The year is drawing to a close, and it means that it is time to look at new web-design decisions that came to life in 2014 and estimate their chances of staying on top in the coming year. So let’s get down to business.
1. Responsive Design is a Must
Several years ago responsive design was an unusual new trend in site building; today it is a new industry standard, especially in the sphere of WordPress themes. No designer in his or her right mind will try to go back from it – throughout 2014 it only consolidated its position, and there is ample evidence that this tendency is going to continue in 2015. While a few years ago specialists argued whether to use responsive design or not, today they argue about the most effective way to implement it.
2. Large, Prominent Background Images
Another feature that seems to be getting more and more popular lately is enormous, colorful background images and videos. It is an excellent way to use beautiful, picturesque web-design decision to create unique, unparalleled style that will make your visitors remember your site.
3. Evolution of Flat Design
Minimalistic flat design has been on the rise for a couple of years and it is going to continue move in the same direction – but there is an opportunity of it changing its nature on the way. Last June Google presented the so-called ’material design‘ – approach that is aimed at imitating paper and ink while at the same time retaining all the positive features of flat design. It is too early to say what it is going to look like in practice, but it certainly is going to be the next big thing.
4. Learn to Like Ghost Buttons…
…for they are going to grow in popularity – and for a good reason. They follow the overall minimalistic trend that seems to have swept through the entire industry, look stylish, elegant and modern, and exist in close symbiosis with large background images from point 2.
5. Pay Attention to Card Design
Another trend that has been quickly expanding in 2014 and will most likely continue to do so the next year is card design. Almost all major players are moving in this direction, and the rest of the web is probably going to follow suit. Cards design allows for flexible, clean design, gives a possibility to quickly rearrange elements without everything submerging into chaos and, what is more important, subtly forces users to scroll down to see more, more, more, staying on your website. The fact that they don’t provide a clear boundary between pages means that if the visitor is even mildly interested he is less likely to leave.
6. Wider Usage of Typography
This trend has more to do with economics than with changes in style preferences, but it will still pay a major role in the years to come. For a long time web type-kits giving an opportunity to use unusual fonts and typefaces in websites have been prohibitively expensive, which meant that only a tiny minority of sites with large budgets could afford to use them. Recently, however, the pricing of these kits was getting more reasonable, and right now there are several decent examples of them which are available for free (namely, GoogleFonts). This means that in the near future we are going to see the role of fonts in web-design increasing.
Of course, the fact that these trends have been prominent for the last year or so doesn’t mean that they will not fade or change their nature; however, any web-designer who wants to stay on top of things will do himself a world of good by following their development closely.
