If you’re launching a new website this year or looking to give your existing site a makeover, knowing the current design trends –– from the hottest color pairings and typefaces, to cutting edge imagery and layout styles –– is critical to positioning your brand as modern and relevant.
After all, with consumers taking just a few seconds to make a snap judgment about every website they land on, why would you risk creating something new that still looks dated or old-fashioned to prospective customers? A behind-the-times layout, color scheme or font choice can create the impression you don’t care about providing an experience relevant and tailored to your customers’ needs.
For that reason, taking an objective look at what’s happening in the wider market, and from the broader perspective of branding and web design professionals is a great first step in any launch or website redesign. The global community of freelance designers working on 99designs by Vista have identified the hottest web design trends going into the new year.
Here are five we believe will help small businesses attract and convert customers in 2022:
Neo-Brutalism
You may have heard of or seen what’s known as “Brutalist” style –– a stark, arresting and almost bare and unflinching look. For 2022, we expect this style to take a more toned-down, mellow turn for what some have dubbed, “Neo-brutalism.”
The new iteration blends the raw honesty of brutalism with the restraint of minimalism, for a more mainstream, palatable look and feel. The site for Cargo provides a good example of this trend in action.
Typographic Hero Image
In this style, where you might otherwise see a dominant feature photo or “hero” image on the main page, imagery is reduced or eliminated altogether in favor of words. The bold, dominant type commands attention similar to the way a news headline might and provides a showcase for creative lettering or fonts.
For example, CareScribe, which provides accessibility tech tools such as captioning and dictation controls, deploys this style effectively.
Evolution of 90s Retro
Remember the earliest days of the Internet, aka “Web 1.0” circa 1995, when most sites were characterized by bright background colors, visible table layouts and robotic typefaces like Courier?
Today a revival of this look is underway, inspired by a nostalgic romanticism about the unrestricted creative freedom of “the olden days.” Brands such as Starface or Curry Cafe are starting to reject the safe minimalist looks of today in favor of wilder throwback styles.
Creative Scrolling Experiences
For 2022, scrolling experiences are becoming more engaging, mimicking imaginative journeys through interactive motion, enhanced by psychedelic imagery and other special effects. Within increasingly detailed animations, many designers are including a major foreground element to provide focus –– for example the black crystal on the Stone & Style website.
Moving Type
Animation has been a staple of web design for years now, but the new trend here is the incorporation of animation beyond illustrated graphics and page transitions into text. The use of moving typography provides an element of surprise, even when the animations themselves are quite simple. The effect created by sites such as Vita Architecture and the Vancouver Art Fair is that of living, breathing letterforms that draw the visitor in.
This year will see some broad thematics prevail in web design –– from the return of 80s and 90s aesthetics and whimsical handcrafted styles to live animation’s ascension to new heights. However, overall, the year looks to be entering a diverse and experimental period for marketers and consumers, and holds promise for brands looking to push the boundaries and engage with audiences in entirely new ways.
Shayne Tilley is Head of Marketing at 99designs by Vista, the global creative platform that makes it easy for designers and clients to work together to create designs they love. Wrangler of collaboration, diversity, and creativity to help bring more opportunities to people all around the world.
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