Whether you’re a user experience (UX) designer or a business owner needing to make sure your website is up to scratch, it’s important to always stay up to date on the latest website design trends and developments. In this day and age possibilities and preferences change regularly, so it’s not about choosing one design and then just continually sticking to it. Read on for some of the latest website design trends you need to be aware of.
Bolder Colors
One of the key trends being seen at the moment is the use of bolder, more adventurous color schemes being used on websites. In the past, many designers and their clients chose to stick to simple monochromatic shades, and hues in “safe”, standard hues.
However, now, likely due in part to advances in monitors and other screens that are better at reproducing richer colors, there are more and more sites using vibrant, saturated color schemes. Sometimes the shades even clash, or are broken up with stripes and other features. They are also carried across all touchpoints, such as apps, social media, billboards and other marketing avenues.
This trend is perfect for brands that want to set themselves apart and be seen as modern, fresh, and untraditional. Bright shades can attract visitors’ attention and, as time goes on, it’s possible that color will be used to create customized, personalized experiences for customers too.
In addition, with new tools such as Khroma (an artificial intelligence color tool which provides a fast way to generate, search, discover and save color palettes and combinations), designers will have many interesting ways to create original hues and visitor experiences.
Animation
Most UX design masters should also be considering the fact that animation can play a key role in conveying complex ideas in a quick way online, and make interfaces easier to understand as well. Consumers are more time poor and inundated with information than ever, so anything brands can do to get details across quickly, and in an engaging way, is worth testing.
Animation is also very helpful for brands of all types which are looking to convey personality and to capture attention through storytelling. Plus, designers and other people working on websites have many top animation creation tools at their disposal now, with more coming out all the time. Thankfully, today’s browsers have improved substantially, and typically exceed 60 frames per second, so animations can be viewed quickly and easily.
Animations are more dynamic than standard graphics, and can be used in a variety of ways. For instance, animations are popping up quite often now when it comes to logos. This is excellent for branding purposes, since a lot of meaning can be packed into a small space when done right. Gifs are becoming more popular again too, and can add a sense of fun to sites and related business collateral like email signatures, newsletters, and digital advertisements.
When it comes to animation though, don’t just use it for the sake of using it. Think about whether what you plan to create will enhance or otherwise positively contribute to the user experience in some other way. As well, don’t overload sites with these types of designs; stick to one so that it has real impact and generates meaning.
Increased Use of Illustrations
There has been a marked rise in the use of illustrations on websites too lately, particularly custom ones which are tailored specifically to a brand’s tone or message. Illustrations are useful on websites because they provide another type of image to look at that, and one that also happens to add an element of fun. Illustrations are typically more playful and friendly than a lot of photographs and other designs.
While new and energetic brands find illustrations especially appealing, keep in mind that the addition of specially-created drawings to a website can also make businesses which are seen as older, more serious or “right-brained” appear more approachable. With illustrations, you can find a style that matches what you want to convey, and come up with things that nobody else will have. They can be designed in any number of shapes and sizes too, and don’t get in the way of a website’s simplicity or functionality.
Note, too, that illustrations can be used, just like animations, to convey or explain information to viewers in an effective way. They can help add a more personal, interesting, and human touch to otherwise dry or complicated material too.