#design trends

Attention grabbing designs are a goal for almost any project. But there are some techniques that draw users in faster than others. Those are just the elements that this month’s trends are all about. From funky, tiny navigation, to fun cut out and layers, to fast movement that you can’t look away from, here’s what’s trending in design this month: 1. Funky, Tiny Nav For a while designers pushed mega navigation, then hamburger-style navigation...

After years of flat, material and completely minimal styles, the gradient has made a comeback. Everywhere you look, designers are using color fades to add visual interest, create user engagement and just design something that’s worth looking at. If you aren’t a fan of gradients, maybe it’s time to rethink your stance on the issue. To help convince you, we’ve got 10 reasons to love and use gradients in your website design projects this...

Shapes and typography are two elements that can add a lot of impact to a website design project even when they don’t always occupy the greatest amount of space. How to design shapes and typography with a little extra something is definitely on the trends radar this month, with plenty of projects using this concept. Here’s what’s trending in design this month: 1. Bubbles and Blobs Loose shapes without clearly defined forms are showing...

One of the best things about spring can be website design. Warmer air seems to put designers in a brighter bolder mood, and that shows in this month’s roundup of trends. From bolder color choices with a lighter feel—less heavy black and white—to images and type that draw users into a poster or movie-style experience, inspiration is abound. Here’s what’s trending in design this month: 1. Poster-Style Homepages Full-screen homepage...

Across all disciplines of design, from fashion to architecture, trends largely define the styles and directions of an industry at a particular time. Trends are often determined to be a reaction to a previous style. Whether that’s swaying from maximalism to minimalism, or colorful to monochrome, trends by their very nature focus on short termism rather than the larger picture. They also tend to be cyclical, meaning across design industries,...

Sometimes design trends are tough to see, even when you are looking for them. This month is no exception with trends that include use of circles in design, split screen layouts, and dark backgrounds with light text. These elements might seem like common design tools but when used in similar ways across the board, distinct trends start to emerge. Here’s what’s trending in design this month: 1. Circles The implied meanings and associations...

Happy New Year! At this time every January we try to predict what’s going to happen in our industry over the next 12 months. I hope that 2018 will be a great year for inclusive design, for standards-compliance, for ethical practices. I hope for those things every year, and annually it does feel like we’re inching closer. However this post is about unexpected trends, changes, and an attempt to predict the landscape ahead of us, because it feels...

I might have noticed a trend or two in web design this last year. Let me rephrase that: I spend the vast majority of my time online. I do my shopping, here, and my work, and a lot of my leisure reading. I browse the Internet mid-gaming, whether to look up information on the game I’m playing, or just to entertain myself some more because my ADD is really that bad. I even spend a huge amount of time browsing portfolio sites, where designers get to live...

All three of this month’s essential design trends have to do with typography. And the trends showcase some pretty stellar ways to use beautiful type to create user engagement and make a great first impression. One common theme among these designs is that all of the typography styles are highly readable. If you plan to work with a more trendy or funky text element, choose a typeface that users won’t struggle to read. The trendy technique is...

If you’re a fan of this monthly design trends series, there’s a strong possibility you’ve seen a trend or two that you just didn’t like. And that’s OK. This month, each of the three trends should be design conversation starters. While the visuals look cool, are they readable and usable? (Questions every website designer should ask when undertaking a project.) Take a look, see what you think about these trends and decide for yourself....

Hey WDD readers, it’s October, so you know what that means: it’s time for Christmas-themed websites! No, I wouldn’t actually do that to you. But I don’t have any Halloween-themed websites either. It’s probably for the best. What I do have is yet another almost-even mix of design trends and aesthetics. Could this be the end of bandwagon-hopping? Could we possibly be that lucky? I doubt it, but the last few months have been pure pleasure...

Every designer loves breaking the rules every now and then. This month’s web design trends highlight some of the rebellious spirit in ways that look amazing. The key to all these rule-breaking designs is that the rest of the interface is simple and actually follows the rules. From text that doesn’t stay in its “container” to oversized design elements to odd ball geometric shapes, let’s walk on the wild side… Here’s what’s...

Sometimes you can just look at new website projects and see what designers are thinking. You can feel the mood. This month’s trends reflect that concept with bold color choices, a collapse of the traditional hero header style that’s been popular for a while and dark animated patterns that are just a bit mysterious. What do you think? Are you ready for thinner typography options, more elaborate detailing and icon-style logos? You might...

One screen divided in two. The split screen technique has long been known in the film industry, with early examples dating back to the silent movies days of the early 20th century, and it is still a popular device in by film and tv today. A split-screen layout is in use when full-screen elements are divided into two or more vertical parts. A scene from the film “Scott Pilgrim vs the World” However, this is a relatively new technique for the web...