The word "flat" translated from English means "flat". Since its inception, the so-called Flat design has continued to hold its position for several years, occupying a leading position in the market.

Where it all began

Web design has changed many times since its inception. It has come a long way from simple and boring elements to three-dimensional, convex and almost material. This can be easily seen in the example of changing the appearance of the Windows operating system. The visual component is developing in parallel with the development of technology. But its new trends point, rather, to a return to minimalism and simplicity.

From skeuomorphism to flat design

The style that preceded flat was skeuomorphism. It has been a major design trend for a very long time. Skeuomorphism is a pseudo-volumetric style, all elements of which imitate the appearance of real objects (notebook, alarm clock), using shadows, natural textures and other things. Its striking examples were found in early smartphone interfaces. It began to lose its position after 2010, when designers of large companies began to look towards simplification and, when developing user interfaces, began to get rid of the main feature of skeuomorphism - three-dimensionality.

An excellent visual example of the difference in styles is the photo below. The image on the left is a flat design, while the one on the right is skeuomorphism.

Characteristics of flat style

Flat is a two-dimensional style. It has absolutely no visual effects, such as smooth color transitions, shadows, or three-dimensional textures. In a word, everything that makes the image three-dimensional.

The main information content is contained in the icons (Flat design icon). They should be as clear as possible to the user when it comes to smartphone applications. For websites, icons are the main elements that reflect its specificity and information message. As a rule, they are presented in the form of simple geometric shapes, a circle or a square, with a characteristic conventional image.

When developing Flat design, attention is paid to the color scheme. It should be monotonous, not intrusive and not distracting to the user. Most often, one pure color and several contrasting shades are used. By the way, there are many Internet services with sets of Flat design colors that you can use by copying the hex codes of the colors you like.

No less important is such a thing as typography (text). Due to the overall simplicity, the text component especially stands out. This means that it should be readable and not contradict the general style. This will depend on the successful choice of font and its color.

Flat design examples

Let's start with the fact that the icons of many well-known Internet resources and social networks have changed in a flatter way. Not long ago, the giants Google and YouTube also changed their design to flat. The Windows operating system, starting with the eight, completely abandoned all signs of volume in the icons, which pleased the eyes of some users in previous versions, and began to adhere to Flat design. Developers of mobile applications for iOS and Android followed suit.

One-page websites (landing pages) widely use the advantages of Flat design, for which the decisive role is played not by pretentious appearance, but by functionality and readability.

The evolution of flat design

At first, Flat design was indeed completely flat, which created certain difficulties for users accustomed to convex buttons. If in skeuomorphism the clickability of buttons was immediately noticeable, then in the first variations of flat design it was not always possible to determine the interactivity of elements the first time.

After Microsoft released Windows 8, designed in a flat style, not all users were able to immediately figure out the new interface and which icons they could click on. The appearance of the elements did not indicate in any way possible interaction with them. This design was more convenient for mobile applications, which picked up this idea. And Apple was the first to do this with iOS 7.

However, Flat design does not stand still and is evolving towards more complexity. Today, it increasingly looks like a semi-flat design or, as it is also called, Flat 2.0. Depth effects, shadows, and gradients began to appear in it. Depth in flat design is achieved by arranging elements at different levels or at angles.

Be that as it may, the style is at the peak of popularity and is in great demand. So, if you are planning to design your website, you can safely opt for Flat design. And if you need some missing elements for your website, then on the Internet you can find a huge number of Free flat design UI elements (free to download), such as icons, fonts, templates and other necessary components of the user interface.

Pros and cons of style

Without a doubt, in today's fast-paced life, such a discreet, informative style is more convenient than its predecessor. Flat design has a number of undeniable advantages.

The most important thing, perhaps, is the fast loading of web pages. Websites that use flat design open much faster than those that are overloaded with animation and other heavy objects. Loading time is especially important for SEO optimization and website promotion to the top.

A simplified appearance makes the text easier to read and allows you to focus on the main content.

The design looks harmonious and holistic, which creates an overall pleasant impression.

Nothing can be perfect and Flat design is no exception. For all its apparent simplicity, developing a truly successful flat web design is not so easy. There is a possibility of making it boring and unattractive. Or, on the contrary, go overboard with the design and forget about functionality. The main task when developing Flat design is to maintain the perfect balance between beauty and ease of use.

Flat design has become popular recently for apps and websites. This is not to say that everyone absolutely loves this style, but it is definitely not suitable for all applications and sites. If there are many advantages of a flat design, such as simplicity and minimalism, making it easier to use. For some applications, flat design may be too simple. That is, it’s worth adding some shadows or gradients to make it look better.

Many argue that flat web design is effective design. They say this is a way to make the project as user-friendly as possible. Here are some inspiring examples of flat design projects. This selection from various portfolios is great for understanding flat designs that actually work.

The ISSLand

January Creative

Minimal Monkey

What is flat design?

• Flat design focuses on the user
• Flat design is simple
• Flat design - less gradients
• Flat design includes straight lines and square corners
• Typically use strong color contrast
• Flat design has no shadows, bevels, textures or anything that looks 3D
• Flat design only exists in 2 dimensions
• Flat design - a trend towards simplicity and minimalism
• Flat design - do not use additional effects
• There are no extras
• Flat design - fewer buttons and bells and whistles
• Flat design means focus on fonts
• Color combinations, contrasting colors, and interesting color variations are important components of flat design.
• Flat design is one of many designs. It is suitable for some projects, but not for others.

What is not flat design?

• Flat design is not skeuomorphism or design that emulates the shape and contours of “reality.”
• Flat design does not include shiny buttons
• Flat design does not include decorations
• In flat design you won’t find traditional ideas about “depth”
• Flat design doesn't suit all projects

Is flat design just an efficient design?

Some people consider flat design to be an efficient design in itself. That is, it simplifies the use of sites and applications, allowing you to find the necessary information without distractions. Of course, flat design is not the only one that makes information easier to find. If everything is done well, then users will not have any problems. The project should be simple and easy for those who are able to use it. Some people prefer to use flat design, while others prefer a different design style.

Elements for flat design

Do you like flat design? Here are a few elements that can be used for a "flat" design

Flat Icon Pack

The “flat design” revolution has continued to gain momentum since it was introduced on the Windows Phone platform in 2010. It’s not difficult to understand why: an interface with this design seems more intuitive, is well suited for adaptive elements, modern frameworks, and looks attractive when executed correctly.
Flat design began as a counterweight to the ubiquitous skeuomorphic style, but has since become much more than just “Option B.”

Initially, flat was exclusively two-dimensional with a total focus on minimalism. Modern flat 2.o uses shadows, gradients and other elements to make it look "almost flat".

5 Characteristic Components of Modern Flat Design:

1. Long shadows
Long shadows add depth and dimension to images without having to sacrifice the minimalistic icon details that make an interface attractive.

2. Dynamic colors
Complementing sparse visuals is easy with energetic colors, especially light shades.
Different background colors in contrast with the base color of the elements make the page with a tiled menu more lively.
The Flat UI Colors website contains the most effective color patterns for flat.

3. Simple typography
The choice of font in flat is based on one criterion: readability. Sans serif fonts with a constant stroke width are typically used.

4. Transparent button
One of the trending elements in modern web design. The reason is that it doesn't attract too much attention, but is clearly recognizable as a button.

5. Minimalism
Flat and minimalism go hand in hand, using the same principles: simplicity and content focus.
It may seem that using flat design is a universal solution, but minimalism is difficult to implement: the fewer working elements, the more attention they require.

No matter how great flat design may seem, there is no guarantee that it will work for your site. Check out its main advantages to see if it's worth planning a global redesign.

Advantages:
used in adaptive interface;
simplifies navigation for the user;
a clear structure and schematic visuals emphasize the internal logic of the page;
fast loading of pages due to the simplicity of graphics;
Familiar typography improves readability.

Flat design is all about simplicity and minimalism, which on the other hand makes it difficult to convey visually complex messages. Therefore, before you rush headlong into simplifying the interface, you should carefully consider the interaction between the site and the user.

Based on Web design book of trends.

Recently, a specific style in the design of websites and user interfaces has gained enormous popularity, which, due to the stylization of its elements, is called Flat.

If you look at a website made according to Flat rules, you will not see any gradient transitions, no shadows, not the slightest hint of volume or texture. The basic principles of the flat style are simplicity, conciseness and minimalism. The main distinctive features are those things that you can focus on - bright unusual colors, non-standard typography, graphic primitives.

Today, more and more designers are using this trend in their work, but the Flat style has gained particular popularity with the spread of modern mobile operating systems Windows Phone and iOS 7, as they are followers of this trend, although they do not adhere to it completely.

Our company already has experience in creating websites in the Flat style, and we will be happy to help you create a flat website!

In this article, we will highlight the basic principles of flat design that you should follow if you want to use flat as the main style of your project.

Below we will analyze and give examples of some sites that use flat style.

1. Remove all effects

The basic principle of flat design is the creation of a two-dimensional image that is already flat in itself. At the same time, you need to get rid of all elements that can add at least some depth to the image: gradients, smooth transitions, shadows, bevels, volume, textures, and so on. All elements of the picture have hard edges and also do not stand out or have depth relative to other elements of the image.

In flat design you won't find elements that try to look realistic (skeuomorphism), 3D animation, realistic icons, etc. However, the design itself tries to remain similar to the traditional one, but now labels, buttons and navigation come to the fore.

At first glance, a site using Flat design may seem too simple, although in fact this style is characterized by a clear hierarchy of elements, convenient placement of all user interaction tools, and therefore has a high usability rate.

2. Use simple elements

To achieve their goals in flat design, designers use buttons and icons. They should be as intuitive and clickable as possible. Like all other interface elements, they should be flat and simple, without additional effects. Designers also often use simple geometric shapes - rectangles, circles and squares, allowing each shape to be a separate object.

3. Let's focus on typography

Since, according to the previous principle, graphics in flat design are simple, an extremely important element is typography - the design of inscriptions. In flat design, typography comes to the fore along with buttons.

Fonts should be readable and, of course, consistent with the design, as with a simple design, extremely ornate fonts will look out of place. However, you should not use ordinary fonts; it is better to experiment and choose the one that will attract the user’s attention.

You could consider combining a simple sans-serif font with some new font that will be perceived as an art element. Fonts should help the design be simpler and clearer, while buttons and other elements should only serve to enhance interactivity.

4. Let's attract attention with color

Color plays almost the main role in flat design. If you carefully study the sites created on the basis of this concept, the first thing that catches your eye is the bright color palette. It usually consists of several contrasting pure (without shades) colors, two or three, although this number can reach up to eight. Moreover, all these colors are usually used equally.

The most popular colors are primary and secondary colors. That is, the primary colors (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) and those obtained based on their mixing. Also very often, retro colors are used in the color scheme when creating a flat design, such as salmon, purple, etc.

5. Minimalism

Flat design is simple in nature and fits well with a minimalistic approach.

In the overall design of the site, you need to avoid too many bells and whistles. Of course, simple colors and text may not be enough. Therefore, if you want to add visual effects, you need to choose simple photos. Some retail product sites use flat design to place their products on a simple, non-distracting background.

It should be noted that some photographs have natural depth, but in general it fits into the overall design plane

Who develops mobile applications and websites, wrote a column for us and put everything in its place regarding flat and material design.

By and large, the difference between Flat design and Material Design is subtle. To a person who does not have deep knowledge of graphic design, they may indeed seem very similar. In this article I will try to “shed light” on some of the differences between them. You will receive additional knowledge that is so necessary so as not to accidentally injure the delicate nature of the designer.

A little history

Before we start talking about the differences between the two most popular design trends, let's find out where they come from. There is an opinion that the material design is created on the basis of a flat one. Where did flat design come from, then?

Skeuomorphism

When it comes to user interface and web design, the concept of skeuomorphism refers to an approach whose main idea is imitation. Without going into too much detail, let's just remember Apple's pre-iOS 7 interfaces with their “realistic textures, lighting, and bombastic effects.”

The attempt to make digital objects resemble their real-world counterparts was motivated by the need to facilitate user interaction with the device. In fact, this is the reason why all interfaces with realistic textures have dominated the digital world for many years. Skeuomorphic design does a great job of helping users seamlessly transition from the real world to the digital one.

However, with the rise of mobile technology, there is gradually becoming a need to focus primarily on convenience and ease of use. Agree, in this area the need to create mobile solutions accessible from different devices is increasing significantly. And at this very moment, simplicity becomes the new design standard.

Note: Do not under any circumstances think that skeuomorphism has completely disappeared. It is widely used in games where it is necessary to create a realistic world and help players feel their character in order to deeply immerse themselves in the game process.

Flat design

This style is completely devoid of any three-dimensional objects. Roughly speaking, flat design lacks such stylistic elements as drop shadows, textures, gradients, but pays attention to the play of fonts and colors and icons. But why was all this necessary? The answer is simple.

Firstly, flat design significantly reduces page loading time. The absence of “heavy” skeuomorphic details (think: layers, serif fonts, gradients) makes flat design elements “lighter,” which in turn significantly speeds up loading times. Moreover, flat elements look equally attractive on both high and low resolution screens.

Secondly, simple images can convey your idea to users faster than detailed illustrations: they are sketchy and therefore quite easy to understand.

And, of course, flat icons with a relatively simple font can direct users' attention to truly important content.

Today, flat design has received well-deserved recognition, but it still has its problems. The most obvious example of such problems was the release of Windows 8 by Microsoft. This operating system is considered a pioneer of flat design and supports the concept of Metro design. What led to the problems was that the company considered it necessary to pay more attention to the typography than the graphics themselves.

Results from a Windows 8 usability test conducted by NN Group showed that users had difficulty distinguishing clickable objects from non-clickable ones. Users complained that objects that appeared static were actually clickable. As a result, the company's main mission - to help users correctly interpret the system - failed.

Another company that is often associated with flat design is Apple. They moved away from skeuomorphic design elements in the mobile operating system iOS 7, released in 2013. This time the transition was received a little better, mainly due to the fact that the company did not try to completely update the user interface concept, but simply added a few changes towards a flat design. This allowed users to use the product by relying on their previous experience with operating systems and websites.

Material design

Let's be clear right now: material design is more of a branded product than a spontaneous design trend that has gained widespread acceptance. This is what mainly distinguishes it from its flat design.

By calling a design material “branded,” I mean that it has a whole set of clearly defined recommendations and principles that every self-respecting designer follows. It is quite obvious why Google introduced its Material Design: there was a need to unify the design so that applications looked the same on any of the many Android devices.

Although quite functional, flat design is still considered difficult to understand. The truth is that flat objects on the screen can confuse users (especially those who are not experienced in using mobile and web interfaces). Therefore, material design tries to bring back the elements of skeuomorphism, but in a greatly simplified form. Images look flat, especially when it comes to colors, but are still multi-dimensional thanks to the presence of the Z-axis.

In other words, material design can be called an improved version of flat design with elements of skeuomorphism - animation, shadows and layers. This way you can make the product more intuitive in terms of navigation, and avoid unnecessary complexity within the overall style.

Pros and cons of flat design

Let's leave behind the history of the evolution of styles and move on to something more significant - let's list the strengths and weaknesses of flat design.

• Minimalism and style
• Intuitiveness. It will be easier for you to convey your idea to users.
• Saving time and resources. Pages load much faster with less bandwidth consumption.
• Focus on content. The interface is free of unnecessary details that can distract from truly valuable information.
• Looks equally good on various devices, be it a PC browser or a smartphone.
• Speeds up the website or app design development process by eliminating unnecessary design touches.

• Minimalistic style.
• Quite intuitive on an intuitive level. The material design will be equally easy to perceive for both experienced users and beginners.
• Moderate skeuomorphism. Everything looks more realistic thanks to the use of the Z-axis (a unique Google concept).
• There is a set of manuals that are constantly updated. Therefore, any designer can always turn to them if difficulties arise during the work process.
• Animation for web solutions is encouraged. There is no need to remind you how much people love movement. In addition, animation allows you to make the interface more clear and intuitive.

• Has an owner (Google company). Therefore, any questions and suggestions for improvement should be addressed to the owner.
• Due to the Z axis, the design process may take longer to complete.
• Animated elements require more resources.
• Rigid adherence to guidelines can limit the originality of a design.

Summarize

In fact, one of the design approaches under consideration should not be considered to have a clear advantage over the other, since flat and material styles go side by side. They are both incredibly popular and both are devoid of excessive realism. Material design is a successor to flat design, while flat design itself was a reaction to solutions that were too heavy and realistic. Material design added something that flat design has always tried to move away from - a little skeuomorphism. Although one thing will always be different between these approaches: material design is a proprietary product of Google, and flat design is the result of the fusion of several design practices that strives primarily for overall simplicity.

In truth, flat design has evolved a lot in recent years, from a completely “flat” style to a “semi-flat” style. It now allows for the use of layers and subtle shadows to allow objects to appear deeper than they previously appeared. So, you and I are happy contemporaries of flat design 2.0.

Lastly, nothing prevents you from trying to combine these two approaches to create a truly functional and user-friendly product. So, take inspiration from the gurus of flat and material design and get to work!

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