Winter is upon us, and this means the year is gradually winding down. It is time to look back on events in the web design world here in Birmingham and around the globe to see trends we can expect to grow even stronger in 2015. Here are a few that are worthy of note:
Microinteractions
Microinteractions are moments or experiences, within a product or a module on a website, which revolve around a single use case. An example of this is the subscription box that is seen on most of the 2014 web designs. They often swing left and right on the screen bringing in some dynamism to what would otherwise be a static graphic. Microinteraction grew in popularity because it encourages an increase in user engagement. According to James Blackman, marketing expert at Cocoonfxmedia , the next few months will see the spread of microinteraction to virtually all areas of website call-to-action.
Responsive design
Reading around on the web today, it is clear that responsive web design is a very hot topic. With the continued increase in the number of smart phone users, and tablet users, it is not surprising that responsive design have become an important standard for a web designer such as Dawn Creative brand, design, digital + motion agency. We wake up brands so they are fit and ready for the day ahead.. Even the mighty Google has said responsive website design is their preferred method to provide content to mobile environments. Responsive websites will become the absolute norm within two years, and non-responsive websites will be deemed obsolete by then; if they aren’t already. So if your website is not yet responsive then redesign it now.
Use of Ghost Buttons
Ghost buttons are fast becoming a prominent design feature, especially for WordPress based sites. It is not difficult to see why this is the case. They are minimal, stylish and also come with a subtle but engaging hover animation. This trend is set to become even bigger in 2015, especially when you consider how well they blend with large background images and videos.
Bold Beautiful Background Images & Videos
One of the main ways to make your site stand out is to have great graphics and videos. You need prominent eye catching content. Designers understand this and so a vast number of content based websites of 2014 feature big beautiful background images and video intros. This is a great way to achieve a large design philosophy without making the website appear gimmicky. With the improvement of mobile and fixed broadband site content will become even bigger and richer in 2015.
Increased Emphasis on Typography
Web type-kits that make it possible to use beautiful typefaces and fonts have always been expensive. This has made it difficult for sites that rely heavily on typographical designs to function without a decent sized budget. Fonts have therefore in the past been shunned in favour of other ‘priority’ expenses.
This is, however, changing as type kits are not just becoming more affordable but free in some cases (Google Fonts). This means designers working on small budgets can now bring their typography skills to the design table, allowing them include more typographic flexibility in all of their themes. This makes stylish type-centric design attainable for everyone.
These are just some of the trends that grew in popularity this year and are expected to grow over the next 12 to 18 months.