“Creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.” – Albert Einstein
With every year new techniques and trends making into the foray. It is important that the web designers play with the new motifs, experiment and explore to see how customers react to the new change. However, the question is, whether to follow the crowd or to do something diametrically opposite.
Following the trend means you are going with the style that has been proven to work. On the contrary, to be creative and stand out in the ‘crowd’, you might decide not to follow the trend. No matter what you choose, knowing the latest techniques make it easier to decide whether to follow a trend or go on a different path altogether with the designing.
Getting to know the techniques is not that difficult; you just have to look around and identify what people are getting into or buying. However, understanding a trend and its emergence (the reason behind its popularity) can be difficult. The rise of new techniques in web designing is often the result of evolving technologies, SEO enhancement, users’ behavioral changes, and more.
In this blog, we will discuss 7 modern web design techniques of 2019. They can be categorized under the following headings:
- Fonts.
- Minimalism & Diversity.
- Shape, Color & Customized Design.
- Interaction & Navigation.
Recommended for you: Essential 11 Website Design Trends for 2019 You Can’t Ignore.
Fonts
Brands are letting go of age-old techniques and adopting new fonts to differentiate themselves from the competition.
#1 Serif
There was a time when San Serifs was used only for the digital content while Serifs was used only for print. Today, designers and brands are no longer sticking to that tradition; instead, they are using different types of Serif font (wiki). So why this change? Often a critique can judge a company for not deviating from Sans Serif as an indication that it still follows an old ideology.
However, the fact that many brands are moving towards a variety of Serif fonts for their logo writing. This can soon become the hallmark of companies becoming matured. It is a technique that is staying in 2019 along with outlined writing style of the brand logo.
This technique of writing in a variety of Serif fonts with an outlining is catching among top brands. The inside space of the alphabet is emptied that helps in holding the attention of the viewer.
Minimalism & Diversity
Diversity in designing the web has become the norm. Most companies are looking for designs that catch the eyes of the clients. But do not overload them with too many visuals. Hence web designers have the tough task of putting across that diversity on the web page with a minimalist approach.
#2 Glitch Art
The retro art form has made its way back in the web designing world. Along with the muted colors, the designer is using Glitch Art (wiki). The idea of glitch art becoming a technique is maybe because we are so reliant on computers that we can’t imagine a life without them. Many fears that computers might take over the world. Hence the idea of breaking down the technology is becoming appealing. It allows the viewer to see the warped, glitchy, and double exposed parts of the technology that has become part of our lives.
The execution of glitch art is both alluring as an idea and from a design execution perspective. It provides a strange aspect of the time that we are living in with the element of uncertainty of the future. This web designing art form heightens the sense of disorientation while giving a distinct mind-blowing look.
In Glitch art, a designer does not have an option of stuffing the page with too many images and content. The art itself needs to speak. It is thus ensuring that there is a minimum but relevant information that attract the viewers without distracting them.
#3 Inclusivity
The full form www is ‘world wide web,’ and since the internet is connecting everyone across the world, it is vital that the websites should reflect every culture, people of a different color, gender, identities, and age. The content hence has to be inclusive rather than having stock photos of either ‘white’ toned figured female models or ‘white’ gym-going, pumped up male models grinning at the viewer.
The trend now is that when a company establishes or re-establishes its brand, it makes people from all parts of the globe feel welcomed to its digital space. This trend is here to stay as web designers are now required to find techniques for creating designs that are inclusive and showcases the diversity of the human race.
You may like: 7 Tools to Ease the Logo Design Process for your Business.
Shape, Color & Customized Design
Internet users now don’t have the patience to view websites that are cluttered visually and have less sharp-edged geometric shapes. Viewers are looking for fluidity in the designs of the pages that cater specifically to that particular brand and company. As a result, the way designers now use shape, color, and designing of the web page is very different from the last few years.
#4 Black & White with Organic Shapes
Designers are using black and white to lure viewers to the pages. This is a unique way of showcasing the brand as when other colors are missing, we see the textures, shapes more clearly.
While white is more reserved and cleaner, black is strong and assertive. It creates a unique balance, the yin, and yang for the website. So, at times, to create a dramatic effect, the designer leaves plenty of white space or black space and adds a minimal amount of color on the item that needs to be highlighted. This is great to lead a user to a call-to-action button.
Along with this, the transitions between black & white, and even other colors are done with smooth edges and organic shapes.
#5 Customized Design
All companies want to stand out among the crowd and be distinguishable from the competitors. Hence the use of old generic templates for designing is taking a backseat. Designers now understand the demand of the clients to use templates that have more customization capabilities, in case the client choose not to design the website from scratch that takes more time and effort.
Companies are now moving away from ‘template format’ for web designing. Instead, they are embracing the cohesive and unique way of presenting their brand with customized pages. These have an exclusive illustration that gives space to creativity for the brand while creating a personality for the brand.
Interaction & Navigation
Any website in today’s age will lose viewers if it fails to be interactive and does not offer smooth and seamless navigation. One of the important aspects of web designing is providing the viewer’s multiple interactive options as well as a web page that is mobile friendly.
#6. Micro-interactions
These have been in use for a long time, but in 2019, most web designers and developers are using them since they enable a more engaging experience. Micro-interaction is a specific response the site gives to the viewer every time an action is taken. This engages the audience more while subtly transmitting information. Micro-interactions also provide a smarter look to the webpage.
#7. Pop-Ups and Navigation
Viewers are least excited about the pop-ups. They disrupt the user’s webpage experience and stops them from scrolling or take any other actions that they wish. It’s time for the pop-ups to go. Also, with Google’s announcement of punishing a site with its SEO ranking if they use such pop-ups, is forcing designers to stay away from them.
Additionally, with most people browsing websites on mobile devices, designers now create websites that offer thumb-friendly navigation.
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Conclusion
It is important that as a web designer, you should know the latest techniques. Whether to incorporate it in your next design or to do away with it depends on the brand you are working for and other requirement constraints.
As a designer, you need to bear in mind whether all the latest techniques work in your benefit or not. Decide carefully on the ones that work for the brand and helps in connecting with the target customers better. Select only those web design techniques that help in creating a unique website that gets more traction and exposure to the brand. However, often following in-trend things can be beneficial because you can then offer your customers the latest techniques there is in the market.
This article is written by Payal Goyal. Payal is a Content Consultant at Enuke Software, a pioneering Blockchain, and Mobile App Development Company in the USA. She is passionate about the start-up ecosystem, Crypto world, entrepreneurship, latest tech innovations, and all that makes this digital world.
