May 25 | Categories: Graphic Design

Web Design Trends of 2021: Creativity is Connection

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Here we are, folks! We’ve made it to 2021. Over the past year, we as a collective have been tested. We’ve treaded into territory that was brand new with the coronavirus, as well as confronted some hard truths of our historical past and present society. For those of us in creative fields, this past year changed the way we approach vision, creativity, and originality. We had to adapt to moving life and work into a single place. Inspiration for design may not have necessarily been at the forefront of our minds, yet there was still work to be done.

The balance of what conversations to participate in became blurred. As creatives, we do not want to capitalize on the hardships we face as a local, national, and global community. Yet, remaining silent was not an option either as we had and have the unique experience of living as a global collective. Here is one thing we realized:

Creativity is connection.

We continue to live in a time of changing history. We are presented with the opportunity to use creativity as a means of connecting with others. Design has always driven the world. From wall to canvas to screen, design has the ability to elicit the emotions, thoughts, and reactions of viewers and users.

And now here we are, in this present moment of 2021. Web design trends are changing just as the world around us changes. So much life now happens online, and web design is transitioning as a result.

The user experience of your website relies on its design. Moving forward in design, it’s important to ask some questions about your website design:

• How are user’s interacting with my website?
• What is the theme of my website design?
• Does my website’s theme match my business’s theme?
• Do I enjoy being on my own website?
• What does my design say about my company?

Let’s take a look at web design trends and how they answer these questions in response to our changing world.

Web Design Trends Of 2021

#1. Uplifting Color

Colors have the power to elicit a lot of feelings. In 2021, seeing bright, saturated, playful colors will come out. You may have already noticed colors popping up around on different web pages and graphics. Soft color pallets of pinks and yellows and more vibrant colors will begin to emerge.

“Happy colors” can boost energy and mood, something that a lot of users need. Incorporating colors that fit the theme of your business into your brand design has the power to positively affect your audience.

#2. Audio Trends

An emerging sector of user experience is the accessibility of a website. More web designs are beginning to include audio options. Adding audio to web design helps those with visual impairments as well as those who like to listen instead of read. Audio invites, accepts, and includes a broader audience for a business.

In addition to audible text, podcasts and videos have become a mainstream platform. Adding audio to advertisements, video clips, or podcasts into web design will grow as 2021 continues.

#3. Retro

Internet Nostalgia is back in full swing. Combining retro design with modern components is a growing theme of 2021 web design. Retro fonts play with large typography with mixed hues. You may have already seen some boisterous text that taps into 1970s sentimentality. Other old-time-y themes will appear in web design such as:

• Bauhaus is used in 2021 with bold, geometric, primary-colored filled design to send a direct message to its viewers
• Vaporwave is filled with lo-fi design, grids, cartoons. It’s an homage to 2010 internet culture. Web design on vaporwave is the imagery of easy electronic music inspired from the 1980s and 1990s. The visual component adapts 1990s web design like glitch art. It’s a fun blast to the recent past

#4. Scroll Away

Scrolling is nothing new, but the ways we scroll look different this year. Horizontal scrolling is making a comeback and is here to stay. Adding horizontal scrolling to web design creates a more dynamic space within the confines of a user’s screen.

Continued scrolling with the aid of fun parallax graphics leads the user down the screen.  Longer pages. Infinite scrolling loads content on a single page instead of sending the user to lots of pages, called pagination.

#5. Dark Mode

Dark mode is nothing new to the tech field, yet it’s become increasingly popular. Letting the user have the option to change their screen to dark mode contributes to accessibility features. A lot of us have become all-too-familiar with zoom meetings and staring at screens. Dark mode is less straining on the eyes during a time where many of us are constantly online.

#6. 3D

3-dimensional design elements grab a user’s attention. They enunciate design elements that cannot be brought out with the simpler 2-dimensional design. People are also moving to bigger screens, allowing for better viewing of 3D features. Along with graphics, 3D colors makes a user’s experience more “realistic” and adds a new feel to websites.

#7. Comfort

An overarching theme in web design in 2021 comfort. Brands and companies use creative elements to create a feeling of connection. Incorporating comfort into design can take shape in many ways.

• Aligning oneself with a particular passion project or movement is making its way into web design. This can look like adding hashtags to a site, linking to nonprofits, and making statements on web pages.
• Photography is a huge tool in visual storytelling. Showing community in webpages by integrating photos of family time, people gathering, and self-care is becoming ever-popularized.
• Nature graphics and photographs encapsulate the freedom of the outdoors. You may have noticed more plants and outdoor elements in web design. Outdoor spaces create the sensation of having a breath of fresh air when all of us have been mainly indoors. The movement for a greener earth has also digitalized; sustainable companies have and will incorporate nature into design.

Web design trends are constantly evolving. Web design is an essential component of a user’s experience for convenience, comfort, and community. Web design trends have the power to welcome people into an online space and create connectivity between business and user. If you want to know more about web design and keeping up with web design trends in 2021, reach out to us! We’re happy to add to the community of creativity with you.