Web Design trends to watch out for in 2017
Menus
Due to the increasing popularity of mobile optimised websites, and smaller screens to view websites on, hamburger menus are fast becoming the best tool for navigation. Hamburger menus allow for drop down menus so we can hide a lot of website ’clutter’ such as social media icons and searchers. It gives an overall cleaner look and makes navigation easier.
Card Design
This style is relatable to Pinterest, Bechance and other gallery website pages. They organise a lot of content into viewable pieces, like cards, displaying an image and a small amount of information. An advantage of card layouts is that they are easily reorganised as different browser window sizes – on mobile you would tend to see them in columns of two, which can expand into more columns on larger screens. Usually cards click through to a page with more content related to the card.
Duotone
Two tone colour schemes look really contemporary in web design, giving a fresh and quirky feel to websites.
Bold Type
big bold typography is best for drawing attention, especially when the rest of the layout is kept clean and minimal. It is best used to get a message or statement across.
Authentic Photos
We’re seeing a rise in businesses choosing to use authentic photography as opposed to generic staged stock photos. There is a real importance in showing real people and the real products they have to offer.
Full Width Imagery
Large images and videos that fill the width of the pages are becoming very popular, they help to draw focus and make people stop and take notice. We love full width videos that become part of homepages.
Animations
Make your website as engaging as possible for users, through the use of GIFs and hovers. Not only does it make your site more engaging but also more fun for the user, this will help to extend the time the user stays on the website.
Cinemagraphs
Cinemagraphs are an up and coming trend which incorporates video work and gifs to create smooth continuous footage to add visual interest to websites. They look really good when displayed full width like we previously mentioned, they are great for grabbing the users attention.
Virtual Reality & 360 Videos
After gaining momentum in 2016 VR is becoming more widely known, with Facebook now supporting 360 footage. We can imagine VR will become more popular in web design as well as drone footage. Watch this stunning example from Conservation International below, “Dive in virtual reality with Ronald Mambrasar, an indigenous fisherman-turned-coral-scientist, and his son, Valen, through crystal-clear waters teeming with fish.”
Overlapping Text & Images
Overlapping text is a trend were seeing more of, instead of sticking to the usual text or image structure this combines both to create interesting visuals.