Does 2026 mark the end of digital design trends?

Who doesn’t love a design trend report? Every December thought leaders release their predictions for the year ahead in digital design. I’ve kept a few from the last years, and flicking through them is a great reminder of how quickly things change.

2024’s lists were full of retro pixel art, bubbly fonts and experimental typography, and countless nods to maximalism. That “more-is-more” approach came from an era when being glued to your screen was perfectly fine and brands were fighting for every possible eyeball. The goal was simple: hold attention for as long as humanly possible, whether on websites or social platforms.

But as Shifting States so neatly puts it, times have changed. ‘Focused attention’ has become ‘doomscrolling’, and the fact that only 14% of Gen Z feel comfortable with their screen time says it all.

We’re moving into an era where quality beats quantity. Just as crafted, thoughtful advertising like British Airways’ new “Reflections” campaign stands out in a sea of AI-generated slop, so too should the quality of customer experience design rise above the noise.

What defines quality in 2026?

The Shifting States finding is clear: Effortlessness. Brands helping people find what they want, achieve what they need to, and letting them go back to real life. Brands that save time build loyalty; brands that waste time burn it.

And that’s why 2024’s digital design trends need to be dropped immediately. All those maximalist features take digital in the wrong direction. We need design that delivers effortlessness above everything.

Think structured grids, retro serif typefaces, transitional animations and hand-drawn illustrations. Years of practice have shown that these elements work: grids organise information, serifs improve readability, animation adds seamlessness, and illustration can be a powerful way to help people understand.

Effortless design is sustainable design

This isn’t advocating nostalgia. It’s effortlessness by design.
I expect the design trends of 2026 to embrace visible grids, reduced colour palettes (think Co-op or Monzo, with half their customers under 35), and new variations on classic fonts.

But effortlessness goes deeper than UI design. It reaches into the heart of how digital brands express themselves.

Some of the most powerful branding in the world distils the brand truth into a single word: Hilton = hospitality, Apple = creativity, M&S = trust. Effortlessness, to me, is a new magical ingredient – a secret sauce you can mix with any brand truth to open up creative possibilities:

• Confident + effortless
• Cheerful + effortless
• Futuristic + effortless

Each of these combinations is an intriguing creative brief.

Effortlessness doesn’t mean abandoning your principles or suddenly going full zen. It simply means adding one extra question to every conversation: What makes it simple? (It’s also the fourth of the 15 questions Jony Ive asks about every product).

I saw a tweet recently that said, “Why does there always have to be a username and a password? Why not just a password?” There’s probably a valid technical reason for it, but that kind of questioning is what matters most. It’s how effortlessness is born: by challenging conventions that no one ever thought to revisit, and pioneering alternatives that matter most to your audience.

It also tackles a universal frustration: interruptions. Around half of people cite interruptions as dealbreakers with brands online. Across generations, frustration with poor design is universal. So let’s double down on creativity that solves those problems.

Friction = bad. Intentional friction = good.

Once you’ve mastered effortlessness, you can start thinking about something more nuanced: intentional friction.

It’s not a topic Shifting States touches on, but it’s only a matter of time before it becomes one. Ask yourself: where in your customer journey is it right to make people pause? Where does a pause benefit them? Prompts like “Are you comfortable sharing this information?” ,“Do you want to save your credit card details?”, or “Auto-play on or off?” are good examples.

An extra click or a short pause isn’t always bad. It’s only bad when it’s pointless – only when it doesn’t benefit the user. I talk about this idea on Adrian Swinscoe’s Punk CX podcast – Think You Know Gen Z? Think Again – so jump into that if it resonates.

By weaving in moments of friction where they matter, we can make life easier – and safer – for users overall. It’s about giving people more time and more trust in your customer journey.

So, to the design trend writers of 2026, a plea:
Go simple. Go minimal. Go effortless.

Because the demand for effortlessness isn’t just a trend – it’s the new standard.

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