Web Design Trends We Absolutely Love in 2018

As we approach the middle of the year, here is a list of web design trends that we have absolutely loved working with, in 2018.

Bold and Bright Colors   

Experimental color themes are finding more takers this year in web design. A combination of bright colors can convey happiness and set a positive mood. Another feisty way of using bright colors is the monotone technique. If used as a background for content, monotone enhances readability.

We also love using duotone (two colors make up an image).  It allows us to distinctly express the emotions that particular colors convey. Text attains prominence over duotone. Overlaying is another effect that can be easily created but needs to be used sparingly.

Cinemagraphs

Since it’s invention in 2011, cinemagraphs have been used to attractive and alluring effect in web design. How are cinemagraphs created? Usually, Photoshop is usually used to edit an HD video to create a still frame and retain a moving frame within the same shot for effect.

Cinemagraphs are very effectively used in various marketing campaigns. Imagine wine spiraling in a wine glass in the otherwise still image of an outdoor family lunch table. The glitter and sparkle on the diamond ring on a jewelry website homepage are among the many good uses of cinemagraphs.

Sticky Navigation   

We refer here to chat boxes and other navigation elements too. Sticky navigation works best for action-oriented websites. It is also ideal for long pages, where this design element has replaced ‘back to top’. Mobile users are already aware of sticky navigation while browsing websites. They are bound to love any web design element that adds ease of use to website browsing.

The psychological connect of sticky navigation is the browsing confidence it gives its users across demographics. The user has the feeling that they are constantly interacting with the website and are never lost.

Split Screen Design

More websites are opting for a single screen divided into two vertical screens conveying two different messages. A distinct illustration, text or image conveys the characteristic of each side. This design element is great when you contrast two messages or want the user to be attracted to a particular communication.

Striking singular colors and impactful typography builds user interest in split screen design. Drawing user attention to an action button is easier in split screen design, especially when the button on the left side of the screen. Since most users now have large screens on their mobile devices, split screen design is a favorable web design element for now.

How to Get the Best from Your Web Designer

You have hired the right web designers. The real test now is to get the best output from your web designer for your ongoing projects and website design solutions. Having worked on over 150 global projects as a professional web development company, here are some tips to ensure that your web designer delivers at an optimum level.

Never Rush the Design Process

Always set a reasonable deadline for the web designer. The client will love to have a brand new website ready in a week or a fortnight. But rushing your web designer to speed up things will adversely affect the design quality. Quality work will always take a certain amount of hours.

Evaluate and outline the work process in advance to accommodate both the designer and the client. Plan the workflow efficiently, ensuring that your web designer is never hurrying through things.

Encourage an Initiative-Driven Culture

When a web designer approaches you with a problem, don’t be too eager to lead them to a ready solution. Instead, encourage them to come up with innovative solutions to the problem. Unless you don’t get them used to confront problems, their experience and knowledge are bound to suffer. The long-term results could be your web designer’s gradual loss of interest and general lack of confidence in their work.

The Website Analysis Exercise

Here’s an exercise your web designers can practice once a week. Let the designers select a bunch of their favorite and successful websites with good web design. Now, direct them to make a list of 15 things that they think is cool about the design. The reasons for selecting each of these 15 things must also be documented.

You and the web designer can now discuss the common points they like across all the analyzed websites. This practice enables the designer to learn and practice design aspects. The design aspects picked up from the exercise can be included in the web designer’s approach, style or work process for better website design solutions.

Random Practice

As an ongoing practice exercise, along with the project work, let your designer create a random website based on the set of requirements you provide them with.

Treat this exercise seriously. Provide the web designer with specific design requirements. Set a deadline for the design and arrange a dummy client call between you and the designer. Discuss the design from the client point of view. This exercise will get your designer ample practice to interact with the client, understand specific requirements and execute the design accordingly.

Summary

These are four of the many practices we adhere to at our web development company in Pune. Implementing these practices ensure that our web designers are independent, constantly learning and assured about their work. Job satisfaction is another positive outcome of these practices.

The Top Logo Design Trends 2018

The logo is the brand’s face and character. Customers remember an image or a design longer than a name. As a professional web design company, we have worked with a varied set of customers. Logo design is always a tricky business. Here is our list of logo design trends for 2018.

The Return of Hand Drawn Logos

A lot of our clients prefer hand-drawn logos for its limitless creativity and the natural, non-digital touch. Many pioneering companies use hand-drawn logos to emphasize a fresh, out of the box appeal. Designing logos by hand is a quicker, spontaneous practice. The iteration cycles also take less time compared to digital technology. Also, hand-drawn logos provide the brand with a rich, genuine vibe.

Geometrical Familiarity

Minimalism or to convey more in less is finding many takers this year. For instant customer connection, familiar geometrical shapes are becoming an integral part of logos. Curved circles, sharp triangles, rectangular and square shapes are easy on the eye. A combination of geometric shapes conveys the brand’s value, culture, and vision.

The Unforgettable Monogram Touch

The strong symbolism that monogram logos convey is the stuff of legend. If used with the right letters, color gradients, sharpness, and finish, monogram logos attain an iconic appeal. Monogram logos are making a comeback, helping brands convey trust and confidence among customers. For further inspiration, browse through the Volkswagen, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel and General Electric logos.

Optimised for Social Media

As more and more brands are making their presence felt on social media, businesses are rethinking their logo design. Some brands are tweaking the logo colors, or making them sharper and compact to register easily in the potential customer’s mind. Simple colors and textures are in use to make the brand more attractive and inviting to the target audience.

Negative Space Artworks

The popular use of negative space has endured and with good reason. A well-made negative space logo is a work of art, drawing attention upon itself. They convey clarity, creativity and professional capability. The subtle variations leave well-designed negative space logos open to interpretation. Depth is another attribute, inciting the customer to be fascinated by the design aspects and brand connection.

Grooving with the Grid

The grid stands for balance and is at the core of any good logo design. Mobile app design has adapted grids for maximum impact. The potential for experimentation is endless in a grid-centric logo. It provides a strong aesthetic sense, at the same time conveying excitement and new beginnings. The grid should be around forever, by the likes of it.

We have recollected here the logo design trends we have witnessed in 2018 so far. What do you think are the other logo design trends that will be popular this year? Please share your comments.

Five Things You Need to Change on your Website

Creating an engaging website is imperative for any business.  As many readers must have discovered, maintaining a great website is no easy task. Here is a list of things that reveal why your website is not popular with your users. We also share some tips to optimize your website:

Loading Time

Loading…Loading…Loading…

Your website can’t take too much time to load! Millions of other websites are competing for user attention. Don’t make your users wait. Unless the users want to visit your website nobody is going to wait that long.

You lose 20% of your conversions to every extra second your mobile website takes to load. About 50% users expect your website to load in 2 seconds. The same user percentage will leave the website in the third second. (Google Statistics)

So start working on speeding up that loading time now!

Home Page Clutter

A cluttered homepage will turn off users. Our suggestion? Start again with a fresh perspective. Segregate the core elements you want on the website.

Consider why your target audience should visit your website. Restructure the content, website design, UI, and UX. Use image sliders to showcase your prime content. Attractive and creative image sliders can encourage users to further explore the website.

Zero Interaction

If there is no interactivity, why have a website? Encourage your visitors to explore the website with clear calls to action. Have more groovy elements to entice your users. Short videos, animation, online polls, exclusive comments section, contests and other interactive elements. You get the drift.

Grammar Errors & Typos

Typos and poor grammar are bound to put off your website visitors. Get your website content checked and corrected by content and language experts. Don’t rely on online grammar checking software to check your website content. Most software is not reliable. Each software uses a varied set of grammar rules to auto correct. The results are usually inconsistent.

Using Images Effectively

If your website images are too dull and unappealing, traffic is bound to suffer. Captivating images attract a larger percentage of users. Apart from blogging, images are the most important form of business content. Statistics don’t lie.

Visual elements dominate 74% of social media marketing, way ahead of videos and blogs. An audience provided with text content along with an image retains 65% of the information.

Conclusion

What do you make of the five things listed above to improve your website traffic? How can we ensure constant user engagement? How do we generate business leads through the website? Please do share your comments.