We have outlined the web design trends that will dominate 2020, along with some pro tips on how to successfully implement them in your design.

1. Dark mode

How could something so simple as placing light-colored text, icons, and UI elements on a dark background be so powerful? Dark mode is the web design trend that has undoubtedly dominated in 2019, and it seems unlikely that its reign will end in 2020.

Dark mode swept the online world off its feet flat-out, with top apps and websites such as Facebook Messenger, YouTube, Instagram, Viber, WhatsApp, and Chrome, as well as the latest releases of Android and Apple operating systems, turning the lights off one after another.

The color-scheme’s popularity lies in its multiple benefits, from offering users a more elegant and sleek working environment, to positively affecting the device’s battery life and energy consumption. Meanwhile, the so-called night mode is also favorable because it reduces the use of light pixels, which in turn lowers the overall brightness of a screen, causing less eyestrain, and easing reading.

2. Minimalism

A blast from the past, minimalism is a classic web design trend bound to stay. While forms and features of minimalism have changed over the years, its essentials stay the same — winning over the hearts of both designers and end-users through elegance, usability, and simplicity.

Minimalism in web design can mean a plethora of things — from minimalistic graphic elements, and narrow color palettes, to a bare minimum of text and website navigation.

The trend rose to prominence as a way of accommodating ebbing screen sizes and attention spans. Usability and navigating throughout the website are alleviated thanks to the extremely minimalist menu that take away much of the difficulty, shifting visitors’ focus from how to find certain information on engaging in information itself.

A good way of achieving minimalism in web design is ditching a heavy paragraph for a high-quality image or a video that would convey the message of the text in a more enticing and straightforward manner.

3. Black & white

2020 will be the year of minimalism, even in website color schemes. Black and white, paired with a very narrow spectrum of grayscale are everlastingly elegant, aesthetic and modern.

To avoid your website getting dull, add some high-quality black and white photographs or artistic illustrations.

4. Luminous color schemes

On the complete opposite, luminous color schemes will be a step forward in isometric trend in web design. Glowing, neon colors such as blues, purples, and pinks will make your website look modern and futuristic. Coupled with deeper and darker shades, these luminous colors will pop out from screens, forging a bold and daring appearance of your site.

5. Hand-drawn elements

Human-centered approach in design has seen something of a renaissance lately, and no better example of that than hand-drawn elements. Whether it’s cartoonish illustrations, drawn icons, or handwritten lettering, technology in recent years is all about bringing emotions, humanity, and personal touch.

Moreover, hand-drawn graphics radiate positivity, soulfulness, and easy-going, so this trend is a definite must for 2020 if you aim to show your clients just how creative and imaginative you can be.

6. Bold typography

Over the last years, providing a pleasurable user experience has been the main aim of web designers. One of the most important aspects of a good UX is clean, legible typography. Bold, all-caps fonts, monochromatically colored or transparent with an outline are the hottest trend today.

Cursive fonts are hard-to-read and it’s very easy to mix similar-looking letters, so such typography has nothing to do on a fresh, modern website that aims for good UX.

7. 3D elements

Probably one of the most enticing web design trends is entering on big doors thanks to massive technological advancements in recent years. 3D elements are fun, engaging, and tend to keep visitors longer on the website.

Depth adds to the sense of realism, a quality that can be especially beneficial for e-commerce, where 3D imagery can be utilized in presenting products from various perspectives or in practical use.

8. Shadows, layers, and floating elements

Tone down the boastfulness of 3D by using shadows, layers, and floating elements. It’s a step up from the material design trend which can convert a simple image into a dazzling feature. This pseudo-3D effect can be done on icons, graphics, and text as well.

Another down-to-earth trend that can create the illusion of depth is overlapping layers. Layering multiple elements such as text, images, videos, icons, etc. can turn an overcrowded and busy website into a web presentation with a thought-through arrangement and undisturbed flow.

9. User-triggered animation

Until lately, website animations largely took place on their own, independently from the visitors’ actions on the site itself. 2020 is about to change that, with the advent of user-triggered animation.

The above-mentioned trends of either 3D or floating or layered elements, are possible to incorporate into user-triggered animation. Clicking, hovering, and other visitors’ actions can bring about alterations of color, size, design, etc. These animations are useful when you want your website to be more captivating and stimulating, yet keep its simplicity and elegance.

10. Gradient

Gradients are back in fashion, stronger than ever. 2020 will witness bold, multi-colored gradients on everything from backgrounds to text fill-ins. Combining multiple colors that create contrast and the illusion of depth is the winning combo for a sleek, cutting-edge website look.

11. Hero videos or text-only

“A picture is worth a thousand words”. True for 2019, but thanks to high-speed Internet connections, static hero images are gone. Instead, high-quality videos that create a movie-like experience are an excellent way of greeting, engaging and entertaining visitors in 2020. Imagery is crucial in visual design because it enables delivering the message quickly and straightforwardly, and no better way of showing that than using a video.

Au contraire, there are text-only heroes. Big, fat, bold typography, with no photography and videos, styled in monochromatic color scheme is the new hot trend for 2020. Stripping down the part of the website that visitors will see first is a courageous experiment, but the trend that will definitely witness its peak in the ongoing year.

Source : https://medium.com/nyc-design/top-11-web-design-trends-to-rule-in-2020-912e0a5bac8e