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The top three UX trends to watch in 2016 are native advertising with custom content, mobile-first video design, and the rise of intelligent assistance over traditional AI. Each one reflects a broader shift toward experiences that feel seamless, personal, and genuinely useful.
What Are the Biggest UX Trends Predicted for 2016?
As UX designers who are hungry to learn and grow, we're constantly keeping a pulse on the design industry and looking for ways to help our clients and peers stay ahead of the game. Now that the Times Square ball has dropped, here's our crystal ball countdown of the top three UX trends we predict you'll see more of in 2016.
#3: What Is Native Advertising and Why Does It Matter for UX?
Native advertising promotes your product or service in a subtle way that drives awareness and brand recognition without interrupting the experience.
Unlike pop-up ads, banner ads, and other forms of digital marketing, native advertising offers helpful information in a format that mirrors the rest of a site or app. Instead of hijacking the user's experience, it fits right into it.
What Does Native Advertising Actually Look Like?
Imagine you're sitting on the couch watching the Giants face off against the Patriots. During a commercial break, NBC plays a Gatorade ad featuring Eli Manning. That's traditional paid advertising. It interrupts the game.
Now the game wraps up and the post-game press conference begins. Manning takes a seat at the table with a strategically positioned Gatorade bottle in front of him, logo pointing toward the cameras for everyone to see. That's native advertising. It's baked into the natural setting and doesn't get in the viewer's way.
How Are Big Brands Using Native Advertising?
Big brands around the world are already cashing in. Take this feature from National Geographic and the Canadian Tourism Commission, who partnered to create a digital magazine about "Canada's 50 Places of a Lifetime." Understated, clever, and effective.
Native advertising can also appear as:
- Sponsored content
- Advertorials
- Branded content
- Product placement
Regardless of the format, the goal is always the same: promote your product or service in a subtle way that drives awareness and brand recognition without interrupting the experience.
How Are UX Designers Taking Native Advertising Further?
UX designers are taking this concept a step further by designing custom digital experiences that change based on the user's needs. Trunk Club, an online personal shopping service, built their sign-up process around an interactive questionnaire that changes the site's content based on the user's answers. As the shopper tells Trunk Club more about their preferences, the site doesn't just create a user account. It starts picking out clothes it thinks they'll like.
That kind of seamless, customised experience draws users in, makes them feel special, and keeps them coming back for more.
#2: Why Is Mobile Video Becoming a UX Priority?
Designing for mobile is no longer an option. It's a necessity.
According to the Pew Research Center, nearly two thirds of Americans own a smartphone, and 65% of all smartphone owners use their phone to access the internet. Those numbers only climb when you factor in tablets and other mobile devices, or when you focus on younger users.
How Are People Really Using Their Mobile Devices?
A mobile device is always in your hands, pocket, or purse. It's constantly available and relevant to your current experience, helping you do what you want, when you want, how you want.
The common perception is that mobile users are just looking up quick bits of information on the go, like a restaurant's hours or location. But the Pew data tells a different story. Large percentages of people use their mobile devices for in-depth, important tasks, including:
- Looking up information on a health condition
- Managing their banking
- Job hunting
- Researching government services
Why Is Video the Content Format to Watch?
The rise of mobile usage and the hunger for content anytime, anywhere has fuelled the need for mobile-friendly video. Netflix and YouTube gained popularity as TV and desktop services, but now people want to watch TV on their tablet in bed, catch up on their favourite shows while staying in a hotel, and share a video during a business meeting.
Video content also attracts more engagement and drives better business results. Twitter recently reported that videos get three times more retweets, and 90% of Twitter video content is viewed on mobile.
What Does This Mean for UX Designers in 2016?
This growth in mobile usage and affinity for video presents an interesting challenge for businesses, UX designers, and developers: make all content, not just some of it, easily accessible on mobile devices, and design interfaces that are optimised for the ways people actually hold and navigate those devices.
#1: Why Is Intelligent Assistance More Important Than Artificial Intelligence?
Over the past 20 years, software companies have chased the holy grail of artificial intelligence to make our lives easier. Now, AI is beginning to be eclipsed by a more practical, human technology: intelligent assistance.
Rather than simply automating a task, intelligent assistance suggests to the user the best way to do a task, automates an example of it, then continues to elaborate and improve the quality and variety of assistance over time.
What Is the Difference Between AI and Intelligent Assistance?
Artificial intelligence aims to replicate human thinking. Intelligent assistance focuses on something more immediately useful: helping users make better decisions by surfacing the right options at the right moment, and getting smarter about it as time goes on.
What Are Some Real-World Examples of Intelligent Assistance?
Google Photos is a trailblazer here. When you upload pictures to the app, it automatically applies advanced recognition technology to those photos. Then it goes back and applies the same recognition to your historical photos, creating a complete library that's easily searchable and interactive. Search for "cake" or "party" and the app analyses your photos and brings forward the ones that match. It also creates animated GIFs and surfaces old photos to help you relive the memories.
Google Maps recently introduced inverted colours to make it easier for nighttime drivers to see maps. It doesn't ask the user which colour settings they want. It automatically realises it's dark and activates night mode.
Social apps can take this even further. Say you're standing in line at the grocery store and scroll past a video that looks interesting. You don't want to play it and use up your data, but because you paused, an app with intelligent assistance can tell you might be interested in that content. Later, when you're home on wifi, those videos surface again for your consideration.
How Does Intelligent Assistance Change the Way We Think About Design?
Traditionally, the first question we ask ourselves is, "How do we communicate this message?" Now, it's going to be, "How do we design a tool that will assist our users and suggest options that will help them make decisions?"
UX designers and business owners can leverage intelligent assistance to create a better user experience, but it will require changing the way we think about design from the ground up.
Creating the Future in 2016
2015 was a big year for UX. Companies of all industries and sizes are realising the power design can have in helping them achieve success, and we expect that trend to continue growing in 2016. Those who push back on this evolution and cling to the past will fall by the wayside. Meanwhile, those who keep a close eye on where design is headed and embrace change will be the ones who create the future.
FAQ
What are the top UX trends predicted for 2016? The three biggest UX trends for 2016 are native advertising with personalised content, mobile-first video design, and intelligent assistance. Each reflects a shift toward digital experiences that feel seamless and genuinely useful rather than interruptive.
What is native advertising in UX design? Native advertising is a format that promotes a product or service in a way that fits naturally into the surrounding content or interface, rather than interrupting the user experience. Examples include sponsored editorial content, branded digital magazines, and product placement.
Why is designing for mobile so important in 2016? Nearly two thirds of Americans own a smartphone, and 65% use it to access the internet. Mobile usage spans everything from quick searches to managing banking and researching health conditions, which means a mobile-first approach is no longer optional for UX designers.
What is intelligent assistance and how is it different from AI? Intelligent assistance goes beyond automating tasks. It suggests the best way to complete a task, demonstrates it, and improves its recommendations over time. Google Photos and Google Maps night mode are strong early examples. It's a more practical, human-centred approach than traditional AI.
How can businesses use intelligent assistance to improve UX? By designing tools that proactively surface relevant options based on user behaviour, businesses can create experiences that feel helpful and personalised without requiring extra effort from the user. The design question shifts from "how do we communicate a message?" to "how do we help users make better decisions?"
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