Are you tired of constantly feeling like you’re playing catch-up with the ever-evolving world of web design trends? You create a concept and – the next day you find out that it’s outdated. You google the latest tendencies and you’re overwhelmed with the suggestions. Which of them will work?
We’ve got the insider scoop from Shakuro’s designer team on the cutting-edge trends in web design set to revolutionize 2024. From strategies for Apple Vision Pro to immersive interactive elements, this article is your roadmap to staying at the forefront of design innovation. So, grab a seat and get ready to elevate your skills like never before – because the future is here, and it’s time to dive right in.
Contents:
- Responsive web design
- Emotional design
- Gamification
- Tidy layouts – Bento UI
- Interactive 3D
- Typography
- AR, spatial design & glassmorfism
- AI-driven solutions
- Web design trends for Apple Vision Pro
- 3D graphics
- Multi-layering
- View in AR
Responsive web design
Optimizing design layouts for different screen resolutions is one of the crucial design stages. It provides digital accessibility and aesthetically appeals to the user’s eyes. Yes, making your designs responsive is more of a mandatory step than a trend.
However, every new year a new device comes out. A smartphone, an AR helmet, an 8K monitor, a smartwatch, or a portable console. And there is a high chance you will have to adapt your concept to these devices, which is both difficult and exciting.
Every year there is something for you to learn. And this year is no exception.
Remember the YouTube app? Over 2.49 billion people use it monthly. But here’s a thing: this app did not exist on the Apple Vision Pro release. However, it would seem a logical solution to give users the ability to watch videos without going into the browser each time through virtual reality glasses. In this case, the responsive web design trend could improve the user experience right from the device release.
Real Estate Dashboard Design Concept by Conceptzilla
Emotional design
The concept looks ok, but something’s off. I don’t really like it, I don’t know why… As a web designer, you’ve probably heard it during the client’s feedback.
However, if we change “don’t like it” to “it doesn’t evoke emotions”, then we have means to solve the problem.
Many purchases are made irrationally, on a whim, and in full confidence that a person needs it no matter what. If you imagine these user’s emotions and thoughts in advance, you anticipate their desires and respond to them.
This is called empathy – understanding the behavior and emotional state of the user.
It can be graphics, CTAs, or personal recommendations. Any user action should have immediate feedback from the website.
The problem may not be the design per se. But that we did not evoke a certain emotion. That’s why this is one of the important trends in web design 2024. It allows you to look at your work from two perspectives: the business promoting products and the user seeking a solution.
Emotional design should correspond to the company’s branding strategies. For example, an eco-friendly product is strongly associated with something natural, fresh, green, and light. You shouldn’t try to sell “red” meat to a “green” vegan.
Gamification
Gamification complements the emotional design. It expands the range of emotions by introducing a new variable – “community”. The game often involves competition and excitement, especially if there are leaderboards. “Earning points to reach a certain level” and “comparing your level with the rival’s level” are also parts of the gamification web design trends.
Tidy layouts – Bento UI
The unified form of blocks simplifies the UI kit and, potentially, web development. A simple solution that can be easily modified to suit future business needs through colors, fonts, and shapes.
For example, Bento UI is a trending web design. It emerged from the Swiss style, the main feature of which is modularity. Bento UI offers a clear and understandable hierarchy with neat blocks, arranged and complementing each other according to the meaning and content. The content is carefully dosed, emphasizing the most important thing in the text. There also can be an illustration or graph.
With tidy layouts, you can create simple and visually appealing interfaces that are easy to use. Bento UI looks clean and modern so it will stay trendy for a long time. Given the rapid development of AR and VR, it will transform into something more interesting.
News Website Concept in Bento style by Shakuro
Interactive 3D
A high-quality interactive 3D rendering allows you to bring web designs to life by adding impressive visuals. Users can control or move the objects depending on scrolling or cursor behavior on the screen. This increases website conversions and engagement.
What’s more, hyper-realistic device mockups for presenting web and mobile projects serve as demos that these projects are real and already working (even if they are not). With these 2024 web design trends you make people believe and evoke emotions.
Tools like Spline enable designers to turn their ideas into reality without long renderings and cumbersome learning of Blender or Cinema 4D.
Quadcopter E-Commerce Store Animation Concept by Conceptzilla
Typography
Working with typography and text has always been one of the essential components of web design.
In some projects, text and the play-on contrasts between the blocks have a leading role, while graphics are only an appealing addition. For example, a photograph appears when you hover over a line in a table. It only reinforces the text and emphasizes the idea that this text conveys. However, without this photograph, the table remains a table.
Text written in large and bold font, going beyond the classic Swiss style and brutalism, remains a common solution for emphasizing an important idea (for example, on Hero-screen). With these trends in web design 2024, you set the tone of the project and the voice of the brand.
AR, spatial design & glassmorfism
The release of Apple Vision Pro gave a second wind to glassmorfism. Apart from the frozen glass effect and translucency, the style allows the presence of several layers in the interface.
There is always a background on which the content is located and an element that is placed above and visually closer to the user’s eyes. In addition to casting a shadow (as any object in the real world does), the style makes it clear that there is something else behind the element due to its translucency and “frozenness”.
This idea of multi-layering is implemented in the AR interface: UI is superimposed on our “real” reality. But due to the glassmorphism style, it does not completely overshadow the real space – it clearly shows that it is part of something bigger.
Spatial UI Components by Shakuro
AI-driven solutions
AI has rapidly integrated into our activities in various industries, and design is no exception. Yes, there are no clear legal and ethical regulations for the use of Artificial Intelligence yet. So generating video and audio with the face and voice of a certain person can be used for fraud, which adds tension and anxiety from rapidly evolving technologies.
However, this does not mean that AI is exclusively harmful. It greatly simplifies performing routine tasks. With these newest web design trends, you can make your concepts look “alive” at the very first stages.
AI is just a tool that can give suggestions, but it will not do all the work for us.
Language models such as ChanGPT allow web designers to quickly delve into projects without endlessly searching for the necessary information on Google. They can also generate texts close to the original texts of the project, without using the boring Lorem Ipsum. Leveraging Stable Diffusion and Midjourney, you can generate the necessary images for website design or mobile applications instead of adding placeholders. Moreover, people create Figma plugins and standalone software to streamline the workflow or solve certain problems.
Neural network design concept by Shakuro
Web design trends for Apple Vision Pro
Why do we separate the trends for Vision Pro?
Well, these glasses aren’t meant only for entertainment: it’s a versatile tool that has great potential in various spheres – from healthcare to sports. Recently, a British medical team used the Apple Vision Pro during two spinal procedures, calling it a game-changing device. Moreover, the AR glasses help surgeons create surgical plans for hip and knee replacements using 3D models.
So, we touched upon some trends above, but now we will look at them from the prism of Vision Pro design.
In general, the interface design in VisionOS is quite original and unique. It is a symbiosis of modern style and skeomorphism. Application windows strive to simulate a physical presence in space. That’s why the designers use an imitation of frosted glass, which is slightly translucent and takes on the tonality of the surroundings. You can fit UI into your surroundings with ease. However, this kind of style can only work well with AR glasses and Apple Vision Pro.
Now, what other trends in web design can we highlight?
3D graphics
We consider 3D graphics the most promising and interesting trend for Vision Pro. 3D objects in the interface are eye-catching, even if they are just icons. You want to take a closer look at them, look behind them, or from the side. They feel like something new and unusual.
Apart from creating icons, you can showcase any 3D objects in the environment, disassemble, spin them, or change their states.
This is a great way of learning for engineers, industrial designers, auto industry specialists, doctors, and so on. There are already cool applications that allow you to see complex objects from different areas, from the cell structure to complex engineering devices, such as an aircraft engine.
- JigSpace – a huge gallery with 3D models that can be disassembled piece by piece. There are very complex and detailed objects. All models are dynamic, for example, the blades of an aircraft engine are rotating, so you can see how air flows through all its elements.
- Decathlon – an e-commerce sports store with 3D models of products. You can turn them around, place them in the room, or fit them in the interior.
- GlanceBar – a mini-to-do list with a 3D weather widget. It helps the application stand out from others.
- AirDraw – a drawing tool with a unique palette UI. It allows you to paint in space with volumetric brushes.
- PGA Tour – an application in which you can watch golf and see a 3D map of the field with ball flight trajectories. The map can be rotated and enlarged.
Multi-layering
We enjoyed working in several windows within one application. The advantage is that we have an endless workspace. For instance, if you are using Notion, you can attach a window of a dish recipe above the countertop, place a to-do list near the fridge, another one next to the workplace, etc. All of them are within one app.
However, only some applications support this trending web design.
Numerics – Business Dashboards
View in AR
Some websites have already integrated AR into the workflow. You can open a product in augmented reality, place it on a table, rotate it, and view it from all sides. With the emergence of Vision Pro, this feature has become more applicable. Yes, it is not new, for several years now, Apple products could be viewed in AR using an iPhone. Still, it could have been more useful.
There is no need to create a separate store application, as Decathlon did. Just add the “View in AR” button to the product card. So, when Vision Pro becomes more accessible and popular, such a feature will be used more often.
Leverage current trends in web design
From Apple’s vision for iOS design to the rise of emotional design and the integration of 3D elements, the future of web design is set to be more immersive and engaging for users. Embracing these trends will not only keep your website relevant but also ensure that it stands out in an increasingly crowded online landscape.
Need a functional and responsive layout for your website based on the latest web design trends? Reach out to us and let’s work together on your next project.