The design community cannot stop talking about flat design. Some cannot get enough of this trend while others just don’t like it at all.
Let’s examine 5 distinct characteristics that make up flat design:
1: Simple Elements
Flat design employs simple elements such as buttons or icons. Simple shapes are preferred such as circles, rectangles or even squares. Each shape is allowed to stand alone. No matter what, each UI design should be easy to use without any explanation necessary. It’s suggested that one go bold with colors on clickable buttons as this will encourage use.
2: No Added Effects
This type of design simply uses a two-dimensional style that is simply ‘flat’. Any tools that use depth are not necessary here and is done away with. There is no effort to make the elements look more realistic. Simply put, flat design omits all the ‘extras’ while having a distinct design of its own. This can work wonderfully for apps and mobile design.
3: Focus on Color
Color is a big part in flat design. Often, the colors available is brighter and much more colorful than is used for other sites. The color palettes used in this type of design use many more hues. For example, a number of color palettes use about 2 or 3 colors but flat design palette will use at least 6-8 colors instead.
4: Focus on Typography
Typography is also very vital to flat design. Clearly, fonts should match the simple design for a consistent tone, both visually and textually. Fancy ones should be avoided as it will look out of place. A san serif type family should be ideal if you’re building a website on the flat design principle.
5: Minimalist Approach
Everything about this type of design indicates that it takes a minimalist approach. Simple text and colors as well as images are used. Avoiding too many bells and whistles also seems to be an aspect that designers take into consideration.