I am working with big forms (35+ fields) and the users are attendants in a hospital; they are people who know by heart where the fields are located in the form, to fill and record the data faster. It means that they will search for a field in a specific position within the form or withing the screen (more on this later) because they know where is its location.
Also, my users are people who sometimes will not be very much familiarized with technology, sometimes they'll have a low educational level and might be working with very old computers/screens. All this info is provided by my employer.
Here are two layout options:
About the design of my forms, the first image is the original layout. To me it seems like users can scan easily through the input labels, keeping the idea of knowing where an input is located. Also, this design seems cleaner and smoother, also giving emphasis to the topmost information (the card sequence), which is relevant when filling the form. I admit, though, I could make the input whiter, in order to give them more emphasis.
The second layout seems to perform better when the matter is locating fields, but I feel like you are paying attention only to the field itself and not to the label (it seems like your are seeing the inputs as bricks or tiles). So, you know where it's located, but will have to take a second look to read the label. Also, they pollute the screen because they've been darkened.
Another important thing to consider is that you have scroll in this screen, so knowing the location of fields withing the form will only work if you haven't yet scrolled much down.
I tend to prefer the first layout, because it's clearer, not too polluted, and will keep the same good benefits as the second layout.
I am a frontend developer, so an UX-experienced opinion is very valuable for me. Thanks.
