The world of web design never sits still. When we’re immersed in our work, we often miss the biggest changes sweeping the industry. We’re halfway through 2022, so it’s a good time to take a bird’s eye view and share some of the broader trends every creative should be aware of.
We pulled these three interesting trends from Editor X’s 2022 trends report. Editor X is an advanced web design platform that enables freelancers and agencies to create responsive websites for their clients, no matter how complex their creative expression and requirements.
Below you’ll find an overview of each influential trend, but for more details and a complete list of trends we recommend you view the full report here.
1. Metaverse Mayhem
The term Metaverse refers to virtual worlds where more and more people are connecting and interacting, from Meta’s Horizon Worlds to gaming platforms like Roblox. But this is just the beginning. Investments in this area are expected to balloon to hundreds of billions of dollars by 2030.
So while the space is still in its infancy, a wide range of brands such as Wendy’s and Gucci see great opportunities in the multiverse. Designers who can help establish a foothold in these brave new worlds are truly appreciated.
See the full report for more details.
2. Dopamine Color Palette
You first heard about “dopamine dressing”. Dress up in your favorite colorful outfit and wear an array of happiness-inducing rainbow colors. Now trends are moving from fashion to screen. Bright, bold, and vibrant palettes are now ubiquitous on the web. This makes sense given how exhausting and demoralizing the past few years have been. We need more joy in our lives and adding color is one way to inspire it.
A huge appetite for nostalgia is said to play a role in this trend as well, as we look back on happier times. For example, there are sites that offer a satisfying visual feast of colors to dazzle and entertain. Check out the Mire Design Studio and distributed archives for inspiration.
See the full report for more details.
3. Webkitsch
These days, most websites are clean and uncluttered and look exactly the same. So it’s no surprise that nostalgia for the early 2000s is on the rise. Designers embrace the unpolished aesthetics of the web’s early days, which were less templated, less corporatized, and decidedly weird.
This means that intentionally lo-fi web design is making a comeback. We’re talking default fonts, patterned backgrounds, old-fashioned browser windows, simple layouts, and decorative sticker icons like smiley faces and butterflies, so even if you’re not a designer, you’ll have an amateur look. I can tell you. Esther Rubanovich’s portfolio is leading, as is Ryan Haskins’ portfolio.
See the full report for more details.
Read the full 2022 trends report
Above, we’ve rounded up three of the most interesting web design trends currently influencing creatives. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Check out Editor X’s trending report today to find out more about where the industry is headed.
