The Next Web has identified 10 web design trends we are likely to see over the next 12 months:
- Longer scrolling sites – as mobile devices become more important there is a switch to longer scrolling pages rather than lots of links
- Story telling and interaction – content has always been important but telling a story through that content is a big plus
- Absence of large background header images – large header images with text over the top have become the norm. How to stand out? Get rid of the image and just use text
- Removing non-essential design elements in favour of simplicity – There is an idea in design that a design is complete when all of the non-essential elements have been removed (#3 could be seen as part of this move)
- Fixed width centred site layout – how we always used to do it in the old days, seems to be making a come back, but with modern derivatives
- Professional high quality custom photography – that really makes your site unique. We always say that when we take on a web client we like to see that they have a good image library – it makes for a great site (Birmingham Royal Ballet and Sightsavers are great examples)
- Flyout/slideout app-like menus – Responsive web design has done this for mobile browsing but it is catching on for desktops. But, while it simplifies the desgn process does it improve user experience?
- Hidden main menus – pretty much the same as #7, but maybe not as obvious
- Very large typography – needed because of #3?
- Performance and speed – for us old hands we have always panicked about this. In our book it isn’t a trend but an essential. It’s probably really needed if you do #1. #3, 4 and 5 are probably the result of this.
what do you think we’ll see over the next 12 months?
See the full TNW article here.