to web design in the future.

Kamila Gebalska is a Senior Designer with Alert: www.alert.com.mt and www.alertcreative.com.mt