A source of inspiration for beginners and professionals in the sector, Web Design trends show the future of the web on the horizon: what will websites be like in the coming years?
The trends of 2021 aim much more at realism and much less at abstract and fantasy and consider the web as an integral part of our daily life.
These are creative and technological trends, which go in the direction of greater attention to the real user experience, to the adaptation of contents to ever smaller screens, to the right balance between essentiality and clarity of information.
Here are a number of trends which we suggest you keep an eye on if you are an established Web designer, or if you are just starting out in this wonderful profession.
Some are not new, but they are already existing trends that continue to be important.
Neumorphism
The trend originates from Skeumorphism, an approach to design that represents physical objects in digital form and which reached its peak first with desktop icons and then with app icons. Skeumorphism contrasts with flat design, which simplifies icons and colors in a less realistic way.
Neumorphism, with design that mimics physicality through shading and colors, allows designers to recover the tactile experience and users to connect with the design they interact with.
Glassmorphism
While Neumorphism tries to imitate plastic surfaces, Glassmorphism is based on replicating the vitreous aspect.
The blurry glass effect was first introduced in 2013 with iOS 7 and was a pretty radical change, mainly introduced to improve the visibility of overlapping windows.
Glassmorphism is the evolution of this effect and has the following characteristics:
- transparency (glass effect with background blur);
- bright colors that highlight the blurry transparency;
- multi-level approach with objects floating in space.
Parallax Effect
The parallax effect is certainly not the latest in Web Design, but it continues to be highly appreciated by users and professionals. The levels of the site, a foreground and a background, move differently and give an effect of depth. The parallax effect allows in many cases to amplify the storytelling and increase visitor engagement. Parallax scrolling can therefore be optimally combined with interactive storytelling.
Dark Mode and Comfortable Colors
Smart Working and remote work: people spend more and more time in front of a screen and they need more and more comfortable interfaces so as not to strain their eyes.
Bright, bright interfaces can be particularly annoying, especially in low ambient lighting conditions.
Thus, it is becoming increasingly important to offer users an alternative browsing experience, which is darker and certainly more readable than the predominant white.
The so-called “Dark mode” is a trend that concerns not only web design but also the creation of software interfaces.
There are several sites, programs and apps that allow you to easily switch to dark colors: Gmail and Facebook are an example.
You can leave the choice to the user, or make the website react to the browser settings: if the user has activated the dark mode on Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Edge, the website will automatically be displayed with a dark interface.
However, one of the trends of 2021 is to move outside the two extremes, dark and light.
Soft colors, such as pastel greens and blues, warm browns or light pinks are restful and popular with surfers.
Design Linked to Social and Ecological Issues
Brands are increasingly focusing their marketing and communication activities on concepts related to social, ecology and sustainability, trying to involve their customers on these issues as well.
All this translates into an increase within the websites of digital spaces dedicated to these topics with a focus on accessibility: the contents must be increasingly accessible to all. In fact, the pandemic has led more and more people to use digital services, so it is very important that interfaces are designed to be usable by everyone.
In conclusion, the main Web Design trends of 2021 are more and more similar to the real design found in everyday life and less and less to what we will find in a science fiction film.
This shows that the Web is increasingly part of our life and the profession of the Web Designer is increasingly about creating a connection between the Website and the real user experience.