Welcome to the jungle, our annual post on web design trends for 2021.
Across this article we’re going to walk through the 6 references that will set the web design trends.
Through examples, recommendations and applications of these trends, we’ll see which creative techniques are coming on strong and will make up the best web designs of 2021.
You can read the extended post on Code Barcelona, where I’ve gone into each point in more depth: Web design trends for 2021
Web design trends for 2021, be ahead
Combined scroll
One of the web design trends that’s going to be everywhere in 2021 is the use of combined scroll in the design and development of a website.
From this year on we’ll be browsing pages that navigate in different directions, moving on from the traditional vertical scroll to sites with a combined scroll that carries us both vertically and horizontally as their needs require.
With this device we leave behind the boredom that infinite vertical scrolls are proven to produce — the ones that take us away from the content we’re actually after and drop us into a dull automatic stroll.
The end result for design and usability is stunning: web designs where the user experience is considerably richer and where the story behind the site is perfectly written, told and taken in by the end users, our clients and viewers.
Which web designs can I use this in?
- In highly interactive web designs
- In cutting-edge projects
- In the best web designs of 2021
Remember:
- A vertical scroll should be used where it’s genuinely needed
- Combining the vertical scroll means having a very well-planned web design
Sites using this trend
Ad+D
Typography Principles
Bruno Arizio
Hero Home
The fifth of the web design trends for 2021 is the Hero Home, or opening screens packed with type and message.
Typography has been of central importance in every design trends list of the last three years; add to that the importance of the message and the result is web designs whose opening screen is entirely taken over by large type and powerful statements.
The result is sensationalist covers in web design, much like newspapers that were — and are — after a big impact on readers.
Powerful lines that define the company or what it offers.
Which web designs can I use this in?
- Ones that need a highly visual, high-impact design
- Ones not aimed at a very conservative audience
- When you want to grab attention and leave nobody indifferent
Remember:
- Remember that, whatever the approach, users tend to fix their attention on large elements.
- You’ll have to run user testing to know whether your web design really works and no information gets lost
- Some clients will be reluctant about this kind of design, so be ready to sell it well.
Sites using this trend
Boost
Spline
Fledge
3D content
Another web design trend taking centre stage in 2021 is the use of three-dimensional elements in web design. By that we don’t mean designs with elements that simulate three dimensions, but genuinely 3D elements.
I think the main reason 2021 is a good year for this trend to take hold is that web design and development technology, together with internet capacity and bandwidth, now make it possible.
Our connections, our devices and our build technology can finally support all our creativity.
The result is web designs with a very modern, innovative, forward-looking and technological feel, which will lift any company’s digital image several notches.
Which web designs can I use this in?
- Ones that need a highly visual, high-impact design
- Only suitable for an audience keen to be at the cutting edge of web design and development
- When you want to grab attention and leave nobody indifferent
Remember:
- Not suitable for developers with an average level of programming
- If you don’t do it well the result backfires
- Some clients will be reluctant about this kind of design, so be ready to sell it well.
Sites using this trend
Gucci
Weed Center
Incube
Asymmetric web design
The third web design trend of 2021 is asymmetric web design which, as the name suggests, refers to web design where the traditional grid structure is broken to make way for far more dynamic, fresher layouts.
The aim is to break away from boring web designs that look much like one another and remind us of sites with copied layouts or built on a pre-set template.
Over the course of this year we’ll see a flowering of web designs where designers take on the challenge of making an asymmetric layout that still keeps a communicative balance with users.
Which web designs can I use this in?
- Ones that need a highly visual, high-impact design
- Ones not aimed at a very conservative audience
- When you want to grab attention and leave nobody indifferent
Remember:
- Remember that, whatever the approach, users tend to fix their attention on large elements.
- You’ll have to run user testing to know whether your web design really works and no information gets lost
- Some clients will be reluctant about this kind of design, so be ready to sell it well.
Sites using this trend
Mill 3
Loft Garten
Sergey Vinogradov
Organic Shapes
The fourth of our web design trends for 2021 is Organic Shapes or, in other words, building graphic devices and elements with organic forms into the web design.
The main aim is to move away from sharp angles.
Using this device gives the site a very organic, natural and personal feel.
This 2021 web design trend seeks to get closer to the end user so their experience, the UX, feels very natural and calm. Beyond that, it can also work as a graphic counterpoint to content that’s extremely aggressive or dynamic.
That final contrast will give our web design and the user experience a real boost.
Which web designs can I use this in?
- Ones that need organic elements to contrast with the content
- When we want the user to browse smoothly and calmly
- To get closer to the user
Remember:
- It isn’t suitable for developers without talent
- You have to know how to apply it so the result feels part of a whole
- Not every project can carry this kind of device
Sites using this trend
Alessandra Zhanghi by Adoratorio
Thibaut Foussard
Nahel Moussi
Super Burger Menu
The last of the 2021 web design trends we’ll be seeing everywhere is the full-screen super burger menu.
This device is a logical evolution of the need to bring our web experience as close as possible to mobile apps, app-like, and of the importance of large-scale type.
With this kind of full-screen menu the aim is to blur the line between desktop web design and mobile app design, so the user gets the same feel and comfort as when browsing on their phone.
If the site structure is properly thought through, it’s a device that makes it easier for the user to find content and boosts UX and the time they spend browsing.
Which web designs can I use this in?
- When you’re after an app-like design
- For sites with few or very clearly defined sections
- To make an impression at first glance
Remember:
- The site’s architecture has to be very clear for this device to work
- An app-like design is vital for great UX, so fight to make your client understand it
- You can go a step further and add a little more content to the open menu, such as footer information
Sites using this trend
Ear Couture
Nieuw Bergen
Chungiyoo
Conclusions and a summary for the lazy
We’ve just seen the 6 web design trends that will shape most of the winning web designs of 2021.
From now on you’ll be able to analyse 2021’s websites yourself and spot which ones use these web design trends and how the creatives behind them have applied these devices.
Full post
You can read the extended post on Code Barcelona, where I’ve gone into each point in more depth: Web design trends for 2021
