Web design is constantly evolving due to the quickly changing world of technology. New features are constantly becoming available and customer’s wants and needs are growing as well. Everyone wants to be able be a part of the cutting edge of technology from both a business and a personal standpoint.
In 2015 we saw an increase in consumers who wanted to have a “live” experience. This was made evident by the growing popularity of tools such as Meerkat and Periscope. Platforms that hosted live discussions such as Reddit were also highly popular among today’s tech savvy society.
Everything that we saw progress throughout 2015 is going to continue on its path in 2016. You can also expect other companies to join in and work on creating web design that provides their customers and clients with even more real-time applications.
Integrating Real-Time Technology into Web Design
Real-time technology allows users to receive data when it happens in the real world. This type of technology will only increase as time goes on to match the needs and wants of the eager public. The consumer’s demand for instant gratification has been steadily growing for years. The public wants everything at their fingertips. They want to know information before anyone else, they want to experience things before their peers.
The Future of Animation in Web Design
In an effort to create the most visually stunning website and attract more people, web design is focusing more on animation. Movement draws the eye in and allows the consumer a better opportunity to interact directly with the web site itself. On the edge of animation, you can expect to see an increase of cinemagraphs woven throughout. Cinemagraphs are images that are mostly still, but have typically one or two elements that are animated. With today’s technology, these types of images are becoming easier and easier to create. They add a little something extra to a typical graphic that you may see on a website and can help bring the design of your site alive when done well.
Cinemagraphs won’t be replacing live video however. Live video is still high on the list for design from customers. Viewers like to feel like they’re a part of the action without leaving the comfort of their own home and live video provides this for them. This is why we will continue to see applications like Periscope continue to increase in popularity.
Another form of animation that you can expect to see more often in web design for 2016 is animation influenced by user interaction. Motion in response to direct interaction by users is taking web pages to the next level. Not only is this style of animation visually appealing, but users enjoy being able to interact directly with the web design.
Other visual aspects to web design that you can expect to see in 2016 include bold elements along with overlapping and ghost buttons. This trend seems to have started with Spotify and will continue as web design continues to incorporate this aesthetically pleasing feature. Web design has now gone beyond pure function and stretched into becoming an art form. Text and images will possess more deeply saturated colors and shadows to increase the visual appeal.
Other Web Design Changes Coming in 2016
Behind the scenes of web design, we will also notice changes that provide web designers with more options for editing and creating websites. Media editing is moving towards being entirely cloud based. While the move may not happen this year, there are strong indications that this type of editing move will continue to develop.
We will also see virtual reality continuing to grow within the gaming industry. Ultimately, virtual reality will become integrated with web design and incorporate itself in an effort to provide users the ultimate experience. It’s projected that this kind of technology will be especially useful and popular in online classroom environments, corporate environments, peer to peer connections, and more. You can expect to see a lot of projects on Kickstarter pertaining to virtual reality.
JavaScript will continue to be hugely important in the world of web design. Many large products, such as Microsoft’s Visual Studio, have a strong support for using JavaScript. It’s a popular tool for larger companies with the right budget and web design resources.
Wherever the future of web design may take us, one thing is certain. We will continue to see web design take a more artful turn as companies try to attract more customers and users. Web pages will continue to become more interactive for users in an aesthetically pleasing manner. It’s an exciting time for web design and companies such as Portside Marketing keep themselves up to date on the hottest trends to help your company stay ahead of the curve.