• By the end of 2022, the total mobile app downloads are expected to exceed 258 billion; this is a 45% increase from 2017 figures.

  • In 2022, the industry is expected to generate approximately USD $156 billion in consumer app spend.

  • The average U.S adult spends 3 hours and 45 minutes on their mobile devices on a daily basis.

  • In 2021 mobile apps accounted for approximately 70% of all digital media time.

Web Development is (without a doubt) one of the most notoriously dynamic industries of 2021.

When it comes to the sector’s: customer preferences, language diversity, consumer tastes, and design mechanisms, constant innovations and strides of self-improvement have meant that the industry is continuously evolving. This can indubitably make keeping up with the most relevant and important industry trends practically infeasible (particularly for busy entrepreneurs and investors).

This can be quite detrimental, particularly in the world of App Development- where maintaining a ‘’modern’’ and up-to-date design can (and commonly is) one of the most influential factors in determining a business’s long-term profitability and sustainability.

Below we will explore the most important trends that will pervade the App and Web Development sector in 2022.

1. Neumorphism

Neumorphism (new skeumorphism) allows app and web designers to take the more ‘’conventional’’ and ‘’old-school’’ looking icons and logos (that had a similar design to that found in the early 2010s) and transform them using innovative 3D-like graphics.

This means that Neumorphism can be used so as to enable flat icons to have very high-tech designs while maintaining the original designer’s artistic simplicity. It can also allow business owners to save a significant amount of capital, as they do not need to pay for any additional software designers so as to redesign their logo entirely.

2.Progressive Web Apps

Progressive Web Apps (known as PWAs) are quickly becoming one of the most fascinating trends of the App and Web Development industry at the moment. They allow companies to ‘’blend’’ the most fundamental features and elements of mobile and online apps through cutting-edge technology.

Simply put, PWAs are web pages which have been developed with specialised web technologies so as to accurately reflect the feel and behaviour of apps. This has two main benefits for developers, including: a) the fact that they are much easier to maintain and deploy, and b) the fact that they can be adequately and efficiently viewed by using any browser.

3. Visuals That Do Not Strain Eyes

The emergence of ‘’eye-friendly’’ visuals is very exciting- particularly when considering the prolific amount of time that the average person spends looking at his phone’s screen nowadays.

By responding to market demands, certain developers and app designers have chosen to focus on creating a much more comfortable and holistically enjoyable user experience for their users- significantly reducing unnecessary strains on the eyes by effectively developing a thorough design that utilizes soothing visuals and colours.

This means that, all in all, a relatively ‘’simple’’ layout structure is specifically made and incorporated within certain app designs so as to not negatively affect users’ eye health.

4. Analogue Inspiration

Even though the entire App and Web development industry tends to adopt a very similar approach in relation to its app designs- whereby the newer and ‘’cleaner’’ they look, the better, this is not always the case.

At the moment, the market is increasingly seeing app designers choose to ‘reverse time’ and begin to re-incorporate a variety of analogue inspiration initiatives into their design work. These applications tend to utilize several design features that have (in the past) generally been exclusive to the analogue world- such as cardboard and paper textures, slightly yellowed backgrounds, collage layouts, and button designs.

For contextual purposes, such apps may entail a traditional design that resembles that of a calculator or a board game, or even closely resemble an old newspaper or editorial magazine.

According to Eva Akhter- the founder and current CEO of the App Development firm 48 Cubes Inc and the Digital Marketing Agency A5 Media, such designs tend to allow ‘’high tech apps to maintain an exceptionally approachable design, which then translates to increased traffic and profitability’’.

These views are likely followed by some of the most renowned App Development firms around the globe, including: Blue Label Labs, RnF Technologies, Mercury Development, STRV, and Rightpoint.

5. Unexpected Angles

The days where app designers relied solely on right angles are quickly coming to an end. By 2022, web and app developers are expected to continue to increasingly incorporate unusual anges into their work. This could include: a) backgrounds that do not necessarily comply with the ‘’conventional’’ right angle rules, or b) certain design elements that are preset at specified angles.

Conclusion

All in all, keeping up with all of the innovative and explosive trends of the Web and App Development industry can be extremely difficult.

It is, however, one of the most important steps that you can take if you are currently working within the prominent sector; by closely following the industry’s latest initiatives and tendencies, you will (generally speaking) be able to provide a much more holistically enjoyable experience to your users- cementing your position as their number one choice.

Whereas some of the aforementioned trends may become the ‘’new norm’’ within the new 6 months or so, others will likely persist throughout the next decade.