We’ve got 7 responsive design trends that are going to shape 2017 and well beyond.
Speaking of which, that audience is more tech savvy and design literate than ever before and expect a seamless experience on all of their devices. It’s more important than ever for designers to keep up with emerging solutions and patterns that solve common problems so they can keep their audiences engaged and provide a seamless experience. Over the last decade here at WSI we’ve helped companies keep up with the latest trends and solutions to deliver maximum impact. Here are 7 design trends that we think are going to be big in 2017 and well beyond. First up we have Brutalism.
Brutalist Design
Taking its name from the architecture style of the 60s and 70s, Brutalism in design consists of bold, in-your-face collages of text and images where anything goes. And throw out the colour wheel, too. The colour contrast is set to the max and if you aren’t totally hardcore you can borrow some of the brutalist aesthetic and tone it down a bit like how Bloomberg News does. Next up we have Large Screen Design.
Large Screen Web Design
While mobile and small screen internet browsing has exploded over the last couple years so has super large hi-def screen as well with retina displays, 4K, and even 8K screens coming onto the market. So, to caterer to audiences needs use scalable vector graphics (SVGs) for images and both high and low resolution photos and serve up the right version using JavaScript. Coming in at number three we have responsive components.
Responsive Components
Responsive components change their size and shape to fit into different circumstances and devices. Element Queries will allow the creation of components that are responsive based on the space allotted of them rather than the full screen size the upcoming CSS grid spec will allow you to dramatically change layouts based on media queries.
This will enable us to create radical transformations using just a few lines of CSS that previously would have taken complex JavaScript manipulations and large amounts of structural markup. Batting clean-up we have Device Specific Microinteractions.
Device Specific Microinteractions
Microinteractions are those little details that happen after we perform a certain task. They help apps, products, and websites feel a little more human by offering the user acknowledgement. We see some device-specific microinteractions already like Twitter’s pull to refresh. As we gain more access to device specific features like gyroscopes, accelerometers, and other sensors, we’ll be able to provide even more diverse and device-specific microinteractions. At number five we have Split Screen Design.
Split Screen Design
Split-screen websites are a great way to draw a contrast between colours and content and often feature a light and dark side. They still feel really fresh and they can make it easy to balance text and images in a way that doesn’t overwhelm your users. Next up we have Reactive Animations.
Reactive Animations
Reactive animations are just that, animations that react to the actions of the user. Now this is new territory and has all sorts of fun applications. Some add a little surprise and you can also use animation to highlight areas of a site before a user has even taking any action. At number seven, we have Card Based Interfaces.
Card Based Interfaces
Now I know what you’re thinking cards have been around for years, and that’s true. But they are not slowing down. Beyond simple text, they are now containers for a variety of rich media and the level of interactions within them are increasing. People are also exploring more and more microinteractions within them, jazzing up this tried-and-true design pattern.
We hope you’ve been inspired by this round up of responsive web design trends go out there and create something awesome.