Web Design Trends 2019
Source of inspiration or mandatory? How much attention should you pay design trends?
Our Advent Calendar door number 5 reveals a topic about web design trends 2019. Inpsyde designer Alina describes and values them. Therefore she clearly focuses on the question if they are usable for a redesign.
Every year there are many new design trends for the coming year. Some are important for a certain time period and further develop, others just came up. So far so good. But what about the working reality of designers? What about website redesign? Should designers pay special attention on web design trends while redesigning and orientate one’s work on it? Or are they more like a source of inspiration? These are questions I would like to answer in my blog post.
So, let’s start with:
Web Design Trends 2019:
Full Width Open Compositions
Not long time ago, websites were built with boxes, frames and closed elements. This changed a lot. Now, open and airy compositions with nearly no boundaries are modern. They stimulate the visitor’s fantasy, who become curious to get more content.
Example: https://www.magicleap.com/
3D elements
The use of 3D elements is something we’ll see more and more. Mostly, you use this stylistic device in combination with strong typography. It creates a very special atmosphere. The 3D look reminds us of reality while the rest of the website takes us back into the digital world.
example: https://www.makereign.com/work/1/wigroup
Anti Gravity
To create a very special effect, designers often combine 3D elements with the so-called non gravity concept. This way you create even more deepness and lightness. So, the weightless optic gives composition this special kind of thing.
example: https://www.behance.net/benfearnley
Vivid Colors
Vibrant and strong colors can be still found in 2019. That’s because vivid colors in combination with strong typography and 3D effects transform each and every composition into uniqueness. They are an eyecatcher on websites to get attention fast.
example: https://www.behance.net/muokkaa
Realism & Flat Elements
Very popular is the combination of opposites as they always pulse, as you know. Realistic objects combined with several structures and flat elements generate different dimensions.
example: https://www.brandaffair.ro/
Doodles, Strokes & Illustrations
Instead of these well-known illustrations which are often used at the moment, you will find freestyle illustrations with chaotic lines and “scribbling” in the future. They are definitely very individual.
example: https://www.secondcityworks.com/
Valuation
If you take a look at these few exemplary design trends, you recognize that each and every trend is very individual. Every stylistic device obtains a certain effect. Therefore not every stylistic devise is useful for every topic. For example, you shouldn’t take vibrant colors, funny illustrations or a lot of 3D typography for a classic firm of undertakers. They would dominate the whole website and fail to represent the topic and wouldn’t affect the target group in a good way.
How to start with a redesign
To make a redesign needs a strategic approach. This is the way you should to it:
- Collect all information like the target group or the goal behind the website
- Define requirements and wishes
- Get design materials like style guides and other documents
- Analyze the current website (pain points, problems, improvement wishes)
- Research and analysis of competition
- Collect ideas with the help of mood boards, scribbles or notices
- Check whether technical realizability
- 1-3 design drafts
- Create the basic design
- Finish screen design
Conclusion
The redesign example shows that you need to decide individually to create a design that really fits. Of course, clients’ wishes, the budget and requirements play a major role when creating a new design.
Often it’s the corporate identity which restricts the usage of elements. That’s why not every design trend can always be realized. And the existing content plays an important role, too. After all, it’s the content that needs to be displayed in a fitting way for the target group. The design needs to take up the topic completely.
From experience, design trends can be realized more often if designers can do whatever they want. But additionally, the target group needs to be very wide. And the less content, the more you can play with design elements.
* Many thanks to José Alejandro Cuffia for the photo we are using in this blogpost header.
