The designs of these apps break the mold.
An app may just be helping you wrangle party invites, find restaurant recs, or track your water intake—but that doesn’t mean it can’t make a splash. Here are five aesthetics that infuse the everyday with delight.
Take it to the max
With a bold Gen Z aesthetic, these apps pepper simple experiences with delightful (and never understated) design details. It’s digital maximalism at its best. Connect with nearby friends in Bump. Search spots curated by locals in corner. Create animated collages in Shuffles. Find friends and romantic interests alike in Wink Dating. And plan a get-together with Partiful.
We imagined everything that might scream ‘party’—dopamine colors, expressive animations, and a poster library filled with memes and pop culture references.—Partiful cofounder Shreya Murthy
Standout example: Planning a party may never be as fun as the party itself, but Partiful brings a lighthearted touch to the experience. The app offers a blend of effortless organization with an electric aesthetic that makes every customizable page feel like an event in itself.
Keep things cute
With an adorable character by your side, even the most mundane (or daunting) tasks feel more doable. Finch, Foxtale, and Rootd have critters to help you practice self-care. Focus Friend’s adorable Bean helps you lock in. EF Hello’s ladybug gets you proficient in English. And Waterllama’s animal buddies keep you hydrated.
Every detail of the app’s main mascot was carefully considered, right down to the Bean’s rounded hands. The Bean adds a little element of whimsy. I wanted users to feel that a real person drew it.—Focus Friend cofounder Bria Sullivan
Standout example: Focus Friend’s mascot—a lovable Bean—knits feverishly whenever you leave your phone alone. The longer you resist distraction, the more socks and scarves your Bean creates, encouraging you to focus on whatever task is at hand.
Make it monochrome
With their black-and-white aesthetic, these apps strip away distractions. Eliminating visual noise lets the experience shine. Tune in to Endel’s custom soundscapes. Set a study timer with Focus Noodles. Journal with the thoughtful prompts in stoic. And dive into astrology with Co–Star.
Endel started as a nod to minimalist and conceptual art, interfaces from sci-fi films, and the need to find our own place in the app ecosystem. We were advised many times to revisit and reconsider this approach, since almost no companies on the market presented themselves in that way.—Endel cofounder and artistic director Protey Temen
Standout example: Endel customizes its ambient soundscapes based on your heart rate, the local weather, and how much you move each day. Every soundscape is paired with monochrome visuals that pulse and flow with the audio.
Go back in time
These apps go all the way with the nostalgia schtick to make familiar functions feel playful and novel. It’s all in the details: Check out the vintage controls in (Not Boring) Camera and Later Cam, the ’70s color palette of the queer-community app Lex, the bitmapped buttons in the retro radio Poolsuite FM, and the typewriter-style fonts of Rec League’s personal recommendations.
It’s more than just the music. It’s the layers of nostalgia, the visuals, and the way you interact with the app, which is inspired by classic macOS. It felt like lightning in a bottle.—Poolsuite FM founder Marty Bell
Standout example: Poolsuite FM streams genre-hopping “radio stations,” like Tokyo Disco (perfect for lively pool parties) and Indie Summer (for when you need a breezy vibe). The entire app feels like it’s from another era, with old videos streaming as songs play and a Mixtape tab that brings back the joy of swapping out CDs.
Keep photography in focus
By letting stunning photos take center stage, these apps feel especially immersive. Try an even more immersive experience with the standout images that accompany your next meditation practice in Open, search for inspiration in VSCO and Cosmos, or revisit your memories with Retro.
Cosmos’ interface is designed to get out of the way. I think about it like designing a gallery. The gallery matters, but its job is to serve the art—to give it space, to give it structure, and, ultimately, to let it breathe.—Cosmos founder Andy McCune
Standout example: Designed to inspire creativity (not endless scrolling), the mood board app Cosmos aggregates beautiful images curated by a very discerning community. Creating and sharing feels effortless, thanks to an interface that’s sleek and spare by design.