No. 038
UI Design
Flat Design
Flat design is a minimal visual style that avoids realistic effects like shadows and gradients in favor of simple shapes and solid colors.
Why it matters
It loads fast, scales cleanly across screen sizes, and feels modern and clean — but can sometimes hide which elements are interactive.
In depth
Flat design emerged as a reaction to skeuomorphism, prioritizing clarity and performance. Its main risk is weakened affordances, since cues like depth disappear. 'Flat 2.0' reintroduced subtle shadows and layering to restore some of those signals.
Real-world example
Microsoft's interface design and much of the modern web use flat, simple buttons and icons without heavy 3D effects.
Related terms