Three New Design Trends to Watch For
If 2015 has taught us anything about web design, it's that the increasing ubiquity of mobile devices is already shaping the future of the industry and its aesthetic. This year, the fact that more people are web surfing on tablets and cell phones than ever before has lead to some particular trends in web design that we're sure to see more of in the year to come.
Web Design Trend #1: Increased reliance on design patterns.
Both businesses and web designers are paying attention: the rise of mobile devices to view websites has lead to a surge in responsive web design. And the shift towards more responsive web design has had another consequence: the micro-design.
Responsive, micro-designing means that businesses have been OK shifting their focus away from the way individual landing pages perform, in favor of web design that highlights the core, most important details of the business. This pared down approach also means that the content and imagery that does appear will do more to build a consistent, sustainable, and recognizable brand. The trend towards micro-design also means that we'll be seeing more of the most popular layouts and prominent design patterns. But this simplified but effective approach will make it easier for designers to focus on what matters: the important things that the business wants to convey about itself and building a stronger brand image.
Web Design Trend #2: Increased importance of art direction.
Now that web design has shifted away from relying on large blocks of text to convey brand message, art direction is becoming even more important. Now carefully coordinated details like mood, color contrasting, and other imagery will do the work that text used to -- all by conveying a feeling. (The variety of lettering available through web design templates has already been changing slowly.)
Responsive, mobile-ready design will see web designers enhancing simple design patterns and templates, and incorporating this new aesthetic into their packages as more traditional concepts like PSD and HTML gradually go out of style and become obsolete.
Web Design Trend #3: The best sites are skipping the sidebar.
The freshest, most innovative websites this year tend to have one thing in common: the traditional sidebar is no longer a given. This formerly common feature has begun to disappear as part of the widespread shift in web design trends.
The formerly ubiquitous sidebar has all but disappeared from the margins of websites, although in some cases it's simply changed positions -- down to the bottom of the screen. For magazine-style portfolio websites, or businesses that require additional space for showcasing content and rich media. In a design climate that focuses on imagery and a sparing use of text, the lack of sidebar is a great option.
If you are looking to upgrade your website design please give us a call here at Moonstone Interactive and we can help!
