The anticipation of a change in season is also a good time to start thinking about change in other areas as well. It is something you can already see in design projects, where designers are trying some new things with projects (and we are digging some of these options).
Here are five great trends to consider this month:
1. Video Buttons, Not Auto-Play
If you aren’t a fan of auto-play video, this is the design trend for you: Video buttons without auto-play. Hero videos have been a dominant design element for quite some time, but come with some challenges – size, sound, user aggravation, or accessibility. This design trend this solves many of those concerns.
Bonanza Studios uses an oversized button to play their video rather than use it for the hero background. It pops open in a large size that’s easy to see, and you can control the player’s controls.
2. Art Gallery Inspiration
A magazine-style website design with tactile motion, from page turns to subtle design elements, can feel like holding a book or art prospectus.
In the example above from Brooklyn Editions, which is for artwork, you can see how this concept comes to life. It’s beautiful and interactive. The trick is that the entire design needs to be viewed and interacted with to get the full effect and really understand how everything comes together.
The other challenge here is color contrast, but a design like this has a quite distinct audience that the design team probably researched before publication.
3. Outlined Type Elements
Alternating fills and outlines for type elements creates an immediate impact and a focal point. That’s why designers use this option. See a perfect example of this from Babs.
An outline element can also take some of the weight out of a design or text if things don’t have the right balance or if you want specific words or phrases to have more presence than others.
Here, you may find yourself looking at the outline text first because it is different. And that’s ok. The design allows you to think about the words and comprehend them quickly because there aren’t too many things to read (that’s part of the reason this style works here).
4. “Cluttered Heroes”
Why are there so many things to look at? That might be the question you ask when looking at some designs that feature more cluttered hero header areas.
This is a style that can showcase a lot of things at once or works when you don’t have a distinct point of action. The message you send here is quantity – you have a lot of whatever you are featuring. Just take a look at the example above from Vicio.
5. More Accessible Experiences
Google’s Project Relate is one of the cooler things we’ve seen in a while, especially when you are thinking about online accessibility and human communication. The tool learns non-standard speech patterns to assist in communication. Pretty cool, right?
But there’s a lesson here for every designer: How can you create something that’s easier for everyone to use? All types of people and all ability levels?
There are a lot of different answers to this question, but it should be something you ask when working on projects. How can you best connect with your target audience and beyond? What design elements are necessary to create better, more understandable communication? For helpful tips on making your website accessible, check out this talk given by Bet Hannon at our first Kadence Amplify event.
Putting it All Together
Can you see yourself using some of these concepts in design projects? If nothing else, there are some great overall ideas to help you think about everything from artistic composition to better, more accessible design.
A Kadence Full Bundle gives you everything you need to keep up with all the design trends and take your website to the next level. From the Lottie Block in Kadence Blocks to the ability to create fully customizable designs and pages, the Kadence Full Bundle gives you everything you need to make beautiful, effective, and engaging websites.
This content was originally published here.