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Beginning of a new year brings a number of speculations and expectations from the world of web. Every year, the marketing experts come up with something new and exciting that gives the businesses a good and much-needed boost. These new trends aren’t only about web design, but also graphic design. The trends are indeed a big deal as they shape the products of the businesses and their growth as well.

The trends aren’t just pulled out of thin air. These trends are predicted on the basis of what we have seen in the past and have impressed us, and what more we expect from this kind of trends. Design trends are hugely shaped by the shifts in technology, pop culture, entertainment business or politics. These web design and graphic design trends are also inspired by cultural shifts.

But these web designs are not just going to have good effects, there is a possibility of them having ill effects as well. We can predict the trends, but we can’t surely predict the outcome or acceptance of these trends. In the past few years, we have seen several webs and graphic design trends making headlines at the time of launch but then suddenly crashing down and not receiving good feedback at all. 2017 gave us a lot of hints about what could be the next best thing in 2018, but right now we can only make guesses. With this, we present to you some of the biggest trends of this year.

This Could Be The Year of AR

In the past, we have seen Virtual Reality gaining ridiculously high attention from the public. VR is pretty amazing. It has impressed people from all age groups. VR is not just a concept or way of looking at content, it’s an experience in its own, which one can hardly forget. But the problem with VR is that it is either all or nothing, there is no in-between. Augmented Reality also made rounds in the news at that time, but VR took over AR. But we predict that now that people are done with VR, AR actually has a chance of getting that kind of attention and fame. Augmented Reality is a progressive enhancement. AR offers an optional experience, unlike VR. The technology for generating AR content gets increasingly accessible. Augmented Reality is the kind of tech that progressively enhances existing content. This is exactly the type of tech that the web requires right now. A lot of designers and developers have discussed AR and the pros and cons of it, but it still remains a concept after all this. Bringing Augmented Reality to people for real is a difficult task, but we can only hope that people enjoy it.

Skeuomorphism

skeuomorphism

You must have heard this word a lot in the past. For those who are not aware, Skeuomorphism is the design concept of making items represented resemble their real-world counterparts. This is a very commonly used concept in many design fields. This includes user interface and Web design, architecture, and interior design. Skeuomorphism disparates with flat design. The flat design presents a graphic style that is way more simple. In relation to Web and Graphic design, Skeuomorphism tries to create three-dimensional effects on a 2D surface. The most common example of skeuomorphism is an icon on a smartphone display that represents the phone function. The object is designed to look like is feasible. They usually do it with shadowing, highlights and some degree of detail. A button might appear to be raised until clicked and then appears to lower as if it had been physically pressed. There are also non-visual skeuomorphs. These include the page-turning movement used to advance an eBook. The best part about it is that skeuomorphism communicates the actual function.

Mobile Browsing vs Desktop Browsing

mobile browsing

In today’s world, where you get all the information you require on a tiny gadget, desktop browsing actually seems like a thing of the past. There has been such a rapid change from desktop to mobile in the last one or two years, that going mobile is becoming the biggest trend these days. And if you are not mobile, then don’t expect the public to remember you. Sorry, it’s just not going to work out. Mobile Browsing has created critical usability issues for traditional websites. In the past three years, the Internet has been accessed more frequently on mobile than desktop devices. Design trends in the past required the websites to be extremely responsive, but I feel now in 2018 we will think about smartphones even before we have thought about the desktop. Mobile browsing has not just changed the device you see the content on. But it has also changed the way you see it and the way the designers and developers present it. Because of the limited screen space, the content requires a lot of alterations, which are usually not required in desktop browsing. So here, the pressure is on the designers and developers. It is being accepted really well, but it is turning out to be a huge task for the people who create the content for the web.

Animated Art

animated art

Animated clip art of Animated GIF is not a new concept at all. It is something that has been on the market for a long time, but it hasn’t really been a trend until now. In the past year, we saw a lot of design firms and companies making Animated Art of Animated GIF. But from being just an additional tool to an actual trend, Animated Art has actually come a long way, really. Animated Art has gracefully evolved in the past, in order to fit in fabulously with the modern requirements. This is done in the form of the GIF. It is also expected that Animated Art is going to make a massive movement in the field of web and graphic design. It has almost been over 25 years now when GIF has existed. Recently, there have been such events that expressing emotion for those can not just be done by the use of words. The public has made use of GIFs for this in a way we can’t even begin to imagine. GIFs add interest to ads, email newsletters, illustrations, icons, and logos. It makes even the most boring news interesting. The adoption of Animated Art or GIF has seen some amazing acceptance rates in the past, by both the consumers and the marketers. This could one of the major graphic design trends of 2018.

Decorative and Animated Lettering

Sans Serif is the most basic and widely used font. It is one of the top ten fonts used in web and graphic design. Sans Serif has been a favorite of all the tech startups and entrepreneurs in the past. Imagine if a website or a content online where you haven’t seen this font. Give it a thought and you will realize that it is probably everywhere. While we are welcoming a new year, we should also be welcoming some new fonts, don’t you think? Aren’t you all tired of these fonts that have been used for ages and not altered or presented differently. 2018 requires a bit more creativity and a bit of flamboyance as well. Illustration has seen immense growth in the past few years on the web. It solves a number of design issues. It allows a unique brand image and is also naturally responsive. This year, we expect the reaction to this old, tired and overused style will be the rediscovery of serifs, ligatures, and decorative lettering.

Creative spaces and fields are creative because of the constant change and innovation they bring about in the usual and boring things. These creative fields are bound to have changes or updates from time to time. The same thing happens with web design and graphic design. The design field is ever-changing. They require new ideas that are not just creative sounding, but also creative in the way they function. Almost every year, web and graphic design see some updates. Some of them work, some of them don’t. But that’s the part of the game, don’t you think? Not every trend can be easily accepted by the audience. Sometimes, it is all about the timing. If the timing is right, and it clicks with the users, the trend will be remembered forever.

Conclusion

In this article, we presented with you some of the most interesting trends of 2018 that can make a mark of their own. Innovation is nothing but a break from what’s normal and regular. And last year’s trends are what is normal and regular now. Web design and graphic design are the kind of fields that see the maximum number of changes or innovations year after year. The surprising thing is the way the designers and developers have adapted to the change and given us something to remember forever. Our creative choices and the trends exist side by side, whether we choose to adopt or resist these trends. Let me know in a comment what kind of web design trend will be in 2018? If you want us to design your website from scratch or want to redesign, then email us your requirement.

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