Top 10 Design Trends In 2016

Design trends change rapidly, and as web designers, it’s helpful to know what the current and upcoming trends are so you can stay ahead of the competition and exceed client expectations. Now that we’re officially four months into 2016, we are excited to share the latest modern design trends with you! Although it was hard to narrow them down, here are the top 10 most popular design trends so far this year:

10. Tiny Text
As we all know, content is essential for a great website and exceptional user experience. Do you want your viewers to get bored quickly and leave your website after reading minimal, straight-to-the-point, large text? Of course not! Tiny text is taking the world by storm this year, and it also allows you to fit more information than ever onto one page. And remember – the smaller, the better!

9. Multiple Fonts
Everyone loves variety, which is why using multiple fonts on your website is going to be HUGE this year. Your readers aren’t interested in looking at the same, consistent font throughout one website – they want to be awed by mixing up typography and colors. Haven’t you heard the phrase, “The More, The Merrier?”

8. Neon Colors
Not only are neon colors hitting the fashion runways in 2016, but bright colors are gaining leverage in web design, too. These bold hues are a great way to add some fun to your design and have your readers wanting more. It’s obvious that using an insanely bright neon color makes it easier for users to read the content that’s on your site!

7. Pop Ups
Whoever said that pop ups diminish a quality user experience was clearly wrong in more ways than one. Not only do they grab your reader’s attention, they enhance the overall experience when someone visits your site! They will definitely remember you and your company for these great interrupters that grace their presence when browsing the web.

6. Non-Responsive Web Design Is Better
Since mobile web usage is rapidly diminishing in 2016, there is no need to design responsive websites anymore. People are using their desktop computers more and more, as they don’t feel the need to browse the web “on-the-go.” Static websites are one of the hottest design trends of the year, and mobile phones will soon be something of the past.

*Tip: Google has recently updated their algorithm to punish responsive websites, so don’t say we didn’t warn you.

5. Flashy Animations
Who doesn’t enjoy getting an instant headache when they click on a webpage? There’s no question that people love bright, glowing animations that pop out at them while browsing the web. Using flashy animations will increase your search engine rankings too, as they will attract the most visitors and keep them on your site for a longer period of time.

4. Swoosh It Up
This trendy logo design fad is making an impressive comeback from the ‘90’s. Remember all the brands that used some sort of swoosh element in their logo way back when? Well, this design trend is here to stay in 2016! The more swooshes the better is what we always say. Reference logos such as: Safeway, Intel, and Seinfeld.

3. .com Logos are a Necessity
Let’s face it – you want your website to popular. What better way to make it extremely easy for a customer to find your website by adding .com somewhere in your logo design? It’s important that when your customers see your logo, they’ll immediately realize that you have a website because they saw the .com addition to your company name.

2. Personal Branding
If there’s one thing you take away from this article, let it be this: personal branding is best. This is the year to get personal with everything you do, including branding your business. Customers want your logo to be created from the heart. How do you achieve this? Get the family involved. Studies show that logos designed by a family member with little to no graphic design experience makes the greatest impact on consumers and their ability to remember your brand.

1. Comic Sans
The largest – and possibly world’s greatest – design trend that is making it big this year is the return of the classic font, Comic Sans. By using this typography throughout your branding AND website, you’ll be sure to gain your reader’s trust, respect, and extreme envy. Not only is this font playful and young, but it shows just how credible you are as a business. Fortune 500 companies are using it, so you should too.

Pro Tip: We’re letting you in on one of our biggest secrets – SEO is bogus. Stop wasting your time optimizing keywords and phrases because it doesn’t matter and it will NOT help your website create organic reach and possibly create new business for your company.

Since it’s April 1st and we’re officially one quarter of the way through 2016, design trends are quickly evolving and the team at Satellite Six would like to sincerely wish you Happy April Fools’ Day.