What is Glassmorphism. Glassmorphism is a design style that… | by Design Studio | Sep, 2023

Glassmorphism is a design style that, as the name suggests, is known for featuring glass-like effects. All elements in this design style have a translucent/transparent look. When these elements are placed on colorful backgrounds, the glass effect is accentuated.

The goal of glassmorphism design is to create an interface that looks like an assortment of glassy panels hovering in the background space. By “glass-morphing” the design elements, UI designers give them an “airy” feeling. They have the appearance of frosted virtual glass and look like they are floating in the background.

Glassmorphism adds a touch of minimalism, modernity, sleekness, and a futuristic appearance to web and app interfaces. It makes interfaces appear simple yet sophisticated. Like neumorphism design in UI, glassmorphism is a relatively new app design trend. But it is already one of the most popular app design trends of the 2020s.

Glassmorphism helps designers add visual hierarchy to their creations and create focal points for the content they want to highlight. That is why popular brands like Microsoft and Apple have embraced the glassmorphism design style. The inclusion of glassmorphism design in MacOS’s Big Sur in 2020 is a good example of the popularity of this design trend.

Let’s see an example:

Notice how the transparent card appears as if it is floating in space? The same effect that you see in this card, can be recreated for CTA buttons, dashboards, onboarding screens, and more. It can also be used to design windows or widgets. For example, this redesign of the Messenger App for MacOS illustrates the perfect use of glassmorphism:

This app window with its frosted glass-like appearance and semi-transparent elements looks so much classier than a traditionally designed app window, right? It is no surprise that this modern app design trend has been embraced by tech giants like Apple. In fact, Apple used the frosted glass effect long before this design style was given the status of a certified trend.

If you have an iPhone or iPad, just look at the widgets on your home screen. Do you notice the semi-transparent elements and the frosted glass effect? Here is an example:

Do you notice the traces of glassmorphism? Now that you have a clear idea of what glassmorphism looks like in app design, let’s lay down the key principles or characteristics of this design trend.