Web design is a dynamic industry. Trends keep changing and nobody can claim that they are in sync with the latest technology practices.
Coding is not changed since the inception of HTML and CSS. There are additions to the structure and new queries are added up every now and then.
Design industry is an open arena where anybody and everybody can experiment with their imagination. The key to success here is to provide the user with better UI and UX.
One has to be proficient in basic design structure. Once that is achieved, concentrate on how to stand out from the crowd.
Let’s have a look at the predictions on what’s in store for us come 2017.
Mobile-First Design
Basically, websites are designed with desktops as primary
devices. For some time now, there’s a trend going on where the websites are
designed with a mobile-first approach.
Mobile-First design restricts the amount of content that
goes into a page. This is a boon to the companies in disguise. Instead of
stuffing in more content for the web spiders to crawl, this method actually
pressurize companies to get rid of unwanted content and focus on key messages
that goes into the page.
So, what goes into the desktop version then?
Simple. The images, visuals, animations and icons
are bigger and scaled up as and when the device type is changed.
Device Specific Design
Now, in 2016, Apple has come up with technologies such as
fingerprint authentication, 3D Touch and much more hardware related improvements
to their device lineup. Implementing these to work with your
application/website can help create new UX types to visitors. This keeps them
engaging.
Other device manufacturers are also heating up the race in
market by providing user friendly and time saving features time and again.
Improvisation is always the best thing in design industry.
Make sure to keep up the pace and research more on technologies that has
potential to change the way we browse web pages.
Design Itself
Gone are the days of flamboyant 3D type designs and
animations. Each passing day, organizations are concentrating more on clutter
free, flat designs that convey information straight forward.
Prototyping
Prototyping helps any UI/UX designers to test their
application usability with minimum man hours without coding.
Adopting this method saves hours of work that are wasted in
coding and then scrapping the whole thing.
These tools are self-explanatory. The need for providing mockups
and explaining the functionality to the client are long gone. The client gets
to see the exact application interface and this eliminates any crucial setbacks
in the project.
The Rise Of Illustrations
Forget the days where one had to research and find relevant
stock images to convey a product functionality or service explanation.
Now comes the illustrations that can be used in any device
types that never pixelates. These little, easy to load “SVG” graphics are on
the rise.
Infographics, vertical scrolling, icons, animated elements,
and the list goes on and on. There are unlimited possibilities with these
little illustrations.
Typography
Now, with the rise of web font library, typography is not
consigned to Helvetica anymore!
Big and visually appealing fonts are used everywhere to
shout out the message. It’s short, sweet and to the point.
Typography has to be easy on the eyes. The audience must
feel like reading more and more. Choose the fonts wisely and write only what is
required.
Photography
Bombard the site with too much of illustrations? Not good!
This is where photography comes into picture. For instance,
where an “about us” page has to be designed, illustrations does not fit well
for a banner in all the cases. Instead of procuring a stock image for that, it
is highly recommended that the actual office, employees, work area and other
elements can be photographed. This acts as a virtual tour to the visitor and
also creates a sense of belonging.
Animations
Gone are the animations where rockets popped up on the page
and asked the users to subscribe!
The animations used in the best websites create an
environment of storytelling, micro interactions with the users, the navigation
in and between the pages are clutter-free. Feels like home!
Use animations where necessary and also decide what is
important and come up with relevant animations. Animations must not annoy the
visitors. Animations must help the UI/UX of the page.
Videos
When there is video, everything else fall like a house of
cards. Videos conveys the message directly. No need to read, scroll, search for
the information. This medium captures the user’s concentration. Rest is left to
the creativity of the storyboard and narrative. This can make or break any
website’s user base.
Colors
What is the common color for websites? Red, Orange, Purple,
Blue, Green, Brown…
That is not the end. In web design, 16,777,216 colors can be
used!!!
Now is the time to use colors that are vivid, bold and
courageous everywhere ranging from logo design to video overlay.
Parallax
Parallax is not just vertical and horizontal. This is a
strategic approach. Content delivery plays a crucial role in engaging the
users. This varies on what is being showcased.
Make sure to use parallax on web design as this brings a world of good
to the whole website.
Conclusion
At the time of writing this article, there might be a swarm
of trends getting recognized in the web world. Not the one can master
everything. The key points discussed above is a good place to start with.
Getting the design right takes a lot of time, research and resources.
There’s a famous saying, “It takes 13 hours to build a
Toyota and 6 months to build a Rolls Royce”.
