Okay, so 2015 is picking up momentum, and it’s February already. Have you ever wondered what current web design trends you should be aware of in order to keep up with the rapidly changing industry? Look no further – in this article, I’ll cover 12 important web design trends for the year 2015!
Material design
Material design is a design language developed by Google.
According to Google, it’s an attempt to create a visual language that synthesizes classic principles of good design with the innovation and possibility of technology and science, as well as develop a single underlying system that allows for a unified experience across platforms and device sizes.
Designer Matías Duarte says that “unlike real paper, our digital material can expand and reform intelligently. Material has physical surfaces and edges. Seams and shadows provide meaning about what you can touch.”
Some people like it, some people don’t, but material design seems to have gotten a largely positive response from the web design community, and is likely to gain popularity in 2015.
Large images or videos in the background
There’s no easier way to make your website grab attention immediately than to have a beautiful image or video in the background. You think it’s cheesy? Keep your design clean, pick the right image, and it will look stunning. Background images and videos were already popular in 2014, and in 2015 we’re going to see even more websites go with this design solution.
Custom photos and videos
People don’t want shiny stock photos that look like they are straight from a magazine or videos that are so polished they seem like they belong on MTV. Custom, natural looking images and videos that were probably shot with someone’s phone are what they prefer, and now it’s what companies prefer too, and this trend will only get stronger in 2015. Sorry, stock photos!
Scrolling over clicking
As more and more people are accessing the Internet from their mobile devices, scrolling, as opposed to clicking, is becoming the default way to navigate. It simply makes more sense from the UX perspective – Rebecca Gordon’s research “Everybody Scrolls” shows that users love scrolling. We’re probably going to see a lot more scrolling in 2015 since various popular websites are adopting the model of a long one-pager.
Bigger emphasis on typography
Typographic design used to be really expensive, which meant that only those with large budgets could afford beautiful fonts and typefaces. However, now that type kits are becoming much more affordable (or, in some cases, even free), designers can use those typography skills to enhance their designs. We’re going to see a lot more sleek typographic designs in 2015.
Live font interpolation.
Talking about typography, one of it’s big issues is that, as Andrew Johnson puts in his great article on live font interpolation, today’s webfonts tie responsive sites and applications to an inflexible type that doesn’t scale, which results in poor experience for users. Luckily, with live font interpolation, we can finally address this problem.
UI animation
Animation is back. Videos, animated gifs, and icon animation…It’s a great way to to liven up your UI. We’re going to see more UI animation in 2015, as well as tools for creating it.
Infographics
Remember how infographics were all the rage in what, 2012? Everyone loved them at first, but after a while, the novelty wore off, and people lost interest. Surprisingly, infographics are making a comeback, but now they’re all grown up – sleek, stylish, and informative…as well as interactive. As Henna Ray notes in her DesignHill article, designing an infographic that flows well on information parameters and understanding levels is not a cakewalk. That being said, if you do everything right, infographics can be really powerful marketing tool, and a lot of companies are going to use them in 2015.
Less coding, more design
It seems like web coding will start declining because of the emerging powerful web design tools that allow people to create websites without writing code (Macaw, Squarespace, 123 Contact Form, etc.). Macaw says “Stop writing code, start drawing it”… And that seems to be the future.
Microinteractions
What are microinteractions? In his article on the topic Dan Saffer explains that microinteractions are the small product moments that accomplish one task and one task only – when you change a setting, rate a song, Like a Facebook post, search, or set a status message, you’re engaging with a microinteraction. Microinteractions tend to increase user engagement, therefore it’s likely that in 2015 companies will start paying much more attention to them.
Machine learning “AI” driven design
Did you know that it’s possible to generate a decent-looking design with just a few clicks and keywords? At the moment, most services like that, such as as Tailor, DesignRails, and WithOomph, revolve around logo design. However, The Grid, an intelligent website builder that raised 4.6 million in a series A round and is planning to launch in the end of spring 2015, is about to change that… And with their slogan being “Websites that design themselves” it looks like they’re going to shake the industry.
Wearable technology
Anyone who is interested in the tech startup world knows that wearable technology is the future. Sure, it’s still in the early stages, but it’s surely but slowly gaining momentum, and it’s safe to say that design for wearable devices will be in demand in relatively soon. Will it explode in 2015? We’ll see.
Share your own predictions!
What do you think we’re going to see less of and more of in this year? Will something that is popular at the moment crash and burn? Or maybe something that is currently relatively unknown is going to explode? Share your predictions for 2015 in the comments.
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