If you were to look at your website with a fresh pair of eyes, would you be impressed or would you instantly bounce off? The design of the web tends to progress at a steady and gradual pace. However, the global pandemic meant more people were spending more time at home and online.
This shift of digital acceleration increased the momentum of web-based design trends, making it crucial for businesses to incorporate these innovative must-haves within their websites to maintain long term success online.
With this fast paced development happening, we take a look at what trends we think you should look out for in 2022.
Dark mode
Cue Amy Wineouse “Back to Black” because we can expect to see this trend make an even stronger statement across the web in 2022. We first saw dark mode take off in 2016 on Twitter. Now, in 2021, we are seeing more and more designers embracing this darkened aesthetic.
However, dark mode is nothing new. Remember Matrix digital rain? In a bid to encourage people who weren’t used to that kind of interface, screens were gradually adapted to resemble paper (black on white). You could suggest the conversion back to dark mode is not only motivated by its sense of elegance and sleek design, but how it helps to reduce eye strain and battery consumption.
Users are also ever increasingly wanting to have control over what they’re seeing now we are comfortable with digital interfaces which is why we think this trend is here to stay.
Colourful Minimalism
Minimalism (sometimes referred to as flat design in web design) is a strategy used to convey the message without unnecessary noise or distracting elements. It can help make a website feel balanced and uncrowded, creating less distractions which can increase engagement by allowing content to become focal points.
With these benefits it has been a popular approach for some time, once again a trend dominated by Apple. It’s typically been associated with a lot of white space however in 2022 we are expecting to see more experimentation with colourful minimalism. Dropbox.design does this incredibly well, with bold background colours and clean typography it demonstrates all minimalist websites don’t have to be bland!
Organic shapes
In 2019 we saw geometric shapes become a leading visual trend, acting as bold, engaging statements across flat designs. Now, we can expect to see organic shapes dominating 2022. These quirky liquid shapes can create character and draw attention across a website. Combining these with illustrations can help you create something really unique and captivating across a website.
A more fluid design is easier on the eye and is a great way to break up sections of a website, which leads to the story being told successfully. Will you be incorporating organic shapes in your website’s design this year?
3D interactive elements
Web design trends are always driven by new technology, therefore it’s no surprise that we are seeing more and more sites utilising 3D interactive design. Along with advances in technology there’s been a demand to create more quality media and not just the usual still images for a while. In turn this has created a lot of captivating and engaging websites much like Superlists website.
Although it requires a higher level of skill and collaboration you certainly reap the benefits by creating a more engaging and interactive user experience. In 2022, we could see designers take 3D to new heights.
Blurred and Colourful Backgrounds
Gradients are back and are popular as ever before. By offering depth, they give an inviting and realistic touch to your designs. Real life isn’t made of flat colours, so the more colours the better to nail a more contemporary looking gradient. An extension of this trend is the use of a Gaussian Blur effect. In simple terms, it’s a technique that reduces noise and smooths over an image to create a blur effect using this alongside gradients gives a soft subtle touch of colour.
There are numerous ways to make great use of this technique. Gucci Beauty’s website offers a nice interactive experience with alternating soft gradients, whereas Stripe demonstrates a more vibrant style. With a multitude of ways to use this effect we can expect to see influence on website design in 2022.
Horizontal Scrolling / Creative Scrolling
With attention spans shrinking and instant gratification rising (thanks TikTok), viewers are wanting to have information as quick as ever. One trend taking on this challenge is the use of Creative Scrolling, an example of this would be Long Scrolling. Apple has been doing this effectively for their product pages, like for the new iPhone 13. There’s a lot of information that needs to be conveyed but they create a completely immersive browsing experience by pulling out strong imagery, large typography, creating a long page but you are treated to a wide range of visual treats.
Another example taking centre stage is Horizontal scrolling. It’s one clear way to avoid content going ‘below the fold’. Again, it allows for a nice flow of storytelling and certainly makes a webpage more memorable and appealing. This attractive and functional approach tends to be best suited to websites that contain a lot of visual content, like portfolio websites or online catalogues.
Do you think we’ve missed any trends which could dominate or even drop off the map in 2022? Let us know by tweeting us at @supremohq
