Web Design Trends That Will Dominate 2015

By Jesse Clayton, Art Director
12/17/2014

2014 is just about in the books and as a website design firm we’ve seen all the trends going around. Numerous have emerged from this past year (and many of them will continue), but we look onward towards the future and what will shape web design in 2015. Below are our top trends that are sure to dominate and you’ll see pop up everywhere.

Responsive as Mandatory

Responsive web design has been a hot topic for the past few years, but this past year it was scalding. Responsive design is of course making your website look great on all screen sizes without having to make a separate mobile site. This helps your SEO and makes it easier to update when anything needs to be changed. More and more websites are now responsive, and designers and coders alike are many times thinking “mobile first.” 

Responsive will now be a mandatory feature that should be included on all websites. There is no longer the option to make a site responsive, that feature will automatically be included on any design and build. With smartphone usage higher than ever, websites absolutely need to look as great on mobile as it does desktop.

Responsive Web Deisgn

Minimalism 

Minimalism has always been a “thing” and a theory designers have followed, but its popularity has skyrocketed over the past year. Apple’s iOS 7 and other platforms helped give minimalism a boost because of their wide spread reach. This technique also plays well with responsive web design, helping make desktop and mobile experiences almost seamless.

Simple colors, less gradients, shadows, and a vast increase in whitespace are trademarks of a minimalist design. We’ll also see one, singular image dominate a web page, flyout menus instead of traditional navigation, and less copy on websites. Designers will get back to basics, but the ability to design for the modern web has become increasingly difficult. With trends and capabilities consistently changing, designers must always be familiar with how a website works alongside with how it looks.

Minimalist Website Design

Web Video Backgrounds

You may have noticed this concept on Cowley’s own home page, but there are an increasing number of websites that are using web video as their background or banners instead of images. Because of advancements in coding ability, it’s become easier to implement a web video background.

Video is also a dynamic medium that can express more than images can. You can expect to see several web designs begin to use this technique as it is still considered “different” than the norm.

Web Video Background Web Design

More Scrolling & Parallax 

One page websites that scroll to reveal more information were extremely popular this year in 2014 and because of that we see this trend continuing strong into 2015. Scrolling and parallax (parallax simply meaning one object on screen moves faster than another) sites gives a designer options to play with and do something unique. With a one page design, responsive layouts and minimalism are also easier to implement.

Scrolling websites are perfect for companies or individuals that don’t have a whole lot of information to say, and many people will be leaning towards simplifying things. This trend is why we see scrolling continuing into 2015 and possibly beyond.

Parallax Website Design

Focus on Typography 

Typography has classically been focused on within printed pieces, but it has been migrating more and more towards the web. A handful of websites can be seen using really amazing fonts and the attention to detail on how the words look really shines through. We see that trend coming more to light in 2015 because of the inherent need to look different from everyone else (and what better way to do that than with a beautiful design).

Typography in Web Design

100% Width

100% width websites simply mean that images or text span the entire length of the browser size. So, instead of being confined to the usual 960px width, images fill up the screen and give the site an ultra modern look. 100% width websites also coincide with minimalism and immediately translate to responsive designs. These kind of sites not only look great, but they give a clean, simple feel that is inviting for the user.

Full Width Web Design

Tiles 

Tiles have been seldom used by the mass of designers, but with the Windows 8 interface and the increased popularity of flat design, tiles fit perfectly. This technique also plays in perfectly to mobile, touch surfaces that a user can navigate easily. Tiles give the unique option of displaying information in a confined box, but isn’t limited to their possibility of live feeds or changing when a mouse hovers over them. Look for tiles to become more popular in 2015 because they are minimal, can span 100% width of the screen, be implemented into scrolling sites, and are incredibly responsive.

Tiles in Web Design

 

Have some trends you think might also dominate 2015? Leave them in the comments below!

 

Disclaimer: The images and screen captures above are not owned by Cowley Associates and full rights are reserved to their respective owners.

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