VISUAL TRENDS 2017
INTRO
Like it or not, we’re all influenced by visual trends. That doesn’t mean you have to slavishly follow them, but it’s important to know what they are. While it can be rather tricky to predict trends – some fade as rapidly as they appear – thus there are a few that are composed to make a grand impact.
From animation, typography, to colour… These are some of the powerful tools that have been going strong last year and look ahead to a few things that will likely shape the 2017 design landscape.
COLOUR
Flashy, bold colour schemes crept into design patterns of all styles. Bright colours are engaging and can assist users to feel a certain way when they interact with the design. The popularity of monochromatic colour palettes is widely seen and soar to unprecedented heights. This means you’ll be seeing more of sites that are decked out in varying tones of the same colour. Monochromatic schemes in vibrant hues are making a dramatic entry at the onset of 2017. Most important note on colour is that it can help bring focus to your message and make users want to emotionally connect with the brand.
CINEMAGRAPHS
The animated GIF image may be making something of a comeback in 2017, although in a more subtle form called the cinemagraph. They are still photographs where a slight movement is made. Applications used to create a cinemagraph are PhotoShop and After Effects, they frame-by-frame composited a photo with a bit of movement that looks like a moment partially frozen in time, swaying some highlighted detail. Demonstrated as a gif animation, it is more commonly viewed today as a video file because the quality is more desirable.
This is a great solution to modern marketing’s biggest problems: time.
Marketing supposedly has to work faster to grab our attentions, and cinemagraphs do just this. Only time will tell if cinemagraphs boost engagement and conversions or if they are just a craze.
ANIMATIONS
Browsers and languages are becoming more and more advanced by the day. We’re seeing various websites move away from static imagery and incorporating newer ways to engage users and communicating a message. For example, story-telling is key to what brands are working on in order to capture their users’ attention, therefore animation is starting to play a bigger role.
Animations come in all different shapes and sizes and can all serve different purposes. This is a useful mechanic for brands to create meaningful micro-interactions between themselves and their users. With all this said, they should only be used sparingly, to increase the user’s experience and not detract from it.
TYPOGRAPHY
Typography is a very powerful tool if used correctly. With this visual medium you are able to create personality, evoke emotion and set a certain tone. Creatives are using larger than life typography to help sell the design message. And it definitely works. Attention spans are shorter and you only have a few seconds to communicate with a bang to entice users. A great result of this trend includes typefaces that have added visual flair, such as an easy to ready novelty option or one with more of a vintage look.
Predictions are to see an increase in over-sized and full screen type which separates the grid, beautiful, unique, hand-rendered typography and lots of dynamic text and image layering working in tandem with parallax scrolling.
VIDEO
Moving content has become an essential part of web design strategies for creatives all over the globe. Video content has always been favoured outside the web, but high-resolution screens and fast connections have opened the door for widespread growth.
Leading ways to make use of video are short loops without sounds that showcase a product or service and on a large-scale production that provides entertainment value, such as a movie trailer.
Users demand high-quality action that tells a story keeping in mind it has to be engaging and relevant to your content. Our prediction: video is already huge, but it’s a trend which is set to continue even more so until it completely dominates the web and all online content.
CONCLUSION
Are you nervous to use a trendy element because it will outdate your design? The best and most timeless trends are those that aren’t full-scale overhauls. They can work within a number of different design patterns. You can add a bright accent colour to almost any website, for example. Oversized typography can replace smaller text in almost any framework.
Start small when working with new trends and add one element that works with your existing brand. See how users respond and how you feel about the change before moving on to wider-scale changes. However, different styles suit different brands and attract different people. Trends are a great way to see popularity, but make sure that it fits with your brand before applying it.
RESOURCES:
https://za.pinterest.com/garrettgoodman/mobile-uiux/
https://www.designbombs.com/website-design-trends-2017/
https://www.designcontest.com/blog/design-trends-predictions-2017/
10 Trends Driving Visual Content Marketing in 2017 (Infographic)
http://www.adorama.com/alc/6-visual-trends-predicted-for-2017
