Four web design styles for 2010

Are you planning a website re-design in 2010? If so you’ll want to show what a forward-looking type you are by leaving the Noughties look behind and embracing the 2010s. Here’s a quick roundup of styles that are proving to be more popular than ever as we emerge blinking into the light of the new decade. These are visual styles that are likely to see a growth during 2010.

Psychedelia Reloaded

This is evolving out of the recent trend of using the full gamut of rainbow colours on black or white. I call it ‘reloaded’ because this trend is able to cherry-pick the best bits of 60s psychedelia while leaving the cheese in the past where it belongs.

• 60s psychedelia in popular culture is a bountiful resource for inpiring a new wave of web design in colour, shape
• Intricately coloured backgrounds with a busy, hand-drawn feel
• Digital artworking brings a modern, sharply ‘in focus’ take on the original hand-drawn approach
• Bright and often challenging colour combinations, and type design reminiscent of old album covers

Magazine layouts

There has always been a lingering desire for web content to look like a glossy print magazine. In the past, this was achieved through Flash – the end result often being small fonts and poor usability. Designers are more able than ever to do this properly – keeping the markup semantic and accessible, while progressively enhancing page content through rich scripting libraries like JQuery.

• Higher-than-ever screen resolutions allow more content to be seen at once. This puts an extra burden on the visual hierarchy, encouraging effective heading size and design
• Grid-based layouts
• A baseline grid for a layout with a polished, typeset feel
• Accessible font replacement technology e.g. sIFR or Cufon
• Big banners and illustrations, diagrams or infographics
• Big fonts

Web 2.0 (still)

This style doesn’t seem to be running out of steam. This is likely due to how effective it has been at becoming a design movement rather than just a visual layer placed over old content. It’s no longer just a glossy button, rounded sans fonts and the odd grid-breaking badge. It’s more about realising the screen as a viable medium:

• Horizontal bands of content are an effective way of sectioning pages.
• A proper hierarchy of information on the page encourages larger headings and body text of a decent, readable size.
• White space is used to enhance the clarity and message of the page. It doesn’t ALL have to be above the fold.
• Big buttons and clear calls to action are the order of the day, a sign that pages are built on the solid foundation of understanding their users’ goals.
• Standards compliance, accessibility and semantic markup are very compatible with Web 2.0 design. These are often equal passions.

Eco design

This is a trend that has been growing with the resurgence of environmental responsibility we’ve seen in the last few years. It will manifest itself in small ‘nature’ touches and flourishes at first, like those blue sky gradients and seamless grass backgrounds we’ve seen in recent years. These are popular with clients because they carry a feelgood factor.

• Natural elements of decoration rather than pattern
• Use of natural textures including recycled card and paper
• Green, Brown and Orange are starting to be the usual suspects
• Marker fonts and handwritten notes
• Cute, flat-shaded vector illustration

Any more?

If you’ve spotted any other emerging styles I’d love to know about it in the comments.