The world of web design is an ever-evolving landscape driven by the creativity and insight of designers. The needs of the user are not static, so web designers are always striving to make UX more accessible, efficient, fun, and friendly.
Any designer who knows their business also knows the importance of keeping up with the latest industry trends and striving to meet the demands new tech puts on their product.
Why is this important?
UX has a huge and direct impact on user satisfaction and engagement. Websites that are innovative, modern, and accessible will always be a boon to your business. Conversely, websites that are old-fashioned, inefficient, and difficult to use will inevitably drive customers away.
In this article, we take a closer look at some of the hottest emerging design trends to help keep you in the loop.
App-Like Format
Due to the enormous growth of mobile tech, consumers have grown comfortable interacting with apps. The small, stylized, animation heavy UX recreates an experience that puts the user at ease. Thus, we have seen many websites try to implement this design technique online.
Websites that are driven by UX are becoming increasingly popular among designers. This is helped along by new developments in site-building tools that make this kind of front-end design much easier to achieve. Everything from ecommerce to online casino South Africa sites are now developed in app format to make them as user friendly as possible.
Memphis Design
Memphis design has its roots in 1980’s postmodernism. It emerged in response to the modern, minimalist, clean design style that developed between the 50’s and 70’s. The aesthetic of Memphis design is colourful, bold, playful, and stimulating.
Just like mid-century design, contemporary web design went through its minimalist phase as well. Functionality, clean geometry, and muted colours characterized this movement. However, designers in 2022 are steadily moving away from minimalism and functionalism in favour of more controversial and heavily stylized aesthetics to stand out.
Memphis design might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but many are of the opinion that it creates a more approachable and engaging UX.
Designers influenced by this movement combine seemingly disorganized patterns and contrasting colours to engineer an overall pleasing and playful aesthetic that harkens back to the heyday of pop-art. Advocates of this style assert that it gives the designer more room for creativity and individuality, pulling away from the uniform minimalism that was popular until recently.
Single Page Sites
Convenience in UX design is key. Complex, multifaceted websites make sense for pages that need to contain and display vast amounts of information and functionality.
On the other hand, sites whose purpose is to convey simple, one-dimensional information with minimal necessary functionality don’t need as many bells and whistles.
Designers are therefore opting for one-page websites that use scroll-navigation exclusively. If drop-down menus and internal links are only making things unnecessarily complicated, they are being done away with.
Single page sites that utilize scroll navigation exclusively are often more convenient and accessible for users that don’t always have the time to navigate their way through pages and pages of content to find what they’re looking for.
Every year, new web design trends emerge as technology changes and users’ needs evolve. These trends are shaping the industry now to pave the way for what will follow.
