10 Web Design Trends for ‘09

These are some of the observation on trends, design decisions and coding solutions

Actually more

than that but

10 sounds

official

1. Embossing or Letter Press

An interesting trend of using pressed letter or embossing in web design, the simple reason may be it is rarely used.

Observe ȸ Naresh Narendran

2. Rich User Interfaces

Increased use of AJAX& Flash, more beautiful and usable, much more white space over the last year, more padding and more space for various design elements

Observe ȸ Naresh Narendran

3. PNG transparency

PNG transparency, although unsupported by IE6, seems to have gained popularity on the scene, often used either in header or footer of designs

Observe ȸ Naresh Narendran

4. BIG Typography

big typography is popular, modern websites use big typography to communicate the most important messages of their websites to their users.

Observe ȸ Naresh Narendran

5. Font Replacement

As designers pay more attention to typography, they also pay more attention to the fonts that are used for the copy, sFIR to the rescue, replaces font seamlessly

Observe ȸ Naresh Narendran

6. Modal Boxes or Lightboxes

serve as a user-friendly alternative to classic JavaScript windows and support users by focusing their attention on the most important area of the website

Observe ȸ Naresh Narendran

* we use it but in a very limited way

7. Media Blocks

many sites use media blocks, main advantage is that they can communicate content quickly and effectively and make it easier for users to consume information

Observe ȸ Naresh Narendran

8. The Magazine Look

An interesting development is the adaptation of traditional (print) media techniques, the use of typography, grid-based designs and text alignment   

Observe ȸ Naresh Narendran

9. Carousels or Slideshows

Instead of clicking through various sections of the website for their favorite stories, users can quickly skim through the available stories without vertical scrolling

Observe ȸ Naresh Narendran

10. And a whole bunch of others…Watercolor, an alternate color palette that bring in a different energy and

convey certain emotional cue of the website to the website visitor

Observe ȸ Naresh Narendran

Handwriting, convey a personality and an individual note in times when perfect, boxy and rounded elements can be found almost everywhere

One page layout, smart way to add interactivity and

engage the user there by increase stickiness

designers try to initiate a more effective dialogue with

visitors, lets call it a “speaking” navigation instead of the static version based on keyword

Texture adds dimension to virtually any style of design, if applied properly, reasons it’s so popular is because of

its versatility

Questions

Observe ȸ Naresh Narendran