Web design has always favored minimalism; however, in 2023 there has been a shift away from UX minimalism towards digital maximalism.
From layered text to scrapbook aesthetics, these trends take the internet beyond functional spaces into creative, imaginative realms. Explore these innovative web designs and how they can help bring life and imagination to your own website.
Asymmetrical Designs
As trends change rapidly, web designers must stay abreast of them in order to maintain modern designs for their sites.
Symmetry is a popular visual design element, used to bring balance and consistency to a website’s aesthetic. But it can become dull and predictable if overused; to combat this issue, incorporate asymmetrical elements into your designs for more energy and creativity while still maintaining visual equilibrium.
Organic shapes are another 2023 web design trend gaining in popularity, often used as background images or animated vector SVG files known as Lotties to add a sense of creativity and break up monotonous, straight lines and sharp corners on websites.
Bold Typography
Bold typography is an age-old design technique for adding emphasis and drawing more attention to text on websites. Bold font treatments help distinguish headlines or titles from body paragraphs within the same font size, making your content stand out more.
Bold fonts can help establish priority, create visual punctuation and highlight specific words or phrases within text; however, using too much bold text could become overwhelming and be distracting to readers.
Email marketers have begun to recognize that using bold typography in their designs can grab customer’s attention and increase engagement across email communications. Take this branded newsletter from music streaming service Spotify as an example: its simple yet bold header draws reader’s eye directly towards their website experience, and is beautifully balanced by sans serif font Proxima Nova used as body text font.
Aesthetically Pleasing Color Combinations
Aesthetic color combinations can add visual interest to your asymmetrical design, drawing attention and sparking curiosity with their variations of lightness and intensity. By creating visually striking palettes of hues you can craft stunning and engaging color schemes.
Warm colors can bring happiness and energy, while cooler hues such as blue and green can bring feelings of calmness. A design combining both warm and cool tones can make an atmosphere both energetic and peaceful at once.
This floral color combination combines sweet raspberry pinks and clay browns for an energetic and feminine aesthetic. Soft pastel tones are further highlighted by icy bright bluish-green hues reminiscent of glacial lakes and clear skies – an excellent choice for beauty businesses or designs that want to convey nature and growth.
Monochromatic color combinations (made up of multiple tints, shades, or tones of one hue) can be striking yet balanced; here we see muted green hues helping keep things from becoming too vibrant while the pop of neon makes the design instantly eye-catching.
Interactive Sections
Split screen designs are not an uncommon sight on websites; in fact, this trend can often be found as part of portfolio websites as a hero section. But it has since spread beyond portfolio websites to provide users with a dynamic browsing experience.
Combo, a multidisciplinary design agency, features an engaging full-screen split screen layout that activates on scroll. The hero section displays only their name and logo while left and right sections highlight projects completed by Combo.
These sections are neatly separated by thin separator lines and each feature its own set of content. When scrolling down to the left section, that area expands and displays links to related projects; similarly for right-hand sections. With their smooth transitions and coordinated color palettes, these pages create a striking visual experience sure to grab viewers’ attention.