1. Next-Level Animation
Nothing makes you want to click around and engage with a website like a delightful animation. While full-screen video is still one of the most popular animated effects of the year, other opportunities for animation can be just as impressive. Use animation to bring attention to certain elements, create the scene for your story and grab user attention or prompt continued engagement with an interesting way to navigate a design. Each of these techniques is used in the examples below (you should definitely click through each to see the animated effects in action). What makes a good animation? Here’s how each of these designs takes animation to the next level: Mistretta Coiffure uses a water effect over still images so that the whole background seems to be right below the surface of a pool. Text elements are static to ensure readability. The effect isn’t overwhelming and it’s something that feels unique to the content of the website for a salon—which uses a lot of water.


2. Large White Margins
One of the most dramatic—and easy—ways to draw attention to a design or specific element is through appropriate use of white space. While many designs have trended toward more packed full-screen designs recently, there’s a growing shift back to open space. And there’s a reason for it. This technique and design make content the focus for users. Elements surrounded by white space are obvious focal points. The simplicity and balance of such as design is easy to engage with and isn’t overwhelming to the user. Maybe one of the best things about a design with so much white space is that it feels approachable. The clean white space in the design does draw you in. Think about some of the color associations of white—purity, light, goodness, perfection, cleanliness, safety—all of these are inviting and welcoming feelings that come with an open white background. Looking at the examples below from Panda Monk, It’s Alive, and Centros, it’s easy to see how this feeling comes from each of the designs. It’s as if each website is inviting users to engage and learn more.


3. Dark Color Overlays
One of the website design trends that’s been popular is use of dark backgrounds in design projects. That trend has extended to the foreground with dark color overlays on images as well. While this technique can look cool and help emphasize brand colors, there’s another key reason for using dark color overlays. This technique can help make text elements more readable over photos or backgrounds elements with varying light and dark colors. Each of the examples below uses this concept in a slightly different way: Lafayette Grande frames an image with a dark color overlay with a double-stacked navigation menu using brand colors. It creates a solid frame that then drives users down to the main headline.


Conclusion
While some of the animated techniques featured here are more complex techniques, you can start small with a similar idea. The key to using any trendy design element is that it works with the content in the design, contributing to the overall message.Carrie Cousins
Carrie Cousins is a freelance writer with more than 10 years of experience in the communications industry, including writing for print and online publications, and design and editing. You can connect with Carrie on Twitter @carriecousins.
Read Next
3 Essential Design Trends, December 2023
While we love the holidays, too much of a seasonal theme can get overwhelming. Thankfully, these design trends strike a…
10 Easy Ways to Make Money as a Web Designer
When you’re a web designer, the logical way to make money is designing websites; you can apply for a job at an agency,…
By Louise North
The 10 Most Hated Fonts of All Time
Remember when Comic Sans wasn’t the butt of the jokes? Long for the days when we actually enjoyed using the Impact…
15 Best New Fonts, November 2023
2023 is almost over, and the new fonts are still coming thick and fast. This month, we’ve found some awesome variable…
By Ben Moss
Old School Web Techniques Best Forgotten
When the web first entered the public consciousness back in the 90s, it was primarily text-based with minimal design…
By Simon Sterne
20 Best New Websites, November 2023
As the nights draw in for the Northern hemisphere, what better way to brighten your day than by soaking up some design…
30 Amazing Chrome Extensions for Designers and Developers
Searching for a tool to make cross-platform design a breeze? Desperate for an extension that helps you figure out the…
By Robert Reeve
Exciting New Tools for Designers, November 2023
We’ve got a mix of handy image helpers, useful design assets, and clever productivity tools, amongst other treats. Some…
The Dangers of Doomscrolling for Designers and How to Break Free
As a creative professional, navigating the digital realm is second nature to you. It’s normal to follow an endless…
By Louise North
From Image Adjustments to AI: Photoshop Through the Years
Remember when Merriam-Webster added Photoshop to the dictionary back in 2008? Want to learn how AI is changing design…
By Max Walton
3 Essential Design Trends, November 2023
In the season of giving thanks, we often think of comfort and tradition. These are common themes with each of our three…
30 Obsolete Technologies that will Perplex Post-2000s Kids
Remember the screech of dial-up internet? Hold fond memories of arcade machines? In this list, we’re condensing down 30…