Public Relations & Social Marketing Insight

Landing Page Inspiration — December 2016.

You’d think that, 20 years later, as design has gotten more sophisticated and information about design has become much more accessible, designers would learn to avoid design mistakes, but a recent, large-scale usability study from 2016 by the NN Group found just the opposite to be true.

Instead of learning from past mistakes, designers have been continually repeating them throughout the decades. In fact, if there’s one thing that’s certain in web design, it’s that these errors continue to persist because designers keep forgetting the basics:

• Enabling users to find information


• Enabling users to read that information


• Enabling users to understand where to click and where the destination is...

Ready to refresh your website? The start of the year is a great time to take a hard look at your existing design – or even new projects – and think about how to incorporate some of the latest trends into the framework.From functionality to color and typography, 2017 will be a year of new ideas and new visual concepts to explore. Some of those designs are already starting to pop up, providing you with just enough visual inspiration to get off to the right start in the new year. Let’s take a look....

While clients often ask you to cram in as much information into a page as possible, seasoned web designers know this can lead to a usability nightmare. Confident and careful use of whitespace, in contrast, is all about giving content room to breathe.

The examples listed here work because everything the visitor needs is still there on the page; all that’s absent would just be clutter. In place of that clutter, whitespace helps create a balanced, easy to navigate interface where you can find what you need without being overwhelmed....

Trump's "Make America Great Again" hat was pervasive, potent, and deeply misunderstood.mp's ubiquitous bright red trucker hat, festooned with "Make America Great Again," is now seared into our collective memory. It was the most hated and most loved symbol of the election, the most comical and the most serious. It was a poorly designed product that turned out to be very strong branding. It was the most misunderstood design of the election—for designers and non-designers alike.

But most of all, it's a lesson about the limitations of "good" design. "No one wants to give [Trump] credit, understandably, because it’s not something that was designed," says Lindsay Ballant, a designer, art director, and adjunct professor at the Maryland College of Art. "It should be something that designers think about. Good design doesn't necessarily mean effective design."

As we move on from the 2016 election and contemplate the role of design in subsequent political campaigns, understanding the difference between good and effective design is imperative....

These technologies have combined to create a huge shift in the web design paradigm, creating, most notably, a responsive (or increasingly mobile-first) design philosophy.

On the aesthetic side, 3 years ago flat design reigned supreme. And then Google introduced Material design, which brought us slightly out of abstraction. 2017 marks the year design takes one more step back into reality. Whether it’s through form, color choice or functionality, 2017 is a year of hybrids, where reality and technology collide to create a seamless browsing experience.

Here are the 9 web design trends we think are going to bridge that gap...

What if I told you you could visit an art gallery ... from the comfort of your own home? Or from a bus seat on your commute to work? Or while you're taking a break for lunch?

 

If you follow the right people, that's what Instagram can do for you. There are a lot of really talented artists and designers out there who use Instagram as a sort of mini art gallery -- a social portfolio, if you will.

 

And it's a jackpot for people who love browsing gorgeous design work. To help you narrow your search, I've carefully curated some of the best Instagrams to follow for design inspiration. I did my best to place them in categories -- illustration, graphic design, pop art and installation, color palettes, street art, photography, typography, and calligraphy -- although you'll notice some of their work could fall into a number of different lists. ...

The golden ratio (or the divine proportion) is a mathematical constant that can be often seen in the natural world, as well as in the artwork throughout the history. In mathematical terms, when a is larger than b, and the two are added and then divided by a, the sum represents the golden ratio (1.618). That number is represented by the Greek character “phi”.

It is still not clear why this ratio is so appealing to the human eye. Anything following this ratio tends to be perceived as attractive and even the slightest change in an image that gets closer to the ratio is automatically considered to be more beautiful to the human brain.

It is not a matter of magic; it is just a yet unexplained fact that our minds react very positively to anything formed on the basis of the golden ratio. As many artists have been using this fact, so could you when it comes to web designing....

When I worked as a web designer, I was fascinated by how design trends changed each year. Since hanging up my design boots and focusing on being CEO of Envato, my focus has shifted from visual trends, to industry and technology ones. As I did in 2014 and 2015, here’s my take on where the world is moving!...

Why have I used the adjective 'sensible' in my headline, instead of something more click-worthy like 'crucial'?

The answer is that web design trends in 2017 should be all about meeting the user's needs.

Gone is the temptation to show off what the browser can do, in its place is a passion for proper design; form follows function.

Ignore all the web design trends pieces that tip their hats to virtual reality or to eye-catching animation; 2017 is about utilitarianism.

Here are the 10 trends I think will be most noticeable....

As 2016 comes to a near close, our creative team here at Dock9 reflected on what we consider the rising web design trends of 2017. Like any trend, these go in and out of fashion and may not necessarily suit all our users. However, we like to think of each trend as an “additional tool” to our designer tool box, where we pick the right ones for the job at hand.

This week we’ve compiled a list of 9 key trends we believe have been prominent in Web design this year, and we predict, likely to continue into 2017.

Empty space is not always wasted space.In fact, when it comes to web design, it's a best practice to give your content a little breathing room.

 

Today's website visitors are content-scanners. They scroll quickly, skim posts, and get distracted by busy layouts trying to accomplish too much. The key to getting your visitors' undivided attention is simplicity -- and that starts with an effective use of whitespace. 

 

In this article, we'll take a brief look at why whitespace matters, what it means for conversion-driven web design, and how eight websites are using whitespace to lead their visitors towards a desired action....