Welcome to this week’s #WednesdayWisdom post brought to you by Linzi, Pixel’s Web Wizard! Linzi loves everything web and especially enjoys designing and building new exciting websites that are current and on trend and want’s to share some of the expected website trends coming up in 2017 to watch out for and consider with your next website project!

1. Full Screen Video

‘A picture paints a thousand words’ is still very true today, and always will be i think, but as technology has developed and user interaction has become more and more important, video is a great way to really grab the user’s attention and leave a lasting impression!

We are seeing video being used more and more in digital design, advertising and marketing and for good reason! Where traditional photography is static, video is more dynamic and powerful. Beautiful photographs really make a website stand out, and this is something that will not change, however, we will start to see more rich, interactive and full screen video as a means of engagement and story telling on websites!

Here is a really good example of this being used… Click Me!

2. Scrolling

Scrolling is by no means a ‘new’ concept, and probably not classed as a ‘trend’ anymore but we are seeing more and more of this within website design to deliver more rich content and visual impact and interaction.  We, as users, have become comfortable scrolling over the most recent years as we live in what i call a ‘Facebook’ world, where scrolling is almost the norm now and pinch and zoom is old school.

I still come across clients who do not understand the point of scrolling and long form content, but by adding the scroll element to your website browsing functionality, you are allowing users to very quickly scan large volumes of content, in a single, fluid motion without being removed from the experience by navigation or interruption. It works well across all devices and different types of content so it is definitely something worth considering in your website design!

National Geographic showcase an incredible use of combining maps, imagery, animation and video to create a single, fluid and varied story telling experience for the end user keeping you really engaged! Click Me to see! This is great for inspiration on a higher lever but also can also be used in a similar way to tell people about you and your business in a more simplified form!

3. Gradients / Vibrant Colour Palettes

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Since the ‘Flat Design’ trend overtook most design agencies and studios a few years ago, it still is a very popular style today and in turn has lead to content across the web becoming very similar and lacking a bit of individual character. This year, more designers have been focusing more on brand personality and experimenting with vivid colours and gradients in place of the simple colour palettes used previously.

Gradients and Bright colours seem to be just as popular with Instagram who recently ‘refreshed’ their iconic logo with a transitional gradient injecting some personality into the brand!

Inject some energy, warmth and depth into your web design with gradients, patterns and vivid colours and make a statement!

4. Parallax

Parallax links well to my point about scrolling pages and creating a smooth, fluid experience for the end user. It is often something that works well in conjunction with less traditional layouts. It allows you to be a bit more creative! For those that are not familiar with Parallax scrolling, it is the effect where the background moves at a slower rate than the foreground, giving a sense of depth when the use scrolls.

Here is a good example which i LOVE! Click Me! Oh and this one… Click Me!

5. Micro-Interactions

Typically in the form of small on screen animations, the micro interactions are playing a vital role in UI and UX design today, especially on mobile and smaller screen devices! Which we all know is becoming more important now than ever before!

From a user-experience perspective, they are not only small, entertaining transitions, but are forms of visual feedback for the user and their actions! Using Facebooks ‘Like’ button as an example – when a user clicks the thumbs up, it increases in size and turns blue in one fluid animation, informing the user that their action has been completed!

The way you incorporate these micro interactions is all down to design and functionality but the scope is huge! Even from animated call to actions that say ‘thank you’ after you have submitted something will fall into this category of trends!

 

This week’s #wednesdaywisdom is bought to you by Linzi!

“Linzi is the happy face of Pixel – always happy to help, always glad to be of service. Linzi’s eagerness is a credit to her. She is a well organised, web-savy, creative grafter and can help with all areas Pixel has to offer, with a particular talent for online digital marketing and project management.”

If you need any advice about the above topic please do get in touch and Linzi will be happy to help!

Contact Linzi

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