The 10 web design trends to watch out for soon

Published by Alexandra
5 Mins

Contents

Muted colors take over from bright colors
Hidden text and images
New wave of gradients
The use of 3D
Minimalism
Bold, oversized typography
Animations to replace videos
Voice Interfaces
Artificial intelligence
Horizontal scrolling
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2023 is already upon us! And with the new year comes new digital trends. Although 2023 will focus a lot on minimalism, some of last year's trends are still very present. The split-screen concept is still present, hidden menus are more and more used andasymmetry is still in the spotlight. To learn more about these trends, I invite you to check out our article from last year on 2019 web design trends.

But what can you expect in the coming year?

Muted colors take over from bright colors

In recent years, we've seen the rise of bright colors as brands aim to differentiate themselves from their competitors. But in 2023, we'll see a retreat from these bright colors and embrace 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 less colorful this year. The colors will simply be less abrasive.

As you can see below, the Norwegian agency Gyro uses different variations of muted colors in random rotation on their homepage:

The Collective also uses muted colors in an asymmetrical composition with geometric accents:

Trends often make their appearance when industry giants make use of them. So it's interesting to note that even Apple has initiated a change in the color palette of its products. You guessed it, muted colors are coming to the fore:

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

Hidden text and images

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

The Australian agency Another Colour uses the mask in a simple but effective way to scroll the page, in addition to putting forward a large variety of colors in gradients:

In the second example, you can see a more original use designed by the Swiss agency Castor & Pollux. The mask in the shape of a circle will attract the user's attention by allowing a preview of the background image when the cursor is moved, in addition to encouraging the user to scroll down the page using an arrow positioned in the center of the circle:

New wave of gradients

In recent years, gradients have become more active. 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 many ways to use them. It can be a simple fixed transition between two colors or a smooth animated transition from one color to another.

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

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

The use of 3D

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

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

Fishing the Feed uses 3D illustrations with a geometric flavor to provide an immersive experience for its users:

I-Jump also makes good use of animated 3D objects, in addition to using a gradient palette of muted colors:

Binary Blocks has also started animating custom 3D illustrations in different places 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 a visual benefit, but also a user experience benefit: interactive 3D design encourages users to stay longer.

Minimalism

Most of the other trends in this article are logical continuations 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 driven by the need for better loading times. The best way to achieve this? Reduce the weight of the pages. So it's not surprising to see a significant simplification in web designs this year.

If you didn't know, Google rewards fast-loading pages with better placements in search rankings. This is of paramount importance to many SEO-focused businesses.

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

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

A solid color background and modular design will make it easier to adapt these homepages to different user platform formats. Sometimes, when a business uses a large photo, video or illustration, adapting to mobile screen sizes is not as easy as it should be.

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

Bold, oversized typography

Web design strategies and techniques have evolved considerably over the years. Some trends that were popular just a year ago are no longer popular. Companies are striving 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 before 2020, the typographic fonts used were rather traditional, the new generation of fonts is about to be bolder.

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

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

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

Oversized lettering is gaining popularity as companies strive to keep their website designs as simple as possible. Oversized typography has some obvious benefits. For one, you can draw attention to your brand or business purpose by putting it in large type on your website's homepage. Visitors will remember what was written in bold and will be more likely to return to your platform.

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

Nevertheless, it is important not to neglect the basics: simplicity and readability. Taking things to the extreme with unreadable fonts in a vain attempt to be creative can be counterproductive. Next, it is important to think about how these texts will be adapted to mobile screens. The problem is that typography used on a large screen may not work as well on a small screen. Don't neglect your mobile users in favor of desktop traffic.

Animations to replace videos

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

Different ways to integrate them into your site:

  • Transition between pages
  • Hovering effects
  • Animation of the logo when the site is loaded
  • Animated illustrations (Motion Design)

Castor & Pollux is also a good example of this trend, as the agency added a colorful touch to its minimalist site by integrating a colorful page transition:

The St. Regis Hotel in Venice website shows a lot of refinement with a simple logo animation on loading and several micro-animations that make the navigation more interesting and fluid for the user:

Voice Interfaces

With millions of devices hosting intelligent virtual assistants such as Siri, Google Now and Cortana, more and more people are adopting voice as a replacement for text. Mainly for the convenience of speaking directly into a device, rather than taking the time to manually type in a request. Web developers can leverage and simplify navigation for these users by integrating voice commands into your platforms.

Things may have started out slow, but the popularity of voice control and input has finally hit its stride. The following statistics illustrate why and how voice is one of the most important web design trends for years to come:

  • Globally, shipments of smart speakers increased by nearly 200% in 2018
  • 55% of households expected to own 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 enterprises remains relatively slow. Nevertheless, evidence suggests that it is only a matter of time before voice becomes the primary or exclusive input/control option for users.

Artificial intelligence

The traditional homepage as we know it today is about to be replaced by more targeted, personalized landing pages tailored to users' needs.

Advanced machine learning will help web developers and UX/UI designers capture user information based on browser history and 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 behaviors is associated with AI.

It's only a matter of time before the average web user begins to expect - and demand - much more multidimensional personalization of their online experiences. They will quickly become accustomed to the fact that the websites they visit and interact with know what they want before they even know it.

Horizontal scrolling

We have 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 trend in UX design that disrupts functionality in a satisfying way, grabbing users' attention while remaining simple and functional.

The Prevint website combines several trends of the new year below: horizontal scrolling, oversized typography and muted colors. You can even see a subtle use of gradient in the transition from one color to another.

In the following example, 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 consumption devices and technologies. Right now, it's all about 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: user preferences. Theoretically, it's possible that the typical web user's tastes, preferences and expectations will change dramatically at any time. If consumers suddenly start to react negatively to an asymmetrical layout, for example, it is inevitable that this trend will disappear.

Are you planning to redesign your website this year? Feel free to consult our achievements and contact our team for a free quote!