The world of web design is one of the most tumultuous aspects of the business. Constantly shifting and changing, moving up and down, it is an ever-changing landscape that is difficult to navigate. Now, the reasons for this is actually clear. If there are two human facets that are always evolving at an incredible speed, those are the internet, and technology itself. As you probably already know, web design is solely based on these two things.
If you want to stay competitive, you need to follow all the relevant trends and evolutions of web design. If done properly, it will give you an edge over your competition. However, if you slack off, if you just coast, you will fall behind.
Enhanced image treatments
Images are a very clear and direct message when put on any website. Now, before, the images were made unobtrusive and fit in with the website. While the amount of attention you want to be drawn by the image varies, the way they were presented was the same. Now, a trend seems to be emerging where the image intentionally draws attention to itself. The colors are crisp and clear, they clash with the background. They are intentionally obtrusive, giving a strange and experimental Avant Garde feel to the page you are designing.
Minimalism and white space
The usage of space and lack thereof has been a vital part of not only design but of art itself. A trend seems to be coming where the actual focal point of a web page will be the white space itself. It will contrast with images that are vibrant and to the point. Before there were clear margins and lines that cut off the white space from the text and the images found on the page. Now, this is being removed, giving more room for both space and the images to speak for themselves, unobstructed.
Fluid design
We are moving away from rigidity more and more. Experimentation in online marketing and web design is getting more frequent, in every aspect. You can see it most clearly in design, but it is present in more unique approaches to SEO, for example. Any good search engine optimization business, like the GWM SEO company, will tell you that compete structure is counterproductive.
So one trend that is rising is the absence of square and structured lines in design. Soon, it’s all going to be about circles, shapes, soft and curved lines. It’s moving away from the clinical system and moving towards something more organic.
Experimenting with navigations
One of the most difficult to design elements for a website is its navigation system. It’s always a battle between keeping it functional and aesthetically pleasing. Still, there has always been consistent experimentation with this element, and we expect it to be an ever growing trend in 2019. Of course, getting the basics down is paramount, but breaking tradition is the only way to grow. It seems there will be a focus to integrate navigation as an actual key element of the aesthetics of a website.
Overlapping elements
Being in line with the broken grid and asymmetry trends for 2019, we have overlapping design elements. In case you haven’t noticed, chaos will be the best word to describe web design in 2019. We have become used to elements having their own boring, structured areas all around a web page. These elements barely touch each other, they hand around like soldiers in a line. But, this new trend is all about overlap. You will see elements taking up space from each other, fighting for some room. Just like asymmetry, if done properly, it can look amazing. If done poorly, you will just end up with a jumbled mess.
Unique typography
Too many designers neglect typography, leaving it by the wayside. But as coding has developed, so has the utilization of specific fonts and lettering designs. While most focus on developing logos (which are important, for obvious reasons), you still need to think outside the box and go deeper. It’s much easier now to use a specific font, to break it up, to cut it and warp it intentionally. Instead of relying on clear straight lines, diagonal and curved lettering is becoming more ubiquitous. Photographs, images, actual design features, all are meshing with new typography styles. As long as you maintain the balance between actual readability and original design, you should not neglect to experiment with your lettering.
Different header areas
As you know, headers have been pretty cut and dry. You just have some text in a large font mostly at the top or center of a page drawing all this attention. Now, people seem to be letting the design speak for itself. They are letting the headers take second place, they left the driver seat to other elements, giving them the spotlight.
The Retro Aesthetic
An old rule of fashion and design is that both are somewhat cyclical. What was once popular becomes tacky, then forgotten, then nostalgic, then comes back. This is the (very short) explanation of why this eighties retro aesthetic is coming back. Think of cyberpunk, of old-school Japanese anime like Akira, or of Miami chic. Bright, clashing colors, lots of pinks, green, and blue, all of it neon and unabashedly flamboyant.
Still, you can go even more retro, and use typography used in the sixties, fifties, even twenties. Art Nouveau and Art Deco seem to be coming back in style as well.
Asymmetry
Asymmetry in design is all about pushing boundaries and experimentation. We are all used to the regular grid of using horizontal and vertical lines clearly. This old style is structured and clear, but it is also rigid. The imaginary grid on which you placed the entire layout of your page has a clear order of things – at the top is the logo and website name, and then from left to right, you read the relevant information. However, with asymmetry, everything is jumbled around. At best, you will get a unique style that makes your page pop. At worst, you will get something unreadable and too chaotic. It’s up to the designer to strike the right balance.
Simplified color palates and minimalism
Retro neon flashy colors are on the rise, but what is also emerging is a kind of minimalism. You will see bright, clashing and contrasting colors absolutely screaming at you from the screen, but, at the same time, the rest of the page may be blank or simplified. By having a full black or gold background, any added colors will pop. What makes things a bit different now is the fact that the colors that are supposed to pop are extra jarring, intentionally so. A contrast of a black background with a small part of the screen being a cacophony of acid green, hot pink, and blazing blue will be quite memorable, to say the least. However, even going with some pinches of minimalism, using two to three colors, may be all you need.
The landscape of web design is ever-changing, always morphing, and any designer should always keep his or her ear to the ground. With the right amount of focus and bravery, you can create something truly unique. You must have noticed that 2019 will be all about walking the thin line between chaos and order, letting your art go wild and free, while still staying fully usable and crystal clear.
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