The world of web development has evolved drastically over the last few years. Artistic creativity, online competition, and user experience are the main driving forces behind some of the most impressive and revolutionary design techniques. We can expect more stunning web designs in 2021 as web developers and leading online brands continue to try and outdo each other. Because in the digital landscape, you’re only limited by the imagination of the creatives staff on your payroll!
Here are seven fascinating web design trends that will truly impact online UI and UX in 2021.
1. Scroll-triggered Transformations
Scroll animations are a popular style used to bring websites to life and to encourage visitors to explore web content. Creative scroll transformations can be mesmerizing and gripping, adding an element of passive responsiveness to a site, and, more importantly, guiding users to key points of interest.
2. Micro-interactions
Micro-interactions are subtle animations or transformations on small UI elements triggered by the user’s action. For instance, icons and buttons can change color, resize or glow when you hover or click on them. This is an exciting way of giving the user some mild feedback and showing click or action affordability.
3. Super-sized Titles
According to a recent study, our collective attention span is narrowing due to the abundance of distracting information. To work around the short attention span of the average internet user, UI designers have come up with eye-catching super-sized title fonts. Paired with the right backdrop or sub-text, extra-large fonts seem to do the trick. But naturally, this sort of ‘in your face’ design aesthetic should be used judiciously.
4. Diagonal Lines
Most web pages are laid out on a straight horizontal frame. A straight vertical or horizontal layout has always made sense because that’s what everybody is used to. However, developers have realised that diagonally-oriented content makes for a more exciting read and navigation. Because web design is ultimately like a game of Tetris, with boxes sitting on boxes upon boxes. The key to brilliant web design is to hide the boxes so nobody ever knows they’re there!
5. Dark Mode
Major web browsers and operating systems now have a dark mode theme preference. Dark mode and low contrast user interfaces are softer to the eyes and easily visible in dim light. Developers are quickly catching up with the trend, and we should expect to see more dark-themed websites in 2021.
6. Interactive Videos
Nowadays, most UI templates focus on storytelling and eliciting user action. Although relatively new to the multimedia scene, lightweight interactive videos show great promise as an engaging narrative medium. An interactive video combines several branched liner videos and lets the user decide the playback path by clicking on buttons or answering questions.
7. Minimalism
Minimalism is the concept of “less is more.” A minimalist design, also known as flat design, is associated with stripped-down features and plenty of white spaces. And, indeed, scarcity has some elegance to it. Flat design is not exactly new, but many brands are now embracing a minimalistic image, which shows in new web designs.
Web design and development practices change with time, culture and technology. Some of the styles and designs that work today could very well become obsolete tomorrow. Stay ahead of the trends to get a clear picture of where we’re headed.
