Awwwards.Com Web Design Trends 2013
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Web Design Trends 2013 Awwwards.com 1 TRE NDS Project ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: Our gra- titude for the generosity of all the participants who have collaborated in this project by giving their valua- ble opinions: Dan Mall, Karen Mc- Grane, Jenn Lukas, Mike Kus, Nick Pettit, Dave Rupert, Veerle Peters, Denise Jacobs, Simon Foster, Bruce Lawson, Luciano Foglia, Ben Cline, Aarron Walter, Trent Walton, Oli- ver Reichenstein, Legwork Agency, Ultranoir, Ian Hickson, Brad Frost, Hinderling Volkart, Jeffrey Zeldman, Rachel Andrew, Epic Agency, Unit9, B-Reel, Fantasy-Interactive Lon- don,Hello Monday and Davin Wil- frid. EDITOR IN CHIEF and ART DIREC- TION: Awwwards Team. 2013 Web Design Trends 2013 Awwwards.com 2 Index/ Index Index 3 Rachel Andrew 78 Preface 4 Simon Foster 32 Interviews 7 Trent Walton 51 Aarron Walter 48 Ultranoir 60 Ben Cline 45 Unit9 86 Brad Frost 68 Veerle Peters 26 B-Reel 89 Conclusions 105 Bruce Lawson 36 Data 113 Dan Mall 8 Dave Rupert 23 Davin Wilfrid 102 Denise Jacobs 29 Epic Agency 81 F-i London 92 Hello Monday 95 Hinderling Volkart 72 Ian Hickson 64 Jeffrey Zeldman 75 Jenn Lukas 14 Karen McGrane 11 Legwork Agency 57 Luciano Foglia 42 Mike Kus 16 Nick Pettit 19 Oliver Reichenstein 53 Web Design Trends 2013 Awwwards.com 3 Preface Chapter. 1 Web Design Trends 2013 Awwwards.com 4 Commandments of needs based Why Trends firmly on their own experiences as users. The Awwwards community are a faithful audience, always interested Trends is not only a prediction for in learning and dedicating their 2013. It reflects a natural interest in time to acquiring the necessary how all aspects of web design will technical knowledge to apply in evolve over the next few years. We their daily work. With the noble don’t actually know whether we will aim of being a useful tool for our need to make a similar publication community, at the end of 2012 we in 2014; things in this industry decided to gather the opinions change quickly, so it’s possible of renowned experts on how the that in less than 12 months many web industry will evolve in the of these trends and technologies complex times we live in, in this which now seem to be blossoming tower of Babel of technologies and will have disappeared completely. devices that’s rushing towards us. The idea was to all the participants“ more or less Of course, nobody can know for the same questions to get a sure what might happen in the coming months and years. In fact, kind of data map.” Trends is not only a pre- “diction for 2013. It reflects How is the document a natural interest in how all structured? aspects of web design will The idea was to all the participants evolve over the next few more or less the same questions years. to get a kind of “data map” which would help us visualize “the future ” of the web”. To this end, we had many of the interviewees were the invaluable help of 28 renowned hesitant to give an opinion on experts in different areas of the trends. Curiously, in the end some industry. They are the ones who very similar ideas emerged to make have given this project its shape. up, more than a prediction, a Ten Web Design Trends 2013 Awwwards.com 5 The end motivation? Honestly... you’ll see why as you read the document, because this is exactly what can be taken from almost all the contributions... building a more useful, accessible and efficient web for the user without forgetting that design is a powerful tool that not everyone is able to use with skill and honesty. Web Design Trends 2013 Awwwards.com 6 Interviews Chapter. 2 Web Design Trends 2013 Awwwards.com 7 Dan Mall Design Director at Superfriendly Co. Dan Mall is an award-winning designer We’ll see people more from Philadelphia. Founder and Design “broadly understanding Director at SuperFriendly, co-founder of Typedia and swfIR, and singer/ keyboard mobile devices. player for contemporary Christian band ” Four24. Dan writes about design and other issues on Twitter and his website. Web Design Trends 2013 Awwwards.com 8 hat trends do you see co- around touch interactions. Here’s Wming in the near future in one of my recent favorites by Rally web and mobile design? Interactive co-founder Ben Cline. I’ve never been good at predictions, but I think (hope)? we’ll see people more broadly understanding mobile devices—computers we can hold in our hands as opposed to having to sit at a desk to use—as the web, not just an “on-the-go”, abridged version of the web. What do you think we’ll see in la- yout and UI design in 2013? What animation techniques and Simplicity, app-inspired design, effects applied to navigation and responsive, single page websites, user interaction will we see? Will alternative navigation patterns…? we finally move beyond Parallax scroll? There’s an interesting battle currently being fought between Gosh, I hope so. I’ve seen very photorealistic graphics and flat few sites that use parallax as a aesthetics, led by Apple and conceptual construct as opposed Microsoft’s Windows 8. I think we’ll to a technological gimmick. see a lot more push and pull with As touch-enabled devices are these styles over the next year. As touch-enabled de- Touch and gestures, media que- “vices are becoming more ries, responsive, retina display, ubiquitous, I think we’ll webfonts, realtime web... How see a lot of experimenta- do you think these techniques tion around touch interac- and technologies will evolve and tions. what will be next? ” It’s interesting to see design and becoming more ubiquitous, I think technology simultaneously getting we’ll see a lot of experimentation Web Design Trends 2013 Awwwards.com 9 bigger and smaller. On one end nes will you be focusing on in the of the spectrum, we find browsers coming months and years? evolving more rapidly than ever, Everything! We’re certainly with designers and developers doing the web work we love so pushing technologies like WebGL, much, HTML/CSS/JS,mobile-first hardware acceleration, and 3D in responsive design, WordPress, the browser without having to rely ExpressionEngine/otherCMS’s— on plugins. On the other end, we but are also venturing a bit into see mobile access necessitating Objective-C and OpenFrameworks simpler, faster sites and heralding as we do more native mobile work. the need for optimizing. I’m curious We’re even creating some physical to see how each evolves. installations that connect digital and analog. More on that soon! When looking for potential em- ployees or collaborators what catches your eye? Great design taste in a portfolio usually gets my attention, but what Great design taste in a “portfolio usually gets my attention, but what keeps it is hunger and passion for the work. ” keeps it is hunger and passion for the work. I also try to look for some form of richness; I like seeing small moments where it’s obvious that he/she pored over the details. What technologies are your team training in now? Which discipli- Web Design Trends 2013 Awwwards.com 10 Karen McGrane Content, User Experience Strategist Image by Alison Grippo Karen McGrane is a content strategist Mobile is not the Lite and user experience designer with “version. I think this will 15 years of experience making big, complicated websites. Currently she is be year of the mobile Managing Partner of Bond Art + Science. website, no more desk- top redirects.” Web Design Trends 2013 Awwwards.com 11 hat trends do you see co- will want to do that on mobile,” Wming in the near future in you’re too late. People are already web and mobile design? trying to do it. It’s our mission—and our responsibility—to deliver a great Most major organizations are experience to them, on whatever starting to see about 10% of the device or platform they choose to traffic to their website coming from use. mobile devices—which means it’s time to move on putting a content 2. Content parity is the goal. Too strategy for mobile in place. I think often, we fall into the trap of this will be the year of the mobile thinking mobile should be the “lite” website, no more desktop redirects or bare-bones landing pages. It’s We fall into the trap of time to think of the mobile website “thinking mobile should be as every bit as “real” as the desktop the lite version. website. ” You don’t get to decide version, offering a subset of content and features. Or we just want it to “which device people use to be different for the sake of being visit your website. They do. different. For most organizations, providing a consistent experience ” across the desktop web and mobile web should be the foundational What should be the new design goal. principles for web and mobile design? 3. It’s not a strategy if you can’t maintain it. Lots of great ideas flop I have three big principles that in the execution, because no one inform my approach to content took into consideration what would strategy for web and mobile. be required from the internal web, production, or editorial teams. With 1. You don’t get to decide which digital teams now juggling lots of device people use to visit your different platforms, it’s even more website. They do. If you’re sitting important to focus on around debating whether “people Web Design Trends 2013 Awwwards.com 12 the needs of the people who will see increasing numbers of wildly maintain the site.