Top Web Design Trends In 2022 To Watch Out For

With digital technology becoming more accessible today, designers are gaining more momentum in taking liberties with different web design trends. For this year, we foresee a revival of the 90’s aesthetics, an increase in integrated animated interactives, and the resurgence of the surrealist art movements – among the many others. Overall, 2022 at the moment seems to be filled with lots of experimentation, bold movements, and a focus on being fashion-forward to up the ante on the user experience and make it more sensory and visceral. Today, we review the top five web design trends we foresee being incorporated into many more websites this year.

Typographic-Driven Images

There’s no better way to make a statement to your visitors and prospective customers than using words. So while typographic-led images are by no means new, we foresee this trend coming in full force this year. In many cases, these designs usually eschew the conventional hero imageries altogether but rather replace them with intricately designed, unique typography that makes a statement with its visual language, composition, and structure.

Similar to headlines in newspapers, visitors can truly focus on the brand message instead of being distracted by other sensory elements such as videos, pictures, animations, and more. In short, they are simple in their boldness. Additionally, typography provides the freedom and space to experiment with different fonts that integrate shapes, designs, and color schemes. These designs are ideal for future-proofing your business page while distinguishing your brand from your competitors.

90’s-Inspired Graphics

A blast from the past, 90’s nostalgic visuals are coming back to dominate the web design sphere. While the genesis of the World Wide Web may seem like a distant past to many of us today, many web designers today are looking to the ’90s for their muse. The golden decade can be best described as a futuristic nostalgia, where vibrant aesthetics in neon colors were blended with an eclectic amalgamation of different pop, grunge, and punk cultures and movements.

Web designers incorporate this aesthetic by deliberately using dated type fonts like Courier and Akzidenz Grotesk, vibrant animated graphics, abstract shapes, dynamic patterns, color gradients, and visible layout frames. They emulate what a website would look like in the 90s with limited web design tools but in a tasteful and aesthetically-pleasing way. The 90s were all about throwing the status quo and design rules out of the windows by being unique and experimental. Perhaps, a more contemporary and ‘professional’ manifestation of the 90s web design we see in many websites today would be the Memphis style, which includes a combination of primary, pastel, and bright hues.

Animated Interactives

Customers today yearn for more than a strong brand message and high-quality goods and services to be intrigued. They require an interactive UX design that keeps their senses stimulated. With web technologies developing rapidly and being made more accessible to designers, creating a more unique and engaging user experience is possible by using various animated and interactive web design elements that keep visitors interested. One of the most popular interactive effects we predict will continue to be a trend is the hover states, commonly used on ecommerce sites to provide more pictures of the product in different angles, colors, and sizes. This helps to improve the user navigation experience while keeping them entertained and interested in your services and offerings. 

The parallax scrolling effect is another popular interactive web design element that many web designers will incorporate to provide users with a more immersive and engaging experience while navigating the site. The background image and forefront content move at different speed rates to give the feeling of motion, depth, and space. This can be used to spotlight certain content areas that the visitors should pay attention to while making the website more memorable overall.

In some cases, web designers may use animated elements to engage their visitors. For example, new 3D web design technology from webGL allows designers to integrate 3D objects into their interface and allow the audience to understand a certain product or item better. This significantly elongates their time spent on your pages and improves your bounce rate. This could also include kinetic typography, one of the most versatile design trends that could benefit many brands. Moving type fonts can be memorable and can increase brand awareness while differentiating you from your competitors.

Surrealist Revolution

Many brands are looking for new ways to reinvent their web designs to appeal to their customers visually. One particular avant-garde and revolutionary art movement that has been making its round on many web designs lately is surrealism. This art movement refers to the unique and eccentric mixture of elements incorporated into a single design; it positions real-life objects within a scene in a deliberately disorderly form – often making a distinct statement.

Today, the bold and bizarre sells and customers are increasingly captivated and enthralled by strange visual combinations that somehow make sense. Think floating fashion stores on the moon, clothes hanging off trees, and furniture hanging on clouds – or any Dali-inspired reimagination. While it may not work for every brand, this web design can be created using various media formats and imageries. In our opinion, we think that this would be ideal for high-end brands looking to provide their customers with a surrealistic experience to keep them truly engaged.

Real Human Faces

Many brands today talk about the importance of inclusivity. It’s time to put that into practice by showing your customers the diversity of your employees, the type of people you serve, and the variety of goods, services, and products you can offer them. As observed in the past year, many brands have included real, everyday people as part of their marketing campaigns and promotional materials. In short, real faces like you and me have become normalized and are the new black.

In 2022, we foresee this trend not stopping anytime soon. Instead, more websites will continue to include more hero images featuring individuals of different races, religions, ages, sizes, and genders coming from a wide range of different backgrounds. Using relatable and authentic images helps to humanize many corporate brands by showing that the brand truly cares about all its customers and clients. This would be especially beneficial to e-commerce stores that sell lifestyle, fashion, and beauty products as it would help the customers envision using your brand in their lives.

The Key to Elevating Your Business

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