Web Design Trends 2010 Part 1

Not Messy, but Hand-Drawn or Painted

2009 brought about torn paper, uneven edges, scribbled handwriting and a general worn-out look to fashionable websites. We're now looking to get ourselves a little more clean and organised. It's 2010, and a refreshing site is what we're looking for.

So, without being messy, we're now looking at including hand-drawn sketches, paintings and images. You don't have to be amazing at fine art, but you'll need to be a competent graphic designer. These images are hand drawn, with colour and effects added in Photoshop or a similar program.

Hand-drawn images (especially in a header) can give your site amazing individual flair and personalisation. If your site is different (albeit attractive) then you're likely to hold your visitors.

2010 Typefaces

Last year popularised the serif fonts, the curly elegant typefaces and the messy handwriting. This is 2010 and we're looking at big, bold, capitals in different sizes and in varying fonts! This year do not be afraid to use more than two typefaces in one layout.

It's true that too much text is hard to read and will put-off your visitors. Used in a creative way however, fonts can make your text just as interesting and appealing as images.

Experiment with slab typefaces and elongated text coupled with simple Sans Serif headings. And don't worry about replacing text with images of text, i'll soon be posting a snippet of trickery (but clean) code to fool Google into thinking it's seeing the real thing!

Minimalistic Designs

Again, bigger and bolder is better, but keeping it simple and usable. Minimalistic designs can include headings, sub-headings, images and text, but in clear and concise ways, with strategically placed boxes and plenty of clear space.

Unlike 2009, 2010 wants to stay minimalistic but not plain. We're looking at large text and exploding images in colour, not just in black and white. Layouts are looking de-cluttered and organised. We're using fresh colours this year, earthy and green colours teamed with dark grey are popping up everywhere. It also pays off to do a little more research or hunting for the right fonts.

Cartoon and Vector Drawings & Elements

Instead of photographic images, we're using vectors and computer-generated scenes. This trend doesn't seem to have changed much since 2009, and is still featured in lots of cutting-edge designs.

Large Headers and Footers

Large images, logos and welcome text in a large header will make your site right up-to-date. It's all about promoting the message, the brand, the values and this year, bigger is better.

Traditionally, web designers have been taught to display as much information as possible on the page without having to scroll down. Welcome to 2010 where most people know how to use a computer and how to scroll. Hooray, we can now have oversized headers and navigation-filled footers!

In your header, a striking image can capture a viewers attention and can say a thousand words. Better still, couple it with a great big slogan or sub-header, for example 'Your In-House Design Team' to really hit home the message you're trying to get across (or indeed the message the visitor is hoping to see!).

In your footer you can repeat the menu, add perhaps a testimonial, contact form, blog feed... a link to your twitter or your Facebook account – the possibilities are endless! This will not only give your visitor a few more links to click on, but will do wonders for your Google ranking!

Bookmark us for Web Design Trends 2010 Part 2 (next week) for more tips, tricks and inspirations!