2016 is almost over. A lot of things happened, changed, and improved. A lot of bad things also happened. But when it comes to web design, new trends started to emerge. Now is the perfect time to take a look at what the next year could bring and get your design skills ready for 2017.
- Simple & minimalist website design
- The likely end of flat design
- The use of geometric shapes
- Duotone gradient imagery
- Increased use of videos, animations and GIFs
- Minimal & easy to use navigation
Simple & minimalist website design
Less is more seems to be an emerging trend in web design. As the web exploded, we started adding more and more features to our websites such as sliders, fancy animations and other stuff. All of this led to cluttered web pages where content started to lose its focal point. Recently though, simple website designs are making a comeback and chances are this trend will continue into 2017.
The main advantage of minimalistic designs is that you'll get a fast site that's easy to understand by your visitors, because you eliminate all the distractions or simply make them occupy less space.
The likely end of flat design
Flat design has been dominating the web scene for quite some time now but it also made a lot of sites look and feel the same. Hopefully, 2017 will bring a fresh perspective as we move away from the flat design craze and bring back the creativity and designs that are more imaginative and unique.
The use of geometric shapes
The use of geometric shapes and lines has really taken off in 2016 and this trend seems to continue in 2017. The use of geometry has been implemented in various different ways on websites from circles around images, geometric-heavy photos, and the overall use of lines and patterns in backgrounds and decorative elements. In the case of geometric shapes and lines, you are only limited by your imagination and considering how popular they have been so far, there is no reason not to implement them into the designs of your website.
Duotone gradient imagery
More and more brands are now using duotone overlays in their imagery and photos used on their websites. Some brands are even using two or three color overlays to reflect their entire brand image and these types of images have been proven to be extremely popular on Instagram. While flat design eliminated almost all gradients, these dual tone overlays add a breath of fresh air and replace boring solid color areas that dominated the Internet.
Increased use of videos, animations and GIFs
If you have visited Twitter or other social networks recently, you surely noticed the overwhelming amount of videos and GIFs in your feed. More importantly, social media giants such as Facebook and Instagram give precedence to animated content such as explainer videos which show people how to do something or how something works. Given the popularity of such content, it's safe to assume that the trend will continue in 2017, especially with the use of more sophisticated GIFs, embedded videos and the clever use of SVG and CSS animations.
Minimal & easy to use navigation
Given the increased usage of mobile devices, more and more websites are reducing their navigation, keeping only the bare minimum of links in their navigation menus. The overall trend is to make websites as easy to navigate as possible. Navigation is often reduced to four or five items. This also leads to visitors being able to find content and information they want a lot easier than before which allows them to focus on the content itself, rather than clicking through various menus.
Conclusion: Web design trends in 2017
The year 2017 is sure to bring some interesting trends to the world of web design and they will certainly be seen on some of the best website designs in the upcoming year. From basic geometric shapes and a simple and minimalistic design to animations, videos, SVGs and GIFs, clean and intuitive navigation menus, these web design trends will likely dominate in 2017. In your opinion, are there any other web design trends for 2017 that we didn't mention? If it was up to you, how would you like the web to evolve in the next few years? Feel free to leave a comment below.
