A Voyage to the Web Designing Future

Talking about the creative fields, such as design, and saying that change won’t happen? That’s like running a car on square tires. IMPOSSIBLE!

There’s an unending list of delusional designers who resist change. Trends, born out of curiosity, drive the passion in us to create revolutionary things. In the dynamism of the digital era, many trends come and disappear without anyone noticing. We have concluded some design patterns that will be used by designers and web designing companies around the globe.

1. Mobile-first approach

The title clears it all. The process begins with creating designs for mobiles first and then moving to bigger screens. This approach isn’t easy and has been known to the industry for ages, but with mobile devices now considered primary, it needs more attention than ever.

Companies understand the importance of mobile devices and getting their sites redesigned. Hence, crafting clutter-free content for a small-screen device has become imperative because it drives nearly 50% of traffic to the site, which will boost in the future.

Instead of being a tacked-on thought to the desktop version, your duty is to design a website for small devices to have a better user experience and broader business transaction chances.

2. Wider Implementation

Although the responsive design technique is years old, it will continue to level up the game in the future. Still, a lot of branded websites aren’t responsive, and that will turn into a nightmare for them if they don’t alter their strategy.

The best thing about responsive design is that businesses have to pay for a single time for getting their website designed, and they don’t have to build a separate website for mobiles and desktops. All can be done within one URL – and you don’t have to pay extra to manage two URLs. In addition, having one URL will help you to track data and visitors’ journey in a better and more efficient way.

Another factor is Google’s algorithms that significantly boost websites which are responsive and have better user relevance. Often, it has been noticed that many responsive websites fail to trim the unnecessary fat from their responsive design that confuses users, resulting in higher bounce rates and low rankings in search results.

Even if we keep the ranking factor aside, the user experience matters the most. According to a survey by Experience Dynamics, 79% of users bounce to other websites if a website isn’t optimized for mobile. It’s a clear indication for businesses of what to do.

3. Using Rapid Prototyping tools

Although it doesn’t come under the web design category per se, it still holds importance when you are harnessing the power of rapid prototyping tools that are revolutionary to the web design industry.

UXpin, Webflow, InVision, and Marvel are some of the most recognized industry tools for UI and UX designers to complement their work to create low- and high-fidelity prototypes of sites, without ever writing a single line of code.

The built-in features allow designers to understand how their website will look, as it allows designing in the browser. Moreover, it breaks the barrier of waiting hours until the design is uploaded to servers.

Another benefit of these applications is to show clients how animations and transitions will work in real-time. These apps save a heck lot of your time that otherwise goes into describing every little detail to a client.

4. UI Patterns Framework

That’s an unending debate about similar-looking websites, and it’s just a waste of time to discuss it for mere of having a debate. Hence, we choose not to talk about it. Rather, we try to find better solutions to stand out from the crowd.

Undoubtedly, UI and UX patterns and design techniques have really impacted the overall performance of websites and have made them user-friendly. In the last few years, WordPress and pre-installed themes’ popularity has increased significantly, which has really affected the overall look of websites today. Moreover, with the strong marketing departments and advanced features by theme designing companies, many businesses prefer to buy them for customization, instead of creating something out of the box from scratch.

Since there’s so much competition in the market, many already established branded sites can’t afford to take the risk because a small failed experiment can really damage their business. Hence, they look for tried-and-tested patterns.

In the year 2014, Google launched Material Design Language to provide a better user experience by introducing design principles and guides. If you study many of Google’s most used applications, then you will understand how Google itself is using it, too. And why businesses need to introduce it to their websites to synchronize with search engine results perfectly.

5. Emphasize Originality

Since the dawn of UI patterns, UX has become truly important. Hence, businesses need to get away from stock images, videos, and bespoke their awesomeness with original and self-generated content. There are many premium websites that offer HD stock images, but what if your rivals are also using the same because anyone can purchase them and they are royalty-free?

In the brand-conscious world, users want authenticity from their favourite brands. Now donning an invisible cloak and using free or paid images won’t work because people have become highly aware of their surroundings and can easily detect the similarities among the same niche websites. Perhaps that’s why Amazon.com hardly changes its overall design because it very different and already recognized outlook by billions around the globe.

Brands that want to strike a connection need to be highly creative and get out of their comfort zone to find a muse in the unlikeliest places. They need to work on their newly carved image and show their followers what they are missing if they don’t visit them on a regular basis.

Illustrations

It’s the industry’s proven methodology that bespoke your imagination and sparks your creative interest in designs. Moreover, it allows you to create standalone winning designs that are original in ideas and are imbued with hidden messages.

Illustrations, however beautiful they may seem, need real-time experience and expertise to create designs that are personalized and tailored to a specific brand to increase their value in their crowded marketplace. It has been noticed that customized branding content often imprints a great impression on visitors’ minds and leaves them with the hard work and talent behind the creation.

Dribbble is a great example to see what the world is working on. It has a complete gallery to inspire your creative juices for a better view, stance, and glance at your work.

Typography

Nearly a decade ago, when Steve Jobs accentuated the substance of fonts, the whole world went frenzied over Apple’s innovative fonts and creative innovation in the design world. Many Pundits claimed it was the essential element of Apple’s grand success. Mr. Jobs created an emotional attachment with the customers, evoked emotions and toned it perfectly with the typography. That’s something every business, especially those that are going to spend money on the web or graphic design, needs to understand.

Every professional is aware of the cost of professional design services, and those services don’t come cheap. It needs a good amount of money to create tailor-made branding designs because hours and hours of hard work go into creating unique designs that bespoke business persona in the crowded market and attract people towards it.

Original Photography

Instead of exploring stock images for best-clicked pictures for your website, it’s better to have someone do it for you. And if you can’t travel to the farthest places due to budget constraints, then it’s better to hire a freelance photographer who would click perfect images according to the shots you desire.

It will, however, take a long time until the stock and cluttered pictures disappear from the websites – at least from the branded ones. We have just begun experiencing the shift in the trend – and websites giving real value to professionally clicked images for their websites or for branding purposes.

6. Animations

The animation industry has become worth several billion USD. Many established businesses are already harnessing the power of animation in their sites. Hasbro makes animated content to sell its products. That’s just a glimpse of this gigantic industry.

Nowadays, when people are consuming more video content, brands are effortlessly working on storytelling with the help of animation in order to capture their audience’s attention. It’s not an easy feat because animation doesn’t come easily. It needs vision and creativity to create groundbreaking characters that further help your business in branding.

Animation is a broad concept. It comes in different types, sizes, and shapes – and all serve a different purpose.

Languages such as HTML5, CSS and jQuery are playing a better and more important role than ever in creating a unique animation that later on becomes its voice and face in the world.

LEGO is a good example to understand the concept. Even though LEGO was selling its products around the globe, its growth rate skyrocketed with its animated films. The company is creating different characters, and each has its own USP that also affects its sales.

Many websites cleverly use animation in their 404 error pages. It engages the audience, and the website’s bounce rate decreases. It’s like killing two birds with one arrow, isn’t it?

It’s often noticed that many websites wrongly use animations to distract their audience, instead of capturing their attention for the main point. It’s not about how you use this powerful tool to empower your business’s marketing efforts.

GIFs are also considered animations. There’s a very good guide from Adobe to create your own GIFs and little animation videos.

7. Video is the Content King

What if I say, “Videos are the new content king”? Even moving images are in high demand because it draws attention creates a demand to construct a brand’s real identity along with its perfectly aligned message.

Although it’s not a new medium, it has gained immense popularity, and video makers are in high demand. Videos are better any time over motionless, flat, static images that don’t spark emotional interest in everyone. Only a small portion of people can resonate with images on a deeper emotional level, but videos are the standalone winners for creating a connection with the audience and striking their hearts many times during the video run.

Since billions of smartphones have already been sold and more than 50% of traffic is video-based, there’s no excuse not to pay attention to videos.

If you are running a film production company, then you can use moving images as a video to showcase an important element from your film that can impact the audience on a grander level.

With the advent of recent live-streaming services by Facebook, YouTube, etc., it’s imperative to have a few videos on your website, specifically designed for your targeted audiences.

The cost might exceed your budget, but not doing so will actually break your bank. How? Look at it this way. Videos have the ability to generate more views and reach a wider audience. Yes, the cost will be upfront, but it will give you a better ROI during the marketing phase – and results will be generated soon.

However, in a static picture phase, the team will take longer time to generate considerable ROI. Now you are probably thinking that you are getting ROI, so why break your bank on video creation for your website? You are ignoring the fact that if you do it, you are paying extra money to your workforce to generate ROI that you could have achieved earlier by having designed videos. It’s easy math and very valuable economically.

8. Vibrant Colours

Many websites have a similar look because they appear to use the same pattern of colours, as it was designed in a rule book to never look beyond the limited pattern and find your muse. For over the past many years, designers have stuck with the same colour combination – but now, many brands are experimenting with colours and trying variations in their colour pattern.

Technology has also helped in enhancing the colour experience. People can now enjoy enriched colours with their LED display devices. However, the shift is happening in the web design industry, but still a long way to go. Many brands are now demanding the apt new avatar, leaving the old behind – and this has pushed the rivals to revamp colour patterns for their brands.

9. Internet of Things (IoT)

It is a computing concept that brings forward the concept of connecting physical objects with the internet and trying to make it easier to identify them with other operating systems. It could include other technologies, such as wireless technologies, QR codes and sensor technology.

Software programming, hardware coding, networking, systems integration and UI / UX, mobile device creation, machine learning and analysis of different tools will be needed to make it possible.

10. Conversational Interfaces

Comprehending how you think about your customers and everything they need will be absolutely crucial to know how to implement new technologies. And that’s definitely true of another major cultural change on the web: conversational interfaces. Because the major problems here are not going to be technical ones; they are going to be human ones.

Conversational interfaces are very closely associated with the issues surrounding inclusive design: conceptual models, vocabulary, trust, etc.

11. Web Animation

If Chatbots carry off, abilities in copywriting can become as crucial for the business as expertise in visual design right now. And here’s another creative skill that’ll be more and more in demand: animation.

Yeah, we once ignored tacky, distracting and obtrusive UI animations. But they have recently made a comeback as a productive way to provide immediate feedback when a consumer takes action and to direct them easily throughout the way.

12. 360-DEGREE VIDEO

The 360-degree video has recently become a common occurrence in the web world. Most websites offer a panoramic video these days, so end-users get to see it most of the time. Most people experience VR with 360-degree footage. Everything becomes easier to handle in a 360-degree video experience when you have adequate and appropriate experience with VR technology.