What Can You Expect from Webdesigns in 2018
It’s a thrilling year for webdesigners. What began as a spin in design practice not so long ago is gradually expanding, and is presumed to become mainstream by the end of 2018. Bye-bye Bootstrap-obedient designs with gentle colours and cautious fonts. This is the era when designers are actually stepping out of the box.
Let’s take a quick look at the attributes that are expected to make a big news this year.
1. Bold colours, gradients and shadows
“Minimal webdesign” has been tattooed on our minds as a sober web page with a light colour scheme on which few tiny elements sit on a stark background.
The new era redefines minimalism with bold colours, saturated gradients and soft stylised shadows. Together, these three form what is termed as Flat design 2.0. It twists the conventional flat design into being more adventurous and lively.
Minimalism allowed designers to create a formal look. In an attempt to connect better with their audience, brands have shifted to bright colours that communicate a friendlier tone.
Take the Scale website for example.
The website is quite minimal with a subtle gradient on a bright colour. The use of long shadows quickly draws attention to the clickable buttons and important sections on the page.
2. Adventurous Typography
“Serif fonts are ideal for print.
Sans-serif fonts are ideal for web”
Well, you can scratch this old lesson off. With device screens becoming smaller and smaller, serif fonts can no longer serve people the way they used to. And this is exactly where sans-serif get back in the game. Apart from user experience, sans-serif fonts are also being mixed with serif fonts to break the tedious pattern followed on almost every website.
Another smart new trend is Typography cutout. It involves showing an image or a video through clear large lettering. Some also throw a block of colour on the image or video. The trick here is to choose the right typeface, use the correct number of letters and distribute them to show the image properly.
One small example of this typography can be found on Nurture Digital.
3. The Mix of Horizontal and Vertical Texts
Texts no longer have to be bound within horizontal lines and left/right/centre alignment. Take What You Can Carry, for example, gives its words the freedom of both horizontal and vertical arrangement. You will also find a block of text diagonally aligned. Surprised?
This new way of placing text on pages not only adds a new dimension but is very refreshing as well.
4. Asymmetry and Brutalism
Free-form design has started taking over the web since last year, with asymmetric and brutalist websites being, perhaps, the best examples.
Asymmetric designs, as you can guess, are not restricted to the usual horizontal or vertical alignments. Take Nextworkplace for instance.
Almost everything from the top banner to the footer seem to be pushed out of place but together they give the website a fresh look and feel.
Brutalism stands a few steps ahead of asymmetry. Brutalist websites break all rules of website design. One good mention can be Apelido & Apelido. If you think that the website was made in the Jurassic age, shake that thought off. Brutalism offers unpolished pages, unconventional navigation, abrupt typography and everything unexpected.
5. Illustrations and Animations
If you browse through some of the best websites these days, you will find that most of them use custom illustrations. Custom illustrations are a great way to present the brand’s image and, in some cases, their work, too. Deda is a wonderful example in this regard. Additionally, illustrations bring in a playful tone to a website.
Similarly, animations can present information in a light-hearted way. It is also a very engaging way to tell a story in just a few seconds. Some websites employ videos for the same purpose. Kitchen Sink Studios do exactly this to bring viewers closer to their team and work process.
6. Whimsical Shapes and Patterns
While talking about freedom of design, how can we miss out on shapes and patterns? Fluid shapes and geometric patterns are on the rise these days. Both stand on opposite poles, and speak about a lot about the tone of the brand. Wise use of shapes and patterns can convey a lot without having to throw in many words.
Neobi nails it with a handful of colourful shapes. The viewer gets the impression that the people behind the screen are uncomplicated and easy to work with.
On the other hand, MSDS Studio puts up a daring look with large patterned letters.
See how they speak different languages?
7. Unconventional Photography
Remember those websites with well-polished people standing in a line wearing their best formals? Well, we all had enough of that, didn’t we? No one is impressed anymore by these studio-shoots trying to convey professionalism through shiny attire.
This is the reason why people are now using more realistic-looking photos on their webpages. More and more companies are trying candid shoots and outdoors, because, c’mon, nobody spends all their time concentrating on their screens inside the office building. Top brands are hiring coloured people for model-shoots. All these are being done keeping brand aesthetics and target audience in mind.
Product designer Helen Tran twists her website with video and photos that show her casual and fun-loving side. The projects speak both for her professional and personal sides.
To conclude, it looks like 2018 will hardly be about being subtle. It’s predicted to be bold and adventurous. So, designers can spread the wings and let their creative geniuses fly. Don’t forget to make the website functional, though.