Must Design

We're boiling down 13 of the most prominent web design trends emerging in 2015. Will they change your understanding of a "modern website"? You be the judge.

Marty (@Scenttrail) Notes:

1. Make it big (Agree but not as easy to do well as they make it look).

2. The multimedia experience (agree and same as #1)

3. The Parallax effect mutations (Horizontal Scrolling) Agree

4. Animated storybook (Agree and cool).

5. Flat design (agree & effect of mobile)

6. No more boxes (Agree and YES!).

7. Tiles (Pinterest effect and agree).

8. Navigation widgets (Agree!)

9. Integrating Google maps (Agree where appropriate).

10. Mashup interfaces (AGREE grab those APIs :).

11. Minimize (Seems to contradict #1, but agree).

12. World Wide Wait (speed is going to be KEY).

13. Designer automation (Agree, can do a lot with templates now).

Now it’s time to analyze the web designs that have emerged this year, and place predictions for the possible trends that lie ahead for 2015.

Marty Note
Promise to create a mashup of all web design trends postings to identify common consensus and outliers.

An updated look at the hottest best web design trends of 2014 including a showcase of modern web design inspiration.

Marty Note
This @justcreative post hit many nails on the head when it was initially published and Jacob's update of Helga Moreno's post doesn't disappoint either. Things I REALLY agree with:

See Less of (PLEASE):

* Stock photography (no photos? ASK your employees / followers for help but please no more Stepford people in pics on websites).
* Flash (has killed more #seo and sites than you can shake a stick at and fact it is still alive is amazing).
* Capcha - spam sucks but so do capcha forms.

More of PLEASE:

* Content First (implied in Responsive or Mobile First Design is a new way of thinking about, tagging and presenting content).
* Interactive Exploring (BIG AGREEMENT see my post about Time is Money Online https://plus.google.com/+MartinWSmith/posts/RdjAjWoJTHw and tag this next to #gamification).
* Arresting pictures and Video (YES, your great content will be ignored or under-shared UNLESS it is paired with strong visual hooks and supports).

Great post by Helga for Just Creative and so TRUE to our experience of web dev in 2014 for leading ecommerce clients such as Moon Audio.com.

Great examples of flat webdesigns. Flat looks better as responsive design another way of saying it looks better on phones and pads. My faves here are the doesn't seem flat Beagle Ship and the Boldial WP theme.

Like the World Wide Web itself, the world of website design is constantly in flux as technologies change and design standards evolve. What worked in 2013 may

Fantastic CSS3 Website Designs for Inspiration. Selection of Awwwards winning CSS3 websites. CSS3 is a powerful tool for web designers to enhance the appearance of a website.

Currently, one of the biggest trends in the web design industry is the flat design style. In case you are not yet familiar with the term, flat design is essentially design without the drop shadows, gradients, and textures that have been common in web design for some time. Flat design uses solid colors and often typography figures prominently into the design. In this post we'll showcase 33 excellent examples of the flat web design trend. Hopefully they can provide some inspiration that can be put to use in your own work. Buffalo

With the release of iOS7 just around the corner, clamor over the changes Jony Ive will institute is growing. The general consensus--on this site and elsewhere--is that Apple is about to get a flat makeover. But for the uninitiated, “flat design” can be a confusing term. So let’s talk it out, shall we?

Flat design is a concept that was pretty popular a couple years ago and it's back with full strength this year, causing some interesting buzz around the so

Why keeping up with web design trends is vital In today’s fast-evolving trends, people’s interests are being influenced briskly by the web, wherein onlin

Marty Note
Like #7, use of Neon Colors as accents. Color is so tricky online its use as "accents" is the best idea. Will see if I can find a "neon color accent" example and shsre it, but sounds like a cool trend I've only read about from this Chinese social agency.

Other trends noted include ones we've seen in several of these "what's up for 2014" posts including:

* Simple.

* Flat.
* All in one.

* Responsive.
* scrolling.

While many design trends are fleeting, a select few are natural evolutions of the industry. As the range of devices on which we view websites continues to grow,

Our Notes

1. Typography Will Be Flexible (agree).

2. The Decline of Web Coding (disagree, after spending a few weeks at The Iron Yard learning CSS & Java feels like CODE is going up not down, but we understand the point since it is possible to do a lot with templated WordPress these days).

3. The Evolution of Responsive Design. (Agree, responsive will need to permeate data architecture, website navigation and functionality too). 

4. Flat Design will Conquer Every Pixel (agree)

5. Bigger = Better for Images
(depends on the site, but agree mostly)

6. Revamped Scrolling Animations, Parallax Effects and Microinteractions (agree).

7. The Dawn of Webgraphics (agree).

Bauhaus is not only one of the most important design movements in history, but an especially relevant style for Web Designers. Alex and Simone tell you why.

Marty Note
Wow, love this post by SitePoint.com's Web Developer Alex Walker and graphic designer Simone Sala because it both EXPLAINS Bauhaus Design Principles and then applies them with examples to the web. #toogood

The Bauhaus stressed form and function. Removing ornamentation in favor of clarity, ease of use and beauty. Sounds like MOBILE DESIGN to me.

Mobile is so SMALL it forces the right choices. Look how "mobile design" is not impacting web design. Mobile stared trends such as limited color palettes and flat graphics because of limitations (of smart phones), but those limitations can also help FREE up a website and point it more clearly at true north.

True north online is where visitors know what to do and why easily and are so engaged by your content they want to do (what you want them to do) AND they want to share the experience with friends. Mobile's "game console-like" BEING is reshaping marketing (see Marketing's Big Bang Manifesto https://plus.google.com/102639884404823294558/posts/Tf9GNsX35qn ).

Great, helpful post.

Flat Design Rocks Mobile
Flat web design looks great on any device so it is one of he hottest trend i 2014. My faves from this group of great flat designs:

StashIcons
VeloSport (more because I'm a cycling nut)
Bollox

Flatness in and of itself doesn't make a web design look good on mobile. Responsive design is the holy grail of platform agnostic design. Responsive + Flat more powerful than either of those ideas alone.

You'll never feel left out at a hipster web design party with these 15 key terms under your belt

2014 Web Design Trends - Marty Note
Not a secret we are seeing flatter more responsive design in 2014, but I liked the format of the way Script Tutorials explained each trend with examples and wireframes.

2 of these ideas, Video Backgrounds and Interactive Infographics could be huge. Video backgrounds was a new idea to me even halfway through the year.

Flat web design has been a huge topic in the web, even Apple is adopting flat web design style and you need to make sure you upgrade your site too!

It almost seems that this year flat designs have taken over the world of graphic design by force, but especially in the arena of mobile apps with the first industry-shaking flat design being for the iPhone5. Reality is that flat design has been around longer than the emergence of the iPhone5, but of course it was Apple that helped to bring such cross-industry awareness to the design style.