The Future of Web Design for Online Marketers
Few things in the field of online marketing manage to stay the same over time, but one has absolutely stuck: businesses need websites. Over the years, the standard strategy that marketers have used to craft the crown jewel of a company’s web presence has shifted considerably, but its existence remains non-negotiable. The evolution of web design principles is easily illustrated by comparing the websites of today to iterations from the last decade.
The development of design trends from the 1990s through the 2010s reflects a broad range of developments in culture, consumer needs, and the technology that facilitates web access. For instance, the explosion of mobile devices in the past decade has transformed the look and feel of websites in a radical way.
In this article, we’ll examine several design movements that are gaining traction in 2018, and how they can benefit marketers.
1. The brutalist design paradigm
Brutalism was originally an architectural movement in the mid-20th century which emphasized form over function. Structures created in this tradition are renowned for their rugged discomfort, and blatant disregard for standard design conventions.
With this historical context in mind, it is easy to understand why an up-and-coming trend in web design has come to be termed “brutalism”. Take, for instance, the recently launched website of Balenciaga, a luxury fashion company in Spain:
Another stunning example is the chaotic storefront designed by Italian fashion brand Gucci:
At first blush, it’s not obvious why professional companies are inflicting this paradigm on themselves: filled with flashy animations, simplified menus, garish art and sliding scroll-features, Gucci’s brutalism almost seems more like a parody than an actual website.
But on closer inspection, there is a reason behind the madness:
In its ruggedness and lack of concern to look comfortable or easy, Brutalism can be seen as a reaction by a younger generation to the lightness, optimism, and frivolity of todays web design — Pascal Deville
Brutalism is a reactionary movement that rejects minimalism and high-tech professionalism all at once in favor of choices that artistically accentuate a brand and speak to an audience through nostalgic motifs (note the tabled design of Balenciaga, a callback to the 90s).
How this benefits online marketers: while it may seem obscure or avant-garde, brutalism is gaining favor in certain markets because of its ability to cultivate a brand image by tapping into the sensibilities of a target audience.
2. Dynamic Multimedia Content
The way that brands present information to users has changed considerably over the years. Static webpages gave way to blog platforms and PDFs, which have gradually been supplemented by video explainers and other non-text based content.
However, the past year has brought us stunning examples of websites that manage to marry the static page with dynamic, multimedia content including video, text, micro-interactions, statistics, and more. The format has been used with tremendous effect to tell stories.
Take for instance CNN’s feature on Global Warming in Greenland, or The New York Time’s Lost Children of Tuam. Both utilize the power of a web browser to its maximum potential by seamlessly combining many different forms of visual stimulation to convey information.
And dynamic multimedia content isn’t just great for newspapers — marketers are beginning to take notice as well. Take the SEO Timeline by Bubblegum Search as an example, replete with animated illustrations, formatted quotations and more. Although this format requires effort to pull off, the results are well worth it.
How this benefits online marketers: a content marketing strategy wins over new customers by providing the perfect combination of useful information and entertainment. While this goal has often been accomplished with purely text-based content, marketers should be prepared to offer more dynamic, multimedia experiences to their prospects.
3. Asymmetric design elements
The obsessively straight and boxy lines of Balenciaga’s online store are one of the few things it shares in common with standard web conventions. Straight lines are symmetrical, and symmetry is pleasing. This is why — even years after web designers moved onto tableless design — websites still fit into the confines of an invisible grid.
However, in 2018, a number of brands are bucking the conventional wisdom in favor of flair enabled by CSS3. This includes non-horizontal, overlapping layers on landing pages, hexagonal panels, circular menus and more.
Here are two examples of what this looks like:
As the infrastructure for crafting webpages continues to develop, the possibilities of what can be done in the future are nearly limitless.
How this benefits online marketers: there’s no mystery in the fact that an awesome design attracts customers. By investing in aesthetically complex, dynamic layouts, marketers benefit by strengthening their brand image and reducing visitor bounce rates.
4. Responsive design goes even farther
We are supposed to live in an age when all web pages can be accessed on all devices — but even a decade after the mobile revolution, 17% of small businesses still do not have a mobile-formatted website, much less a responsive design. 2018 may narrow this gap significantly as practical and institutional pressures for responsive design mount.
A responsive site differs from a mobile site in that it is built to look good on both desktop and mobile browsers. This is generally accomplished with dynamic, snapping elements that change size and position based on screen-size. A common drawback to this approach is that while responsive sites do work, they also tend to be boring in comparison to sites specifically designed for one format.
Thankfully, this hurdle is becoming a non-issue as coding techniques advance. Check out these examples of responsive sites that look as good as custom designs:
The launch of the fantastically dynamic CSS-Grid signals the continuing innovation that is driving responsive design forward, and mounting rumors that Google will launch its mobile first index this year puts pressure on webmasters to finally get with the program.
How this benefits online marketers: responsive design eliminates the pain of needing to manage separate designs for separate devices. At the same time, working across platforms also enables them to capture the enormous amount of web traffic that originates from mobile devices.
5. Branding through microinteractions
Branding on the web has traditionally been conceived in terms of logos, fonts, corporate jargon and other purely static artifacts. However, as the web becomes more dynamic, brands have expanded opportunities to develop visual associations.
Microinteractions in web design are inspired by the aesthetic of mobile devices: the subtle, visual indicators that you have tapped on an icon, opened a menu, or sent a text message.
Notice the way that Nova Place uses microinteractions to supplement page elements including text and scrolling.
Interior design company DLA+emphasizes the plus sign prominent to their branding by including rotating plus buttons on their site:
These details are tiny, but they definitely are not insignificant. As Lindsay Silver notes,
“These small moments, while transient, leave the user with an impression of that indescribable ‘look and feel’ of a company, which is central to brand awareness, and loyalty.”
How this benefits online marketers: the significance of developing a recognizable brand cannot be overlooked. Customers remember what makes an impression on them, and studies reliably indicate that this leads to more repeat business and better publicity.
Marketers struggle to keep up with changing trends because failing to keep up means failing to capture the interest or attention of prospects who expect a consistent, professional experience across the platforms and brands they love.
In 2018, companies setting out to build a website for the first time — or merely revisit an existing design — should keep in mind the following trends:
- Dynamic, shifting elements
- Creative, non-traditional page layouts
- The ever increasing importance of mobile design
- The possibilities of multi-media, rich-text content
A website is not merely a footprint for your company, but the online equivalent of its home. Giving it the attention it deserves is one of the most worthwhile investments you can ever make.
OMI is dedicated to helping small businesses navigate new marketing technologies more effectively, with practical education from experts across digital marketing fields.
To learn more about preparing your website for the future, consider viewing our brand new courses, including a Mobile Channel track. For ten days, access to our entire library of classes is completely free.
-Brandon Shutt, Editor at OMI
