Neumorphism vs. Skeuomorphism vs Glassmorphism – UI Design Trends Explained

Because user interface design trends are always changing and evolving, designers must keep up with all the new features and design ideas necessary to maintain the website's functionality and visual appearance. To create a more modern and aesthetically pleasing design, there are three design styles to implement: Neumorphism, Skeuomorphism, and Glassmorphism. 

All three design styles manage to capture the user’s attention due to their unique approaches and modern elements. But which one should you integrate into your design?

In this article, we will explain each of these design trends, Neumorphism, Skeuomorphism, and Glassmorphism, in order to help you determine which one will best fit your project’s needs. 

This design type focuses on a design that replicates various real-life elements directly into the digital UI interfaces. The overall purpose of Skeuomorphism is to provide a familiar digital interface for users, and it has become popular when Apple used this design style in past iOS designs. 

For example, a perfect Skeuomorphism element can be the calculator app icon, which is specially designed to replicate a real-world calculator with details such as buttons and even shadows to make it seem real and familiar to users. Another good example is the notes app, which is designed to mimic the physical paper notebook. 

• Advantages: The advantage of using Skeuomorphism in your design is that more intuitive for users, those who are relatively new to digital interfaces, and need certain familiar icons in order to have a smoother experience. 

• Disadvantages: But, on the other hand, it can have some disadvantages because some users find that Skeuomorphism elements can look old-fashioned or be overwhelming due to all the details and textures. 

This design style represents a UI trend that integrates various elements from Skeuomorphism along with a more flat design. Neumorphism focuses on creating subtle shadows and highlights that offer a 3D-like effect for a more embedded look. 

Usually, the majority of Neumorphism elements are created in a monochromatic color scheme along with soft contrast details in order to give them a more futuristic look. 

The best examples of a Neumorphic design are toggle switches that feature smooth depth effects rather than harsh outlines. Also, Neomorphism elements include those soft UI buttons that appear partially raised or pressed into the design background. 

• Advantages: Neumorphism design provides a more modern and futuristic look to various designs while creating a well-consolidated UI that has a tactile feel. 

• Disadvantages: due to the low contrast of elements, some users may interpret it as hard to read and navigate, especially for those users who have visual impairments. Even more so, some elements can appear as non-clickable due to the monochromatic color palette used. 

This design style, as its name may indicate, is focused on creating a frosted-glass effect, with the background design usually blurred to create a depth effect. This Glassmorphism UI approach has the purpose of making all the elements seem as if they are made of some translucent glass to be able to see faintly the background shapes and colors. 

So, this Glassmorphism style can be recognized easily, especially from the macOS Big Sur user interface, in which all the menu and window backgrounds feature a frosted glass effect. Also in Windows 11 interface, this design style is present through the translucent menus and taskbars. 

• Advantages: Glassmorphism UI elements can create a hierarchy in the UI design while maintaining a modern look and adding depth at the same time. 

• Disadvantages: The misuse of this Glassmorphism style can often create readability issues, due to its low contrast on elements. Even more so, when integrated into different interfaces, all designers must be careful with layering in order to protect the usability of the UI design. 

Each design approach indeed has its features and advantages, and they share some similarities. Skeuomorphism of able to offer a sense of familiarity in UI designs, but sometimes can provide an outdated design, while Neumorphism provides a pastel color palette for a more modern look. 

However, it's a disadvantage if that experiences issues with usability and accessibility, which are the two essential aspects when designing. Also, the Glassmorphism UI style, when used in different projects, offers a more elegant look but requires prudent layering approaches to protect readability. 

Think about what your UI might need in order to be easier to navigate and understand by all types of users. So, if you are looking to provide a more intuitive interface, Skeuomorphism is the safest choice. For UI designs that focus on bringing a modern and minimalistic look, Neumorphism represents probably the perfect choice, while Glassmorphism performs better for dynamic UI designs. 

We at uinkits understand the importance of great user experiences and creating amazing UI designs. That’s why we’ve developed a Figma UI Kit with design components that include these essential UI elements that enable you to design intuitive and user-friendly interfaces effortlessly.

“You press the button, we do the rest.” – Kodak.

Inspired by this iconic tagline from Kodak, we believe in simplifying the design process for you. Our Figma UI Kit, uinkits, is a complete design system with UI components that allows you, as a UI UX designer, to create your products as quickly as pressing a button.

Our design system includes UI components, icons, variables, cards, buttons and everything you need for your design process. All you have to do is take your UI design component needed, and you’re ready to use it in your designs!