10 Web Design Trends to Try in 2017

What will define web design in 2017? The web space is constantly evolving and changing. This is why patterns and ideas can trend just a short period of time.

Below is a list of web design trends that you should follow in 2017. From colors and gradients to functionality, this year will be full of new and great ideas to explore. These trends aren’t all new. Some were popular in 2016 but they come with improvements. Check it out!

1. Vivid Colour Pallets

The process of choosing the perfect color for your website is very important. This choice can change your visitor’s emotions or opinion and it can even affect the conversion rate. So you have to think twice before picking the color. Because of the popularity of Google’s Material Design, it’s very possible that the color trends for 2017 will be the colors and color combination used in those design guidelines.

You can find inspiration for your color scheme on pages like Material Design Palette and Material UI. For example, Pantone has chosen Greenery for color of the year in 2017. It is supposed to be the symbol for a new and fresh beginning. It will be an inspiration for several web designers, for sure. If you’re looking for inspiration regarding color combinations, check out what Pantone recommends on their Color of 2017 page. You can also dig into Canva’s color theory article.

2. Duotone Gradient Imagery

Firstly, what does duotone mean? Duotone is an image, composed of two colors. This style was also used in the past so it will be very popular in 2017 for sure. Websites as TNW, Spotify or Youtube have used duotone gradient imagery for an amazing experience.

3. The end of flat design

Flat design was one of the most popular trends in web design in 2016. We like flat design because it can help you with creating beautiful and simple interfaces. The bad thing about flat design is the fact that it is starting to lose the personality: everything is beginning to look the same. So, for 2017, flat design will probably decrease in popularity and designers will use layouts and designs where they can use their creativity and imagination. Unique is the new trend!

4. Gradients

Even if they went missing a few years from design, gradients are coming back this year with some changes. If in the past the gradients were only featured as subtle variations throughout the design, now they are full of color, big and bold. A technique that looks amazing and is very popular, is a two color gradient overlay on photos.

5. More parallax

Parallax scrolling effects were very popular in 2016 and this trend is still rising, but with some improvements. Every design trend in 2017 will have a little touch of reality. So the more real it will look on the screen, the better it will be used by designers. Every trend in 2017 has a major touch of reality, so we think the parallax will make no exception.

6. Creative Typography

Creative typography will never go out of style. And 2017 will help designers push their boundaries and take risks with more unusual and interesting typefaces. A great example that big and bold lettering never goes out of style is the site for the creative agency Friends. The cool lettering is readable and the users can easily understand the message that is meant to be sent. And the big type stands out as the main feature, for sure.

7. Video all the way

A picture is worth a thousand words, but a video can make it even better. If an image is motionless, a video is more dynamic and can hold the user’s attention longer. People will choose an explicit video over a simple image anytime. Videos are very useful for storytelling and marketing. A website can offer a full cinematic experience to the users. For example, your homepage can feature full-on video with sound display. This trend can be a great choice for everyone, especially if the video matches perfectly with the sound content.

8. SVGs

SVGs (scalable vector graphics) offer web designers more advantages than the traditional PNG and JPG formats. SVGs are resolution-independent and they will look perfect on any device and on any screen. They are a great choice for images like logos. Images in SVG format have small file sizes, so they are great for improving the page speed. An advantage of using SVGs is that they don’t need HTTP requests.

9. Authentic Photography

Photography will always be popular in web design. The main feature that will be huge in 2017 is the authenticity of the photos. Designers will be more careful about what they choose to use on the site and will avoid stock photos. So a good solution is hiring a professional photograph to take care of the shots that will represent your website. We expect more sites to become visual and unique this year.

10. Virtual Reality

Even if this trend hasn’t made an impact on web design in the past, virtual reality will surely affect the web design in a big way in 2017. VR is used so that the user can feel more like the page is part of an experience. [Paragraf nou] VR takes the user experience to a new level, where the user is entering in a new and imagined world. Designers are starting to incorporate VR experiences in their designs. A great example is Peugeot 208’s promo campaign that utilizes both VR and 360º video for an interactive experience.