We have looked through Awwwards ratings, which reflect the best solutions in modern digital design. Also, we have collected our experience – talked with our hardworking designers. So we found out what design we all will see in 2020. Today we are ready to share this knowledge with you.
Would first like to say that modern designers create their own grids, break the rules, and protest against ordinary design. This gives rise to most of the trends that will be discussed today. All of them are a little beyond. On the other hand, the user can also be delayed by good content, correctly presented and minimal designed. This doesn’t allow to lose relevance to the trends of past years. Well, we’ll start right away with a trend that has been univocal for some years. It’s the most relevant in web design.
ADAPTIVE
Today nobody will argue that the web page should be responsive – look equally good on all devices and screen resolutions. In 2020, web development will focus on simplicity, practicality and high performance.
More and more often, users use a smartphone to browse websites, so the mobile version for different screens is a must-have. Web design should be as responsive as possible.
Remember – mobile first. Previously, designers created sites for the desktop, and after that – a mobile version. Now – on the contrary, because more than half of the search traffic comes from smartphones. Adaptive is also not enough, you need to completely convert the design to the characteristics of each smartphone. And this is normal if, in the end, the web and mobile versions are different, since the way of interacting with them is also different.
To achieve adaptability, you need to consider at least these factors:
- compliance with the size of the layouts
- correct use of raster and vector graphics
- caution with web fonts
- compliance with the principle of defining style parameters
- use of control points
LACK OF GRAVITY
Chaotic design is becoming more popular. At first, the broken grid became super relevant, then – surrealism, which we will talk about below. And now you can even remove gravity. The trend combines the visual depth of isometric objects with the vast emptiness of the open composition. But let’s take a closer look.
To create such an effect, for a start, the designer makes the background as flat and simple as possible. Then three-dimensional objects appear. Moreover, there can be any number of them, with overlapping each other. At the same time, gravity is completely removed, and all the elements hover in the weightlessness of the interface.
With all this, reloading space is not so simple. Due to the weightlessness of objects, the design retains a lightness and even minimalism.
FUTURISTIC IMAGES
In 2020, it will be relevant to dilute the restrained design with futuristic elements or whole images. This is really an amazing trend, because we all think about the future, about how it can be, but we can’t look into it. The futuristic design includes the users’ imagination, and the more it plays out, the more successful the interaction with the brand will go. This game with imagination can bring really cool results. People are much more interested in something unidentified and far from the real world.
If you are looking for the surest way to make your design unique, make it look futuristic. Your imagination can be more effective than any ready-made design templates.
ISOMETRY
The image of a three-dimensional object in a two-dimensional is another trend that began to develop back in 2019. With it, you can create a whole universe in a small interface space.
The isometric picture, at first sight, looks simple. But in fact, it has depth and it is fascinating during its study. This is a strong involving aspect that will become even more common in 2020. What is noteworthy, an isometry is combined well with other trends, in particular, with a futuristic design.
ANIMATION
Modern technologies allow you to add more elements to the site without loss of quality. So if a year ago you had to choose between a fast website and a beautiful one, now – this is no longer a problem in almost all cases. There are different kinds of animation on every modern site. Why is it so important?
Firstly, this is one of the best ways to improve user interaction.
Small and possibly even inconspicuous animations improve the experience, help the user make the right decision, get the right response to a particular action. Animation and microinteractions are the reactions to user actions, which helps users understand what they did and what happened. They emphasize the naturalness of all actions and help to understand that everything is going according to plan. Animation revives the product and makes its use not only understandable but also enjoyable.
Secondly, animation can be very functional.
Smoothly changing screens, cards, pop-ups, expanding blocks – all this helps to save the page space and display content in batches. The user’s website journey will be more measured and involved.
And what we personally believe in – animation is very beautiful. The time of boring static sites has passed. A demanding user should receive the latest market solutions, and a good designer should create all the conditions for this.
So, the most popular types of animation for 2020 are:
- Parallax. This is a position change of an object with respect to the background and the user. You can rotate it using layer overlays and motion control relative to the location of the cursor.
- Microanimations. Small, mostly functional animations that support the user in his actions.
- 3D animation. Such an animation is created by building models on certain keyframes, and then the computer calculates and interpolates between these frames to create movement.
- 2D animation. Traditional vector animation.
- Motion design. With it, you can animate the logo, some text, some blocks of the site, promotional materials and more.
- Stop motion. The object stops after the shot and sequentially moves it to take a new photo and a new movement. When playing back the photos taken one after another, an illusion of movement is created.
MINIMALISM
The purpose of the trend is to focus the user’s attention right on the most important. Simplicity and functionality have been side by side in design for more than a year.
Minimalistic websites are very popular among most customers – we have definitely checked this from our own experience. They like that on such sites you can easily and quickly find the necessary information that isn’t lost behind heavy design elements. The same goes for application interfaces.
Everything that is a distracting element is removed. Focus on content, its comfortable perception, and decision-making without interference. Colors in minimalism are limited. This is a very important aspect of the trend because the variegation of colors causes attention to defocus. A minimalist design is characterized by the use of a pastel palette, monochrome, bright, but standard colors. In fact, it can be almost any shade, the main thing is that its “purity” is preserved. There will be no place for gradients and volumetric textures.
In minimalism, fonts are especially important, as this is the main component of the content delivery.
At least text. They should be well readable and as simple as possible in their idea. First of all, these are sans-serif fonts. Labels can be very large, becoming full-fledged design elements on the page. Minimalist typography is a stylish addition to a simple and restrained design.
SURREALISM
This is already the exact opposite of minimalism. According to this trend, lat and realistic images are boring. In this case, the design tries to surprise, evoke an almost childish emotion of happiness and ease. Vivid hues, imaginative drawings, impractical, but such mesmerizing surreal photos – all this is welcomed in 2020.
MONOCHROME
This trend manifests itself as follows: the background and the object in the foreground are the same color. In this case, despite the lack of contrast, a volume effect arises, and the user sees an object that realistically protrudes from the background. Volume is created by shadows and color depths. The one-color solution looks extraordinary with all its simplicity. The trend actively scattered in 2019 and will be no less popular and practical in 2020.
It is difficult to offer your customers something interesting, without understanding what is relevant to them. Therefore, it is important to know the trends of digital design not only to designers but also to entrepreneurs who want to bring their business to a level worthy of modern realities. In the following articles, we will review even more design trends and tools. And now we recommend our previous design articles below.
