Web Design Trends: 2020 Edition
2020 is opening up new opportunities for UI design agency to prove themselves. Not all trends change from year to year, but there are certainly some new ones. Let’s take a look at what will be accessible in UI/UX design this year. The forecast is based on an in-depth analysis of the colors, typography, shapes, and sizes that show the works of various prestigious world agencies and winners of a range of competitions and festivals.
Fast Site Loading
Website loading speed is a pain for many developers, designers, and SEO specialists as well. It is something that everyone works on steadily, but not always with success. But if a website loads for more than 3 seconds it has no chance to succeed - and that’s it.
To be trendy and not lose customers, use these simple hacks to increase page loading speed:
Reduce the amount of graphics.
Reduce the number of browser requests. You can do this through the Developer Tools tab in Google Chrome.
Connect caching information. For example, when saving a password, login or some pictures in the “memory” of the user’s device, they will spend less time waiting for the page to load.
Flashy Colors
Love for flashy colors, such as bright red, saturated blue, neon green, came to web design from interior design, where designers used such tones to paint walls or to place accents. Of course, this trend is contradictory, but for the presentation of the services of creative professionals (fashion photographers, stylists, clothing designers, colorists) it is a great way to stand out from the competition.
How to use flashy colors and not to look weird:
unusual photo and video content, with alot of abstraction and unique angles;
minimalism in typography - usually it is one font in black color, and headings - bright color;
the colors, although light, should be combined and be comfortable in perception, as in one of the best templates with the technique with flashy colors;
simple animations like parallax.
Adaptive Design
A trend that appeared several years ago and was recently rediscovered after 2 cases. The publication of research results in SEO and marketing showed a decrease in the level of conversions when there was an absence of a mobile version. The second situation is when Google announced that the presence of mobile-first UX/UI designs would influence their ranking in search engines.
Briefly about the trend:
you should adapt the site for at least three types of devices - smartphones, tablets, laptops;
no need to place absolutely all design elements in all three versions - only those that are necessary for standard usability;
design of the site should look harmonious on all devices, as is the case with the multi-purpose template for landing pages and online stores.
Minimalism
Many novice designers believe that this style and trend is the easiest to execute because there is a minimum number of details. But sometimes too strong of a desire to comply with minimalism leads to a deterioration in usability, and despite the site’s beauty, it becomes impractical and inconvenient.
So due to this trend, you need to understand the basics of the technique:
Before creating a design, carefully study the prototype and understand which elements should be left and which take up space;
use the “negative space” technique, when there is simply emptiness between blocks or individual parts, no “decorations” in the form of pictures or text;
spectacular typography, which can be an accent, is the brightest element in the design. In 2020, minimalism will be appropriate in the niches of consulting, finance, training.
UI Landmark
This trend appears in the arrangement of objects on the page and blocks. It began to develop in 2019 actively and will become even more popular in 2020.
The main characteristics of the trend:
the large font in the first block;
on the first screen, there is only a title, without a description or with it, but the main emphasis is on the text, and not on the background photo;
flat design elements work in the form of simple illustrations and geometric shapes;
a lot of abstraction and creative solutions; considerable distance between elements and blocks.
Gradients
A gradient is an excellent tool for creating new shades and corporate colors. In 2020, a gradient will be accessible not only in the creative industry but also in strict business topics.
To beautifully design a site using a gradient, you must adhere to the following recommendations:
immediately determine exactly which parts or elements of the page will be with an angle - buttons, background, headers, pictures, icons, logo, other (not all at once);
Do not use conflicting colors, like neon or warm with cold;
Do not forget that the gradient is built on the play of light, and you need to think about where it will be - in the center, side, or only bottom or top. Gradients can work on any website, from entertainment to the B2B segment.
Round Lines & Simple Geometry
A few years ago, geometric shapes were used mainly for icons. Today they can be a central design element and part of a corporate identity. So that the shapes and lines do not look dull and corny, designers turn them into 3D objects, use a gradient to fill them, and introduce futuristic details. Thus, flat design can even be transformed into entire plots and pictures and “animated” using the parallax effect or motion design. This trend is now accessible in cosmetology, medicine, pharmaceuticals, and construction.
Visual Strain
The basis of this trend is typography. With it, you need to “play around” to achieve the desired effect - deformation. The pattern will be especially relevant among social and motivational projects because its essence is to make a person understand what is written in the picture and understand the nature of the message through unusual text design. It is almost graffiti, but more perceptually convenient.
There are no direct pictures, and the designer’s task is to create supposedly dynamic images by changing the width and height of the letters, reducing or increasing the distance between them, the random placement of elements, etc.
Also, with the help of visual deformation, it is possible to design a portfolio unusually (this is especially true for creative professionals).
Creative Serifs in Font
Previously, serifs were used only in logos, and on the sites, there were mainly fonts without them for the convenient perception of information. Today there are several hundred fonts, many of which are serif, and are great for small text.
In 2020, what curls in fonts the designer will use will depend on the type of activity of the company or individual specialist.
Custom Block Placement
In 2020, square grids will become irrelevant. A destructive design will replace them - when there are no clear boundaries between the blocks, all elements located in random order. And most importantly - all this is done taking into account usability and user experience; otherwise, such a creative solution will only interfere and not help attract customers.
Trend Characteristics:
information can be placed in different places - in one block on the left, in another - on the right, in the third - from the center;
the order of blocks can be “strange” - information about the team will be at the end, reviews - right after the first screen, etc., but this is justified and necessary;
the more creative the solutions, the more relaxed. Maybe, by description, it reminds you of a terrible dream of a designer, layout designer, or SEO specialist. Still, in reality, sites with the introduction of such a trend can look stylish.
Summing It Up
These trends are not the ultimate truth but simply some help in creating stylish and modern sites. Whether you use them at work or not is your own business. But, at the very least, these ideas have inspired you to explore your creativity and explore new, unusual UX/UI solutions in 2020.
I’m a Digital Producer/UX Designer.