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5 Web Design Trends That Are Here to Stay

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James Helliwell
July 26, 2016


James Helliwell
James Helliwell has written 12 articles for WebKnowHow.
View all articles by James Helliwell...

Web design flourishes on two things; innovation and imitation. Sadly, there’s usually a lot of the latter going on. We all like to grab the latest trends, use them until they become common, and then move on quickly in search of the next big thing.

Remember sliders? They were the rave some years ago. Today, they are now somewhat outdated. Angela of Design By Day, a Manchester based design agency, believes that the solution to this predatory behaviour is to “Stop pursuing microtrends and start looking at the bigger picture.”

Here are 5 web designs that are going to be around for a very long time.

1.   Artificial Intelligence

Context is everything. The medium an interaction takes place is now just as important as how or why. Be it on a smartphone or a tablet, indoors or outside. What is the user doing at that time? Users interact with a product in various situations.

Designers have to make the product’s responsiveness as faultless and as efficient as possible. They can’t interpret a user’s context in real time, but sophisticated and nascent artificial intelligence can do so. Some examples are

-       Facebook M

-       Gmail’s Smart Reply feature

-       The Grid

2.  Diversity

One constant complaint in the web design world, is how often it is involved in unoriginal practices. The tendency of Wordpress templates, responsive structures, and the need to attain a particular look (corporate, personal, collection etc.) has led to a large extent of similarity in design. This can only last for a limited period.

Websites do not always have to fit into one mould. No doubt, there are some clients who want to match their competitors in the industry, but as a designer you can offer them an opportunity for fresh material. Going forward, designers will free to push boundaries and diversify their working templates.

3.   Rich Illustration

Websites traditionally make use of stock photography and similar photos for visuals. As we proceed, there will be more hand-drawn art and self-styled illustrations. Hand drawing gives warmth and comfort of originality that can’t be matched by other visuals. As businesses strive to win consumers’ hearts (and money), websites that offer authentic material will take top position. Very soon, websites and their brands will be recognised by the artistic style they contain.

4.  Mobile/Wearable First

Mobile-first design is already in fashion, but it will become even more popular as the wearables market, projected to be worth about $31 billion by 2020 takes off.  Google Glass may have taken a dive, but HUD displays aren’t going to disappear totally. Not as long as VR technology such as Oculus Rift are becoming more popular. Imagine, that’s just on the tech scene alone.

These platforms offer a completely new set of challenges for designers making websites and applications easily accessible. No doubt, the basic principles of User Interaction are still relevant, but designers will develop creative methods to accommodate smaller, odd-shaped screens and interfaces.

5.  Microinteractions

As information becomes agnostic to platforms- available on our wristwatches, phones, TVs and so on- seamless user experience will matter more than ever. Introducing…microinteractions, described as those momentary events that add up to become the final experience. Microinteractions have to feel and unobtrusive as possible. They should necessitate a dearth of thought and work on its user. They can be attained in a few clicks or perhaps a more rigorous process. In any case, a microinteraction must comprise of 4 steps:

-       Trigger

-       Rule

-       Feedback

-       Loop or Mode

The trigger is the starting action, such as a “see more” button or a notification. The rule is the predefined constraints that determine the interaction, think of the intuitive hamburger icon. The feedback is the response to the user’s action, and the loop signifies the length of action or if it is repeated.


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