Top Product Design Trends for 2024

2024 completely changed the rhythm of our life. The impact on consumer behavior led to the emergence of new ideas and trends. Companies face increasing competition and demanding clients. Customers are interested in products that support intelligent features and are linked to other digital products, which means they deal within a single robust ecosystem. Product developers should quickly renew their skills and adjust to the latest trends to avoid losing revenue. 

In addition to keeping up with modern technologies, companies have to share the guiding values of our modern society. One of them is environmentally friendly products.

In today's environment, it’s essential to keep up with the times. So let’s take a look at what areas we need to follow in product design to keep up a leading position and attract the attention of our customers.

Trends are a leading force in the modern world. There are four essential types of trends: visual, technological, market trends, and user experience trends.

• Visual Trends:

Visual trends in design are dynamic and reflect the changing aesthetic preferences of the period. These include the use of specific color palettes, font styles, and graphical elements. For instance, 3D illustrations are currently very popular, offering a sense of depth and realism that captures viewers' attention. 

This trend is seen in everything from website graphics to product packaging, bringing a modern and engaging feel. Additionally, the use of bold and vibrant colors, combined with a minimalist and clean typography, is prevalent. These visual trends not only make designs more appealing but also help in brand differentiation and creating a memorable user experience.

• Technological Trends:

Technological advancements heavily influence product design as they open new possibilities for innovation and functionality. Current trends like Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (MR), and Virtual Reality (VR) are revolutionizing the way users interact with products, offering immersive experiences that were previously impossible. 

The Internet of Things (IoT) is another significant trend, integrating connectivity into everyday products, thus enhancing user convenience and efficiency. Designers must constantly adapt to these technological changes to create products that are not only visually appealing but also technologically relevant and user-friendly.

• Market Trends:

Market trends involve analyzing and understanding the competitive landscape of a specific industry. This includes researching what competitors are doing, identifying market gaps, and understanding consumer preferences and behaviors. In fast-evolving markets, products need continual upgrades and iterations to stay relevant and meet customer expectations. 

Designers must be aware of these market trends to ensure that their products align with current market demands and stand out from competitors. This requires a balance between innovation and familiarity, ensuring that products are both fresh and recognizable to the target audience.

Read also: A Guide to Product Adoption Process. All You Need To Know

• User Experience Trends:

User experience (UX) trends focus on creating designs that are not just visually appealing but also intuitive and satisfying to use. This involves understanding the users' needs, preferences, and pain points. Designers must consider factors like ease of use, accessibility, and the user’s overall journey when interacting with a product. Current UX trends emphasize personalized experiences, simplified navigation, and the integration of AI and machine learning for smarter interactions. Additionally, understanding the economic and social context of the target audience is crucial to ensure that the product resonates with users and meets their specific needs in a meaningful way.

Product design trends are built on modern realities. They are formed by researching the target audience's needs, their preferences. Current social trends are also taken into account, for example, eco-friendly products. But to create the perfect product, the designer should refer to trends and the company's business process and follow its goals. 

Read more about product design in our blog.

Let's highlight the importance of trends in business development.

Impact Analysis:

Enhancing your product design by identifying its strengths and weaknesses through trend research is a critical aspect of impact analysis. By staying ahead of the curve and anticipating market trends, you position your product to be more relevant and desirable to customers. This proactive approach not only meets customer needs more effectively but also aligns closely with your company's business objectives. In doing so, you not only cater to current demands but also shape your product's future direction in a way that resonates with emerging market preferences.

Finding New Business Ideas:

Trend monitoring is a powerful tool for inspiring new business ideas and serving as a foundation for innovation. Companies that actively follow and interpret trends are more likely to generate multiple ideas, keeping them at the forefront of their industry. This constant influx of fresh concepts ensures that businesses remain dynamic and adaptable, ready to capitalize on new opportunities as they arise. By integrating trend analysis into their strategy, companies can foster a culture of continuous innovation and creativity.

Attracting Customers:

Staying in tune with current trends in product design is a strategic way for companies to engage consumers and drive profitability. Customers are often drawn to novelty, whether it's something entirely new or a modern twist on a classic design. By aligning product offerings with the latest trends, companies can influence consumer behavior, encouraging the purchase of new or updated products to stay in vogue. This approach not only attracts attention but also helps in building a brand image that is contemporary and relevant.

Establishing Essential Features of the Design:

Trends play a pivotal role in dictating the essential features that designers need to incorporate to make a product attractive to customers. A quality designer stays abreast of the latest trends and innovations to ensure that a company’s product is not just current but also forward-thinking. This knowledge allows designers to create products that not only meet current market expectations but also introduce unique features that set them apart, ensuring the product's relevance and appeal in a competitive market.

You may also like to read: How to Hire a Product Designer for Your Startup

In 2024, staying ahead in the marketplace requires a keen understanding and implementation of prevailing trends. It's essential to not only recognize these trends but also to integrate them thoughtfully into your business strategies. Here are some key trends to keep an eye on:

Smart product 

Researchers say the use of intelligent products will rise to more than $170 billion by 2025.

Intelligent products can be fitted out with such features as the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality (AR), and Voice assistants. 

Current product design trends suppose that products relate to the same ecosystem. It allows consumers to manage many of them with their smartphones. This has become especially popular during pandemics because people have spent a lot of time at home trying to replace some of their daily activities with intelligent technology.

Eco-friendly products

After the 2024 pandemic shook the world, the product design trends of 2022 are cleanliness and sustainability.

The increasing number of brands in the marketplace leads to vast choices among buyers. 70% of consumers buy products based on personal beliefs and values, as well as whether the company adheres to them or not. Therefore, they are willing to pay more to the company whose products are environmentally friendly. 

Apple also follows trends in product design. It adheres to the environmental movement, so its iPhone 13 came out in an updated package: a paper seal instead of a plastic film. The company says it’ll reduce the use of synthetic materials by 600 tons.

Inclusive-first product 

The main task of a product designer is to create a product comfortable for users and profitable for the company, so it's necessary to think about all social groups. Unfortunately, 15% of people around the world have a disability. Inclusive design is about accessibility. Its main task is to make a product for the user's needs. Inclusive design is not only about a group of people with disabilities. It's designed for people with different characteristics, ranging from age, language, and living conditions.

3D printing design

3D printing in product design is becoming available. It’ll give you an advantage over competitors who use outdated methods. 3D printers can be used to create physical prototypes of products at different stages of the design process, which helps you avoid mishaps and get the perfect finished product.

Quality UX design

• Great emphasis is placed on quality product UX design. Designers try to make it more developed and, at the same time, economical. 
• A lot of attention is being paid to personalization. The apps will be adapted to the user's habits, making the product more productive. 
• They have also begun to use multidirectional layouts more often, which allow users to view content in many directions: right, left, and even diagonally. 

Minimalism

Consumers want one product with high productivity and lots of built-in features. Minimalism is also seen in product design. Customers wish to use neat and concise products.

Minimalist design is practical, convenient, and memorable. It’s based on only essential elements, space, clean text, and a limited color palette: white, black, and grey. As accent colors, you can use bright shades: red, orange, yellow, or blue. That design is not distracting and gives the website aesthetic and sophistication.

Read more about minimalist web design in our blog.

Combination of styles

The latest product design trend is to combine retro design with new technology. This trend is called "Newstalgic" design. These products are top-rated among the older generation, as they evoke memories of youth. 

The UI colors that prevail in this design: shades of bronze, brown, gold, silver, gray, and burgundy.

The main design motive is to make it responsive to the user. Nowadays, customers want to see products that are laconic and multifunctional. Staying fashionable is very important in today's society. This is one of the buyer's needs. So, you get more customers and profits for the company by satisfying it.

The designers at Gapsy Studio are always up-to-date with the latest innovations. We’ll help you make a product that users will like. Check out the finished projects on Behance and Dribbble. And also take a look at the services we provide. Contact us!