Are you as excited as we are? We’ve scoured the web for the best web design trends that will be transforming the internet in 2015. Some of them you may have heard of already, like responsive design. Others just might blow your mind. Either way, the future looks bright and we’re excited to be a part of it.
Responsive Respect: 
I don’t want to sound like a broken record here, but if responsive design isn’t the future then I don’t know what is. Have a look around you on a given day. People are on their smart phones, iPhones, tablets and iPads all the time. The future is in mobile friendly design. In the last few years responsive design has secured itself as the new standard for web design to the point where it has ceased to be a trend and can now just be considered the norm. If you’re not on board then you’re very behind.
Who Ya Gonna Call?...
…Ghost Buttons! Ghost buttons are a prominent design feature in many web designs and it’s no wonder. These buttons are not only minimalist and stylish but they’re a blast to use. Hover animation?! Yes please. As they pair well with the bold and beautiful backgrounds that we’ll see popping up over the next year, these ghosties are something to keep your eye on and to get acquainted with.
We’re Bringin’ Sexy Back
It’s one thing to have hot content, another to present it beautifully. In 2015, there’s going to be a bigger focus on typography. Web kits for type are notoriously expensive until now. Type kits are becoming more affordable or sometimes even FREE with Google Fonts. This means there’s a lot more freedom for designers working with smaller budgets to bring their mad typography skills to overflowing and ever-competitive the web design table. This also means that WordPress theme designers will focus on making stylish type-centric design possible for anyone with a well-designed WordPress theme. Whoop!
Pretty Hurts:
Savvy web designers will be saying a lot with big, bold and beautiful background images and videos. It’s one of the easiest ways to make your site stand out so make sure you’re featuring excellently written content against a powerful image. This future trend is an elegant way to strengthen your brand/style/philosophy.
Scrolling with da homies:
Scrolling is imperative to a positive user experience on the web, so say goodbye to clicking. Scrolling allows a more dynamic interaction to occur between users and websites. It’s more intuitive and really, it’s just easier to use for navigation. You’ll be seeing a lot more of it in the future.
Hey Flatty
Aw! Look who’s growing up! Flat design is being touted as Google’s new direction for mobile design and everything else really. Only they’re calling it ‘Material Design’. Let’s have a quick look at the main principles:
1. Material is the metaphor: The first principle is an attempt to ground our digital experience in tactile reality. The material metaphor is moving away from skeuomorphism while embracing ink, paper, shadows, and depth. Material Design will reinvent and reimagine objects that exist in the physical world without breaking the laws of physics.
2. Bold, graphic, intentional: The second principle deals with print design. Visual elements can’t just look pretty, they have to create meaning. Material Design emphasizes deliberate colour choices, large typography (yes!), and the intentional use of white space to create an ideal user experience.
3. Motional provides meaning: The third principle of Material Design emphasizes the movement. Motion needs to provide visual feedback without being distracting. It feels authentic and needs to respect the physical reality of mass and weight. Objects will use swift acceleration and gentle deceleration to provide the user with a believable sense of motion.
Material Design is a mostly flat design that uses very subtle gradients, layering, and animation to retain a sense of the tangible world while still achieving all the advantages of flat design. Sounds amazing to me.
Think Micro not Macro
Good things come in small packages. So, what are these micro-interactions that so many people are talking about? They’re pretty cool: Micro-interactions are contained experiences or moments within a module on a website that revolve around a single use basis. For example, take the email sign-up box that pops up on a website. It’s moving which gives it a playful personality to a graphic that would otherwise be static and maybe a little boring. Micro-interactions like this serve to increase user engagement.
Tell Me a Story
The combination of everything I’ve mentioned so far has one collective goal: Creating a better platform for telling compelling stories and narratives. I’m not saying that every web site should have a story, but a brand is constructed from a series of values and everything from font choice to web copy embodies this. You’ve heard it before: Content is King. There’s a reason why this saying is constantly thrown around on the Internet. People are smarter and busier. They don’t have the time to sit around on a website that has boring content. If you can create a story using well written content combined with incredible images and design elements, you can be sure your website will stand out. Getting noticed is the game. So get amongst it.
It’s a Wrap
One of the best things about being a web designer is how fast things move. To be excellent in this game, you’ve got to be willing to adapt. When we look at future trends, we get excited for several reasons. One, it’s pretty fun trying out new techniques. Two, it’s great to be learning new tricks on the job. But most importantly, it makes us better designers. We’re pretty lucky to have a fluid arsenal of web design theories and skills: they allow us to create anything. Our only limitations are ourselves. If you’re interested in applying any of these new web design features to your current site, get in touch. We’re excited to put the future to use.
How responsive web design can help your business
