Consumers are on the hunt for exciting experiences. That’s probably why web design trends are constantly in a state of flux. The ever-changing field of web design means new trends for consumers to follow and new ideas to consume. Designers are also focused on bringing art to the users and curating a unique experience rather than following the decades-old UI/UX design techniques.
Meanwhile, there are callbacks to the early days of the internet in terms of simplistic and retro designs. The old design elements mixed with modern-day web tools make for a delightful web journey. It adds a nostalgic value to web pages. The retro design also calls back to some of the earliest innovations but in a more refined way.
To balance the old with the new, web designers have taken innovative approaches to using modern or digital design elements such as animations, typography, gradients, and other visual effects.
This blog will go over five web design trends for 2022 that are bound to influence your ideas!
Stories over Information
Simply filling a web page with bland information is not ideal for educating customers. Like with any learning experience, it needs to be interactive and engaging in order to be effective. Adding elements like animations, videos, and innovative scrolling enhances the customer journey and enriches the web design trends. In 2022, sharing through stories will be a dominant trend in an attempt to decrease the bounce rate.
Another way web designers can add to the user’s journey is through micro-interactions. Micro-interactions are small actions or animations triggered by clicking or hovering your cursor over an object. This gives users the feeling that the site is responsive and lively. It engages the user’s senses, making them stay longer and learn more about the offer on the web page.
The primary reason for using videos and animations will be to make information easily digestible for website visitors in 2022.
Experiential Websites
This web design trends are the most exciting so far in 2022. It deviates entirely from hard-set UI rules that designers have followed since the internet came into formation. Experiential sites are not your average web page with a header and multiple sections outlining the various aspects of your offering. Designers create these with the customer’s experience in mind.
Elements on experiential websites aren’t where we mostly expect them to be. It’s closer to being in a videogame, where we know eating a food item restores health. Similarly, a web designer might include information for hotel rooms on a trip booking website under a brochure, and when you click on it, you’ll see what hotels are available. Additionally, an airplane would represent travel information, the surgical mask would guide you on COVID-19 regulations, etc.
Creating this sort of website is a gamble. Web designers are taking the risk that people will take the time to initially figure out how this new navigation works. However, if the visitors decide to stay and figure out how the page is designed, there is a high chance that these visitors will return and even popularize the website through word of mouth. There is also a percentage of visitors these websites will lose for people in a hurry and cannot figure out the navigation. The secret lies in creating an intuitive and best design practices.
Glassmorphism
One visual trend that has dominated 2022 already is glassmorphism. It’s that frosted glass finish that you see in menus and pop-ups. Two of the most widely used platforms, Mac OS Big Sur and Windows 11, have opted for glassmorphism throughout their UI.
Windows used these types of visuals in Windows Vista and Windows 7 as well, but those were much less vivid and looked too fancy. With advancements in display technology and the upgraded ability of devices to run better graphics, the new glassmorphism is also a crowd favorite.
This glass effect gives a subtle depth to features, making the web pages visually appealing and hyper-realistic. By the looks of it, the glassmorphism trend is here to stay.
Music and Soundtracks
Given the right audience, music can significantly impact how users experience your website. Hearing is one of the underused senses, even though nearly all mobile devices and computers come with high-quality audio systems. The reason for this might be the lack of understanding of consumer behavior among web designers. Audio is also not regularly incorporated into design theory, so many designers might not be familiar with the concept.
However, in 2022, music seems to be a leading aspect of web design. Websites can have dedicated soundtracks that resonate with how the web designers want the visitors to feel when browsing certain web pages. This is an enhancement of using minor sound effects and sound clips, which are more in line with the micro-interactions mentioned above.
So, it is time to turn up the volume in web design for 2022!
Visualizing Safety
This trend lies on the other end of the spectrum. But it is still a critical consideration for web designers in 2022. While some trends encourage breaking UI/UX rules and forcing visitors to experience the internet in fresh, new ways; this trend propagates familiarity and security.
Users do not want to overwhelming designs all the time, so using visuals like home furniture, urban shrubbery, light color palettes, and pastels calms them and makes the design more comforting. This is another powerful strategy for reducing the bounce rate on web pages, as people tend to stay longer for the calming impact these visuals have.
Conclusion
There are plenty of novel and exciting trends which web developers can experiment with. There are also some old trends that have been called back and some mellow designs to outweigh the loud and over-bearing ones. Either way, 2022 is going to witness some remarkable web designs and user journeys. Gear up for another thrilling year on the internet.
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