2023 is already upon us! And with the new year, new digital trends are coming in. Although 2023 will rely heavily on minimalism, some trends from last year are still very present. The concept of “split-screen” is still present, the hidden menus are being used more and more and theasymmetry is still in the spotlight. To learn more about these trends, I invite you to consult our article last year on 2019 web design trends.

But what can you expect over the next year?

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Muted colors take over bright colors

Over the past few years, we've seen the rise of bright colors as brands aim to differentiate themselves from their competitors. But in 2023, we're going to see a step back from these bright colors and adopt softer color palettes.

The muted colors have been slightly desaturated with black, white, or a complementary color. They are basically the opposite of bright colors. Don't worry, the design world won't be any less colorful this year. The colors will simply be less abrasive.

As you can see below, the Norwegian agency Gyro uses various variations of attenuated colors in random rotation on their home page:

The site The Collective also use muted colors in an asymmetric composition with geometric accents:

Trends often emerge when industry giants make use of them. So it is interesting to note that even Apple has begun a change in the color palette of its products. You guessed it, the muted colors are put forward:

Therefore, if you want to update the design of your site to the 2023 flavor, we recommend that you start with a more subtle, or even slightly retro color palette. Simply use your brand colors as a starting point to create a complete secondary color palette by adding black or white.

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Hidden text and images

Hiding images and text is not a new technique in the design world, but it still looks pretty modern in 2023. As it leaves much of the image hidden, it allows for a mysterious and minimalistic look. In 2023, designers will continue to create compositions with image and text masking, of course relying on maxi typography to obtain the latter.

The Australian agency Another Colour uses the mask in a simple but effective way when scrolling the page, in addition to highlighting a wide variety of colors in gradients:

In the second example, you will be able to observe a more original use designed by the Swiss agency. Castor & Pollux. The circle-shaped mask will draw the user's attention by allowing a preview of the background image when the cursor is moved, in addition to encouraging them to scroll the page using an arrow positioned in the center of the circle:

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New wave of gradients

Over the past few years, gradients have developed more actively. In some years, solid colors seem to take over, but gradients are still omnipresent.

This year, gradients are going through an experimental phase. As a result, we can now see lots of ways to use them. It can be a simple fixed transition between two colors or a smooth animated transition from one color to the other.

The site Digital Design Days is a good example of using gradients in combination with muted colors and oversized typography:

The company Rload also stands out with the use of the pink to mauve gradient as the only color accent:

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The use of 3D

The importance of 3D graphics has already been recognized in the gaming and movie industries, and web design will be no exception! Using 3D design is more appealing and will increase interest in your brand.

What has held back this trend is technology and the (previously) high price. Technology now makes it possible to design in 3D without top-level equipment, opening the doors to more and more designers.

The site Fishing the Feed uses 3D Illustrations with a geometric flavor in order to provide an immersive experience to its users:

The company I-Jump also makes good use of animated 3D objects, in addition to using a palette of muted color gradients:

For its part, the company Binary Blocks has also started animating custom 3D illustrations at various locations on their website:

Until virtual reality becomes more affordable, hyper-realistic 3D is the best way to create an immersive experience on your site. This is not only an advantage visually, but also for the user experience: interactive 3D design encourages users to stay longer.

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Minimalism

Most of the other trends in this article are a logical continuation of trends that were popular in the past. For example, muted colors take the place of bright colors and abstract illustrations replace realistic icons.

However, the shift towards minimalist design has certainly been motivated by the need for better loading times. The best way to get there? Reduce the weight of the pages. So it's not surprising to see a significant simplification in website designs this year.

If you didn't know, Google rewards fast-loading pages with better positions in search rankings. This is of paramount importance for a lot of SEO-focused businesses.

The Italian agency Andstudio designed a very minimalist and monochrome homepage with the only emphasis on oversized typography that catches the eye at first glance:

Jakub Cech use a similar strategy, in addition to including muted color in their design:

A plain color background and a modular design will facilitate the adaptation of these homepages to different user platform formats. Sometimes, when a business uses a large photo, video, or illustration, adapting to mobile screen formats isn't as easy as it should be.

This is another positive aspect of these minimalist pages: they are much easier to navigate. Instead of distracting elements, messages or information stand out instantly.
That being said, it's not forbidden to use images in your designs. Just make sure that the rest of the page is easy to navigate and that your images are optimized. An image is not always worth a thousand words, especially if it slows down the loading of your site.

Oversized and bold typography

Web design strategies and techniques have evolved considerably over the years. Some trends that were popular only a year ago are no longer popular. Companies strive to create and implement innovative and unique designs for their websites in order to stand out from the many competitors and meet user expectations.

Typography as a visual is not entirely a new trend. However, while prior to 2020, the typefaces used were fairly traditional, the new generation of fonts is about to be bolder.

The company's website Binary Blocks is a good example of a successful combination of minimalism and oversized, bold typography in order to catch the user's attention without overloading the page:

Pioneer Square Labs And Spatzek Studio have when they opted for more traditional fonts, but with a lot of impact:

Being a temporary promotional site, the designers of the movie site Knives Out were able to afford the use of a bolder font:

Oversized lettering is growing in popularity as companies strive to make the design of their websites as simple as possible. Extraordinary typography has obvious advantages. On the one hand, you can draw attention to your brand or business objective by putting it in large print on the home page of your website. Visitors will remember what was written in bold and will be more likely to come back to your platform.

And, of course, typography will allow you to take advantage of the power of search engine optimization by using quality, targeted keywords.

Nevertheless, it is important not to overlook the base: simplicity and readability. Taking things to the extreme with illegible fonts in a vain attempt at creativity can be counterproductive. Next, it is important to think about how these texts will be adapted to mobile screens. The problem is that the typeface used on a big screen may not be as good for a small screen. Don't overlook your mobile users in favor of desktop traffic.

Animations instead of videos

Illustration animation tends to take less time to load than animated images such as high-resolution videos. Not only do these motion graphics add character and personality to your brand when executed well, but built-in animations, GIFs, and custom illustrations can help you illustrate what you stand for and tell your story in a way that's original, clear, and confident. Animating different elements on your site will attract the eye of users and it will arouse much more interest in your product or service.

Different ways to integrate them into your site:

• Transition between pages
• Hover effects
• Animating the logo when the site loads
• Animated illustrations (Motion Design)

Castor & Pollux is also a good example for this trend, since the agency added a colorful touch to its minimalist site by integrating a colored page transition: The website of Hotel St-Régis in Venice demonstrates a lot of refinement with a simple logo animation upon loading and several micro-animations that make navigation more interesting and fluid for the user:Voice InterfacesWith millions of devices hosting intelligent virtual assistants such as Siri, Google Now, and Cortana, more and more people are adopting voice as a substitute for text. Primarily for the convenience of speaking directly into a device, rather than taking the time to enter a request manually. Web developers can exploit and simplify navigation for these users by integrating voice commands into your platforms. Things may have started slowly, but the popularity of voice control and input has finally reached its peak. The following statistics illustrate why and how voice is one of the most important web design trends for years to come:

• Globally, smart speaker deliveries grew by nearly 200% in 2018
• 55% of households are expected to have smart speakers by 2022
• 65% of 25-49 year olds talk to their voice devices at least once a day
• 61% of 25-64 year olds say they will use their voice devices more in the future

The introduction of voice interfaces by large companies is still relatively slow. Nonetheless, evidence suggests that it is only a matter of time before voice becomes the primary or exclusive input/control option for users.Artificial intelligenceThe traditional home page as it is currently known is about to be replaced by landing pages that are more targeted, personalized, and tailored to user needs.Advanced machine learning will help web developers and UX/UI designers capture user information based on the History of their browser and their location, for example.

In turn, this information will help us create relevant web pages that allow users to reach the type of information, product, or service they are looking for (for example, in an e-commerce website).

Artificial intelligence is not a new player in the world of web design and development. Any automated system that provides a personalized experience based on user preferences and user behaviors is associated with an AI.

It's a matter of time before the average web user starts to expect — and demand — much more multi-dimensional personalization of their online experiences. He will quickly get used to the fact that the websites he visits and interacts with know what he wants before he is even aware of it.

Horizontal scrolling

We've noticed that more and more websites are using different scrolling techniques to provide a unique user experience. A typical scrolling experience is, of course, vertical. Horizontal scrolling is a UX design trend that disrupts operation in a satisfactory manner, attracting users' attention while remaining simple and functional.

The web site Prevint combines several New Year trends below: horizontal scrolling, oversized typography, and muted colors. You can even observe a subtle use of the gradient in the transition from one color to another.

In the following example, the photographer Damian Kujawa also uses several of the current trends: minimalism, oversized typography and, of course, horizontal scrolling.

In conclusion

Current trends follow the progression of web consumer devices and technologies. At the moment, everything is focused around the mobile. The rapid advances and sophistication of mobile technology have transformed the way the world accesses and interacts with websites.

However, the future of popular web design trends will continue to be determined by one thing only: user preferences. Theoretically, it is possible for the tastes, preferences, and expectations of the typical Internet user to change radically at any time. If consumers suddenly start reacting negatively to an asymmetric layout, for example, it is inevitable that this trend will disappear.

Are you planning to revisit your site this year? Do not hesitate to consult our achievements and to contact our team for a free quote!