2022 Web Design Trends

Staying on top of web design trends is a huge must in the digital world. Websites can easily become outdated with the fast-paced progression of design.  

Every website should be designed in a user-friendly way, and be easy to navigate, but there are several other things you can do to elevate your website. Take note of the following 2022 web design trends below so your brand or company doesn’t fall behind the curve.

Typography Focused Heros

If your brand lacks quality photography or high-resolution videos, using your brand voice is a perfect option when putting together the hero area of your homepage. Consider using typography-only heroes so that your brand can still address its audience in a professional manner and have a bold, to-the-point message. A strong statement describing who your company is can help set the stage for the rest of the homepage. If you have a little more to say, try calling out keywords in your statement to ensure that users focus on those. By focusing on typography, you eliminate other points of distraction allowing you to highlight specific calls to action. Take curriculumhq.org for example:

Playful, Bold Colors

Picking fun, bold colors to represent your brand helps you stand out from the crowd. In years past, many companies have chosen soft, neutral colors, so choosing a bold and dynamic color palette ensures your website will stand out.

Bold colors might make some feel wary about using them, but you can use them in a tasteful way that isn’t overwhelming to the user. If your website is content-heavy, going in this playful direction might be the best route for you. Check out the fun colors used on infrastructurereportcard.org:

Overlapping Elements

Experiment with spacing and don’t be afraid to overlap your design elements. It’s okay if they don’t have their own container; let some overlapping happen. You can create depth and dimension when overlapping design elements. Overlapping elements and letting them float from one row to another provides an eye-tracking path from one section to the next in your page flow. You get to control the user journey here!

Pay attention to the readability on smaller devices. This trend only works well if things remain readable and collapse correctly. We used lots of overlapping elements in our redesign at Ironistic. See for yourself here.

Micro-Animations

Use micro-animations to draw users’ attention. Whether you want users to buy a product, read a blog, or explore another page, animate that call-to-action subtly on your site. Micro-animations are also a subtle way you can reinforce to users that they’ve made an action on your page, or are about to make one beyond typical buttons that fill in when you hover over them. Again, you get to control where your users are going just by including a little motion here and there. 

Micro-animations have to be used thoughtfully; be sure you are highlighting areas that are important in the user journey. When things start flying all over with no purpose, you lose the focus of your users which defeats the purpose of this trend completely. In our Better Markets website project, we used subtle down-motions on arrows to keep the users intrigued to continue down the page or to sign up for their newsletter. Take a look here.

Off-Screen Elements

Secondary experiences such as off-screen elements on websites amp up the interest of users if properly used. These are elements that actually move right off the screen. This motion can automatically happen or move as the user scrolls.

Our client SNAC International is a trade association for snack food vendors and manufacturers. We reinforced their brand elements in a playful way by using the chips from their logo and having them fall into a bowl at the bottom of the page as the user scrolls down, keeping users engaged as they move through the page. Click here to view.

Ready for a refresh?

Thinking your website needs a redesign after this read? Yes, it’s time, and don’t worry. We can help! Contact us to learn more about evolving your company. Let’s see how these trends can advance your site!