9 web design trends for 2022
Posted 30th December, 2021 by Sarah
The world has been a very uncertain place in recent years. It’s been hard enough to predict what might happen in a week’s time, let alone a year down the line.
Fortunately, the future is easier to forecast in some areas than others.
In web design, for example, it looks like 2022 has a few definite trends in store.
Here’s a round-up of nine of them…
1. Very Peri colour schemes
Every year, the colour experts at Pantone announce a ‘Colour of the Year’. Their choice of colour is informed by their research into emerging trends around the world, in all sorts of sectors from fashion to economics.
This year, the Pantone Colour of the Year is Very Peri.
Pantone said: ‘As we move into a world of unprecedented change, the selection of Very Peri brings a novel perspective and vision of the trusted and beloved blue colour family, encompassing the qualities of the blues, yet at the same time with its violet red undertone, Very Peri displays a spritely, joyous attitude and dynamic presence that encourages courageous creativity’.
2. In-built emotion
In 2022, it will no longer be enough for sites to show and tell. The best sites will also make people feel.
They will excite, delight, amuse, calm and enamour. They will evoke lust, passion, desire, ambition and aspiration.
The website for French creative agency Artisan d’Idees is a great example of how a website can elicit emotion.
The homepage for this website has the drama of a movie trailer, inspiring amazement, wonder and a desire to find out more about the company and the services they offer.
3. Creative product showcases
Ecommerce sites will evolve in 2022 as brands try to find new inspiring ways of showcasing their products.
Dutch furniture and interiors brand Moooi has recently added such showcase sections to its site.
This Paper Play page shows off its Plie Plisse Light and a capsule collection of related products using animation, scroll effects and music. There’s not a single photo or description of the products on this web page.
4. Site soundtracks
Music is a powerful thing. It can impact both mood and behaviour. So, it’s understandable that more and more web designers are creating sites that harnesses this power.
In 2022, music will become less of an after thought in web design and more of a key consideration in the design process. Web designers will also begin thinking more in terms of site soundtracks instead of site sound effects.
Check out these sites with integrated soundtracks: Wayfinder and OkOK.
Don’t forget to make it clear how visitors can turn the sound off if they don’t like it.
5. Gallery walls
Websites that present content as if it were hanging in frames on the wall of a gallery have been popular for a while. This popularity should continue into 2022.
Here are a couple of examples of sites that do gallery wall design really well:
6. Glassmorphism
Glassmophism is the use of design effects that make it look like a web page contains glass or frosted glass elements. This effect makes elements on the page look semitransparent and adds a sense of depth to a page.
These sorts of techniques have been adapted by designers for the likes of Apple and Microsoft in recent months.
7. Monochrome
Black and white websites have been popular for a while and it doesn’t look like they’re going to fall out of favour in 2022.
The following sites use animation, scroll effects and unexpected splashes of colour to make their monochrome websites even more impactful…
8. Experiential sites
In 2022, web designers will keep tearing up the UI rule book as they build experiential sites.
In these sorts of sites, visitors have to go on a journey to learn about a certain topic or product.
Navigating these sites involves everything from a sort of digital scavenger hunting to riddle solving.
Take the website for the Blue Marine Foundation, a charity dedicated to restoring ocean health.
Perusing this site is a little like falling into a story book. Visitors are accompanied during their time on the site by a narrator. They traverse from page to page by ‘catching currents’ that visually transport them to the next web page.
Once there, scroll effects make them feel like they are swimming to find the next tidbit of information.
The website for the Gucci perfume Flora is another great example of an experiential site.
On this site visitors can explore an animated pink house, its garden and a nearby beach to uncover hints about what the fragrance smells like.
9. Clever domain names
Clever domain names are like Marmite. Some web designers will love them, others will hate them, believing that it’s best to use traditional web address structures for SEO and customer trust purposes.
However, debates aside, there’s no denying that more and more sites with clever web addresses are popping up.
Take the website for JUST Egg, a plant-based egg product company. Its website is the ever so clever ju.st
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