It is that time of year again to reflect on the past and look toward the future. With 2015 only a couple of weeks away, I felt this was the perfect opportunity to write about design trends I have noticed this past year and thoughts about what I hope to see less or more of.

Authentic Motion

Coined by Google Material Design, it is defined as:

Perceiving an object’s tangible form helps us understand how to manipulate it. Observing an object’s motion tells us whether it is light or heavy, flexible or rigid, small or large.

What feels right? What animates properly? Does it need an animation? I notice an increase in animations this year and I believe it will only grow in 2015. Libraries such as animate.css or snap.svg will make it possible for designers to slowly incorporate these elastic material animations. This article has great examples of design in motion.

SVG

Whether outlined icons or animated illustrations, I feel SVG (scalable vector graphics) usage has gained traction a lot more these past couple of years. Devices are getting more pixel-dense and the most practical way to implement illustrations that look good on all devices would have to be SVG. Here is how I got started.

Blurred Containers

Made popular in iOS7, I feel this technique in web design will get more popular since there are ways to implement it with HTML and CSS (without Internet Explorer unfortunately). I would like to experiment with this more, but don’t forget your fallbacks!

Video Backgrounds

As Internet speeds increase, so does the amount of data which is sent to users. Advances in development also make it easier to implement and deliver richer user experiences. Consumer sites such as Airbnb, Paypal, Nike, and Kickstarter do excellent jobs adding video without it becoming too distracting to the user.

Not only is it more dynamic than static images, but it tells a story much more impactful than any slideshow image can. But be cautious if you plan to implement this on your own site and think about your target audience, load times, and be sure it is not distracting to the user. Here is an excellent resource if you want to get started.

Hamburger Menu Icons

I have mixed emotions about this interface element because although we (designers) understand what the icon symbolizes, a large portion of the general population does not.

I believe it also varies on your target audience. Huge does not have any supporting labels, but all their anchor colors are consistent and visitors are most likely web savvy. Hate it or love it, this is here to stay.

Honorable Mention: Geometric Illustrations

Yes, this has been around for a while, but I feel this is also gaining traction. Although I don’t bookmark or remember every site I see, I do see it often enough to remember that this may be a growing trend.