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When it comes to trends in creative disciplines, it’s quite easy to get a bit snobby. However, you will like to agree that creativity is like a conversation. And in this chaotic, sprawling interview, trends are the main threads. Your choice of adopting or resisting the trend depends on your creative decisions.
Just about last year, I was with Jackr design team, and we were sharing ideas about what will define web design in the year 2018. Below are some of the conclusions of my conversation with Midren, Romero, and Nathan.
1. Illustrations (centre stage)
A challenge that I have often found to be an interesting one in the world of designs is that of proper image selection. I’m used to watching the entire design teams go into a debate and ending up in one of two areas. One is the use of product UI shots with GIFs, while the other is the lifestyle/editorial photography.
You notice the difference in these two areas? The first focuses on the product’s features, functionality, and the other focuses on the effect of the product on people’s life. However, as we dive into 2018, we will continue to see the use of illustrators in both product design marketing. The reason this happens gets me fascinated, as I consider the use of illustration an outdated trend that took the better part of the 60s.
The use of illustrations can be compelling as they help to bring an abstract concept to life. It also helps to solve the representational challenge posed by photography.
2. More oblique and organic shapes
I remember browsing the web a few years ago, and the standard card-based UIs dominate all web and mobile designs. Until just recently when most of these sharp-edged cards got replaced with the rounded cornered cards. It will be safe to say we are to expect more of this in 2018.
Also, have you noticed the transition in background designs? They now abound with blobs of colours, diagonals as well as dashes of the real world rendered in an almost cartoonish form. Although I don’t think designers are just turning to the use of organic curves as a way out of the box. A lot of them are looking to freshen up their designs to have a different perspective.
3. More pervasive interactions and animations
It is not uncommon to find information yearning for attention when you visit websites. Most times I scroll through a web page, and an icon slides in to get my attention. This should obviously not be overused. Too much animation can undoubtedly give your web users an awful experience. However, if done right, animation can help focus the attention of the visitor to the right content and hence ensure that no vital part of the web page is left out.
A good example is the Black Sheep’s website. I was scrolling through this amazing website built by Heco Partners, and there is a highlighting of the current line I am that helps to keep me focused. In addition to this, a series of tooltips also direct my attention to important notes.
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More use of animations and pervasive interactions is expected to occur in 2018.
4. Navigation menus (floating)
One major trend that has been going on lately and is sure to continue to 2018 is the floating navigation menu. It’s a cool way of keeping all the navigational control of the website at the fingertip of the user.
I see the idea of detaching and keeping the nav from the rest of the site’s design appealing, as it gives the feeling that the navigation is not just peculiar to a single page but is seen as a global object. I will also suggest that a drop shadow is added to the nav bar to shift it from the very top of the site.
5. CSS Grids
I expect to see more use of CSS grids in the year 2018. CSS grids are generally the very first real layout system that is mainly designed for the web. Its ways of organising content into rows and columns give all the flexibility that a developer needs.
6. Video tag
A lot of people out there including me find it hard to convey complex information through visual means. An ordinary still image can only show you what it is and not how you can use it. There are quite some reasons to adopt the use of this element.
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Some of the reasons I think they are great are as follows:
- They blend seamlessly with the design without the use of YouTube or Vimeo video
- No matter the number of colours, gradients or the details in an image, its qualities remains high.
- There is an option for looping, to ensure that the details are not missed out, and it remains synced.
Summary
Whenever I think of coming up with this list, I usually feel that I am overwhelmed as there is a lot I will like to mention. A lot of great designs are expected to continue through 2018 as some old ones finally die off.