COMING WEB DESIGN TRENDS
I’ve omitted predictions that are too obvious to include: mobile will continue to grow, large image backgrounds will be popular; instead I’ve focused on trends driven by three clear patterns in the current web design landscape: The growing influence of site-builders is forcing web designers to seek out unique craft skills; technology continues to roll onwards, influencing the sites we design; and some of the most established names on the Web have grown too unwieldy to keep pace with demand.
ENDING OF IE
We all agree that IE6 is a terrible browser, and IE7 isn’t much better. However somewhere around IE10 Microsoft got with the program and IE11 speed coupled with standards-compliance makes it one of, if not the best browser in the world.
Knowing Microsoft, IE isn’t going anywhere soon, but it won’t be the company’s preferred browser for much longer: Microsoft are reportedly working on a lightweight Chrome-style browser named Spartan.
What does this mean for Spartan? Well, it’s reasonable to assume that Spartan is being built with the same attitudes that have governed the development of IE11, and that means unprecedented support for newer CSS features. It’s also likely to finally push IE6 and IE7 off the cliff.
MICRO-DESIGN
Responsive design has shaken up the Web in the last few years, and it shows no sign of being supplanted. However, responsive design presents a core set of problems that occur time and again, and web designers have begun to establish common design patterns to resolve those issues; leading to a degree of uniformity.
In 2015 we’ll continue to make use of popular design patterns, and many layouts will appear repetitive, so we’ll focus our creative energies on the smallest details of sites. Micro-copy is already de rigueur, and inspired micro-animation will be huge in 2015.
MOBILE VIDEO
Every aspect of the Web saw huge growth in video in 2014, not least advertising. The one area that lagged behind was mobile video.
Mobile struggles with video, especially for advertising, because the screen real-estate is limited, and too many designers producing video adverts are still relying on the SWF format. That will change in 2015 as the growing mobile web becomes increasingly profitable for big advertising campaigns.
ART DIRECTION
If lettering is a step away from site-builders, then art direction offers the opportunity to embrace them.
Art direction will become increasingly important in 2015 as clients continue the pick up templates for $5 and expect a professional result. The enhancement of mood, and brand through empathic use of images and copy will become bread and butter for designers as services like PSD to HTML become obsolete.
SVG WILL (FINALLY) TAKE OFF
Every single year I predict that SVG will take off, and every single year I’m disappointed.
SVG is the perfect graphic format for the responsive web, and the current fashion for flat design is the ideal opportunity to embrace it.
A little rationality lifts the quality of the debate here. Thanks for coiunibttnrg!