3 Essential Design Trends, July 2019
Every month we post a roundup of the three biggest trends that we see on the web. Sometimes they’re old favorites that are experiencing a renaissance, sometimes they’re new ideas that are just building up momentum.
1. Text That’s Almost Hard to Read
With so much focus on readability and accessibility, this trend might be a little surprising. Designers are experimenting with hero text elements that are difficult to read. It’s not that the text elements are unreadable; you just have to stop and think about them for a minute. Why would this technique work? Text in these instances is more of an artistic element, and while the words have meaning, they draw our attention because of visual components. Text is designed to make you look longer on purpose. Each of the examples below does this in a slightly different way. MetaView uses a split screen design with text elements that change color on the split screen. On the left, color is muted and more transparent while it is bolder and lacks transparency on the right. The words are readable but you definitely need a few extra seconds to process them.


2. In Your Face Faces
It’s hard to find a more immediate way to connect with a user than with a striking image. Using a face to convey emotion creates an even more distinct connection. The in-your-face-faces design trend does that with stunning close-up images of people. The visuals create an immediate focal point and impact. The user feels something right away before even beginning to process the words or other information on the screen. What’s nice about this trend is that it is designed to connect users to content. With each of the examples below, you might find it hard to look away. You look first at the face on the screen and with something like the Coulee Creative design, you may even smile a little. It piques curiosity. You start to scan the rest of the design to find out what it is about.


3. All the Text to the Left
For a while, the trend in hero headers was to use large text in the middle of the screen. You’ll still see a lot of that in designs. (It’s one of those concepts that never gets old.) What is beginning to gain steam is a more one-sided layout with all the text on the left side of the screen, while imagery and graphics are on the right. It’s tempting to call it left-aligned, but it’s more than that. This layout creates a different type of symmetry when appropriately weighted. The elements on the left and right sides of the screen need to feel equal in weight so that the eye travels across the information well. Responsive design has really powered this trend. (Visit the mobile versions of the Creact and Few designs, below, to see it in action.)


Conclusion
Just because something is trending doesn’t always mean that the design is “good.” It doesn’t mean that it’s bad either. Trending designs just show new techniques and visual elements that are popping up more regularly. It can be fun to go back a few months and look at trending elements and see if the trend has grown of fizzled. Of the ones above, I expect the “in your face faces” to stick around for a while. This image style is so impactful.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.
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