So here we are, 2016 is upon us and with it brings more ever-changing trends in web and graphic design! So what’s going to be new, exciting and cool in 2016? Here’s a list of some of the main things I think will take over or grow into a bigger deal in 2016..

1. USABILITY

There is definitely a big push on how much we should focus on User Experience (UX) coming through. With the recent changes in Googles algortihm’s and and their push for people to move to mobile responsive websites they are making sure people have to take a look at UX and a focus on websites that are easy to use and load fast. Content that looks good across all devices and is easy to navigate. This obviously comes heavily from the responsive design push, so much so that Google early last year changed their algorithms so that they would deal with mobile searches separately to those of desktop devices and penalise people who didn’t have a website that was ‘mobile ready’. Expect this to continue as a must have and to have an even bigger impact this year. Basically if you have a website and its not mobile ready and responsive then you need to get moving and look at a new responsive website – but hey we can help you with that!

2. FLAT DESIGN

Flat design isn’t new, but its definitely here to stay! Material design was a growing trend in 2015 but really it was just there to enhance some of the issues with flat design and the two will continue to be important. More and more brands have embraced flat design and it can be seen in their logos and visual style. The more common place it becomes the more people get used to it and it has become the standard as a result.

image credit: Brafton.com

3. ICONOGRAPHY

Who doesn’t love cool icons!? With lots of resources out there for UI and Icon kits there is a load of ready to use icons available for all your needs. With SVG formats being introduced it also leaves room for working with large scalable icons for desktop devices that will scale back down to smaller devices (see that responsive design consistency right there!) and reduced the need to have different image sizes for icons.

4. TYPOGRAPHY

Font were always more a concern for the graphic designer so everything looked good in print, but these days web designers get to use cool fonts too! Thanks to Google and all their Google Fonts designers have access to a lot more cooler and newer fonts which really help make things stand out. Gone are the days of everyone using standard fonts like Arial in everything online, now you have lots of options and can be as creative as you like!

image credit: Mashable.com

5. MODERN RETRO

Retro is cool, but not old retro – modern retro! Modern Retro refers to the period around the early age of the computer and in the period of the late 70’s up to the early 90’s. As a kid of the 80’s this pleases me greatly and Modern Retro is all about those things I loved as a child that were cool. Old video games, those are cool! Pixel art, that’s cool! Big bold colours, also cool! Tron..need I say any more!? Along with that retro feel expect colour palettes to rock those colours of the 80’s and bring a bit of neon and bright and bold into design!

image credit: Disney Screencaps

6. OTHER NOTABLE MENTIONS

There’s a few other trends that are worth mentioning that will probably grab a hold during the year!

Hamburger icons – menus are no longer just across the top of a website, now we have hamburger menu’s making there way from mobile over to desktop too!

Less stock photos, more illustrations and hand drawn art – people are getting tired of the generic stock images, time to get creative!

Material Design – Its been around a while but was coming more to the forefront the end of 2015, expect it to grow in 2016!

So that’s it, the list of some of the main things that look like they are going to be the trends and what’s cool in design for 2016! As always get in touch if you are looking for looking to work on an exciting new project or to revamp an old one – you want to be cool in 2016 don’t you!?