Elements of Design: Texture

Use of Texture

"ALMOST FLAT" DESIGN Flat design principles have been very influential for the past decade in the world of web design. Flat design is a minimalistic style that eschews the use of texture (along with shadows and gradients) in favor of simpler design elements. In the past few years, however, texture has been making a comeback. "Almost flat" design retains the minimalism of flat design but incorporates texture to add depth.
Objects with texture have more depth than flat objects. This is helpful to make key elements of the design stand out. It is also helpful to show which elements are interactive—which shapes are buttons that can be pressed, for example.
Texture adds interest to the design.
Texture can be added to the objects themselves to make them stand out against a flat background. Texture can also be added to the background to give depth to the overall design.
Making use of photographs is another way to incorporate texture in a design.

Additional resources:

If you want to add texture to a design, check out The Pattern Library. This is a curated collection of patterns you can download and use.