It wasn't that long ago that websites were those flat-designed, slow and clunky things we used in the 90s, on our bubble-like computer monitors. Well, those days are long gone now, and the day of the hamburger menu and long-scroll is upon us.
The UI Pattern
Many within the industry have begun commenting on how sites are beginning to look very similar. This can be partly blamed on the need to have responsive website design. However, the rise of WordPress-style sites with themes being heavily used also equates to a similar feel across the industry.
That being said, having a similar look and feel isn't automatically a bad thing as the market has changed the way it receives digital information, particularly online. As consumers, we have become accustomed to receiving information on websites in a particular way and to start deviating from this could be detrimental.
Ultimately a check out process is just that, and a login portal can’t be reinvented with such dramatic changes that consumers would turn away.
Some will openly criticise the use of this little guy. However, there really is no doubt that it is widely recognised and makes navigation for visitors and users very straightforward.
Isn't it delightful when you go to sign up for a new service or website and low and behold that time is reduced to 10 seconds because you’re able to use your Facebook account to sign up. This is an excellent tool for encouraging the users to complete their registration and not take an early exit.
Instagram and Pinterest have brought us the square tile or card as some may call it. This simple shape has transformed the way we interpret and digest small chunks of information when presented to us in this format.
For the designers out there too, this makes them a lot easier to move around and re-arrange for differing breakpoints on devices.
Our vision often makes the first impression one to remember and will place a mental reminder in our mind for us. A recent trend has seen this big HD image exposure maximised for websites. Encapsulating the imagination of the user while also managing load times. Typically the large image will then scroll down to reveal boxes/cards or tiles that will indicate further areas of the site.
These are just some of those that we have seen come to stay over the last 12 months, and in our opinion, we can’t see them moving anywhere too soon into 2016.
Got a web design query or project? Get in touch with our friendly, Peterborough-based team of experts at i3MEDIA and we’ll get you going in the right direction.