Neumorphism
Neumorphism is a design style commonly identified by a soft and light look, sometimes referred to as “Soft UI”, with elements that appear to protrude from or dent into the background rather than float on top of it.
Neumorphism combines elements of Skeuomorphism1 and Flat Design2 elements to deliver a more streamlined user experience. Buttons and images often have slight shadows and subtle color gradients along with familiar designs, but without the in-your-face familiarity of first-generation Skeuomorphs.3
One of the big deviation from flat design is that neumorphism will very rarely use hard lines as borders for elements. In addition, neumorphism will almost exclusively use rounded corners to keep a soft look, refraining from any harsh angles.
It does carries over the use of three-dimensional elements from skeuomorphism, while relying on much simpler icons and shadows and gradients to achieve its three-dimensional effect.
Neumorphism provides a middle ground between skeuomorphism and flat design, aiming to look plausibly realistic while still looking clean and adhering to minimalism. It does look good and smooth. However, one has to be careful due to its lack of accessibility, difficulty in implementation, low contrast, and incompatibility in transferring across various mediums (screen, print, etc.).
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Skeuomorphism is a term most often used in graphical user interface design to describe interface objects that mimic their real-world counterparts in how they appear and/or how the user can interact with them. ↩
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Flat Design is a style emphasizing the minimalist use of simple elements, typography, and flat colors. ↩
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A skeuomorph is a derivative object that retains ornamental design cues from structures that were necessary in the original. Skeuomorphs are typically used to make something new feel familiar in an effort to speed understanding and acclimation. They employ elements that, while essential to the original object, serve no pragmatic purpose in the new system. ↩