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2017 was an impressive year for technological and design development, but with the new year now in full-swing, it’s time to look ahead, just as we did in 2016 and 2017, and outline our top predictions for web design trends in 2018.
The web design world is a fast moving and dynamic sector, with new technology and design trends appearing all the time. Because of this, it’s important for every designer to be up-to-date with the latest news and changes within the industry. To help you stay up-to-date, we’ve conducted our own research and put together 5 notable web design trends we’re expecting to see throughout 2018.
This is a web design trend which we touched on last year in 2017, but we’re expecting it to see a much wider adoption throughout 2018 as broken and asymmetric grid layouts become more mainstream.
While the use of underlying grid layouts isn’t going to disappear anytime soon, we are expecting more and more designers to experiment and push the boundaries. There are many brilliant examples of websites that fully embrace broken grid layouts which are great for the aesthetics hunters and trend conscious, but how will this work in the real world for websites which are focused on conversion rates and sales? The answer is; to play with subtle details to create a happy medium. Start by taking an element, be it a caption, title or CTA and offset it or shift it vertically. The idea is to play with these details until you’ve achieved an exciting and subtle layout change which catches the user’s attention.
Whoever said section breaks needed to be horizontal? Recently, we’ve seen designers play around with how they break up web pages by using diagonal or curved section breaks. This helps to add visual creativeness to a website and differentiate it from others who are using the more common horizontal break.
Typography has long been a core aspect for web design, after all most users who are viewing websites are likely to be reading content, so making it as appealing and as visually interesting as possible is a no-brainer. Thanks to the continued advancement in technology most modern browsers (excluding the dreaded Internet Explorer, which should have died a long time ago) can support and display handmade fonts at crisp resolutions. This opens up the ability for web designers to use large headers and contrasting typefaces to help keep the user engaged. We’re also starting to see the comeback of serif typefaces as designers are starting to reintroduce them in an attempt to add uniqueness and authenticity to a website and brand.
Another trend which may perhaps be spurred on by advancements in technology are bright and bold colour schemes. Thanks to modern devices and screens being able to create richer and more vibrant colours, designers are now able be more adventurous with their colour palette. We’re expecting 2018 to be the year we see a strong mix of vibrant colours and black & white imagery.
Our next and final web design trend for 2018 may be seen as a controversial one as it essentially goes against every other trend we’ve just discussed. If you’re not familiar with brutalism, the term typically refers to a style of architecture which gained popularity in the 1960’s, but when referring to it within web design it essentially means throwing out the rule book. Some have likened brutalism to a rebellion or defiance to the clean, structured and organised designs we’re used to as it often disregards all of the typical UX advice and best practises. Brutalism web design can feel raw, unpolished and often unfinished, and is occasionally used by the courageous artistic type. Although, we have recently seen to a few audacious ecommerce websites adopt the style, including Balenciaga.
So that’s this year’s round up of web design predictions. Between the bright colours, broken grid layouts and brutalism design style, 2018’s shaping up to be a very interesting year.
If you’re planning a new web design project this year and would like any help or advice, please don’t hesitate to get it touch. We’re always happy to chat about what we love and help others create interesting and exciting websites.
