Design in 2011
For the world of design, 2011 is the year where function outweighs beauty. The new and upcoming trends are focused around responsive design, constant connection and virtual reality. For consumers and designers this year and the decade to come, design’s main goal is to captivate users in an entertaining, original manner. To do this successfully, here are the top 11 trends that designers should follow so they can succeed on computers as well as smart phones, netbooks, tablets and more in 2011.
1. More CSS3 and HTML5
2011 is the year where designers are starting to get away from Flash and focus more on web design with text shadow, border radius and image transparency.
2. Simplistic Color Schemes
2011 is all about simplicity. Green, yellow and red are the new black, white and grey. It is important to limit your design to only two or three colors and to work within the shades of the colors you are using.
3. Mobile Ready
It is important for web design to be responsive to multiple viewpoints with the growing amount of mobile products. Though it is good to have a dedicated mobile site, but make sure it is optimized to the original site as well. It has been forecasted that smart phones will outsell personal computers in 2011.
4. Parallax Scrolling
2011 design is all about creating a sense of depth. This can be done by using layers to present an illusion of 3-D dimensional space. It can also be very beneficial as a 2nd element on any design element.
5. Designing for Touch Screens
Due to the overwhelming usage of smart phones and iPads, online destinations are at consumer’s fingertips. With fingertip navigation, it is important to incorporate horizontal scrolling since hovering (like with a mouse) isn’t necessary anymore.
6. Depth Perception in Web Design
Website depth perception is all about creating dimension. With a crisp and simple design, replicating depth deems necessary in 2011.
7. Large Photographic Backgrounds
Large scale backdrops have surged in 2011. To grab the attention of the audience, web design is focused around high resolution, soft and slightly transparent imagery as well as being appropriate to the content.
8. Creative Domain Names and Integration
Web domains are getting away from the usual .com and being replaced by more “whimsical” names like .us or .me. .Me is good for personal portfolios, blogs or even creating a separate identity their a corporate brand.
9. Quick Response Codes
1n 2001, barcodes are popping on business cards, magazines and much more. Camera phones can take a picture of the barcode that will then take them to the website associated with it. This allows for a short cut to a mobile site and the ability to track visitors on special referral codes.
10. Thumbnail Design
Thumbnail browsing enables consumers to clock on a magnifying glass and hover over the site before actually going to it. In 2011, the average Internet user has become “surfing-savvy” so this trend makes it easier to browse through the web more easily.
11. Constant Connection/Life Stream
2011 is the year where consumers are focusing on a constant connection. Web design can help this by sharing our lives in an open forum and enabling personal blogs/portfolios to be live Twitter feeds. Sites, like foursquare, help dedicate this lifestream for all of consumer’s online activity.
