As we reflect back on 2023, it's evident that key influences such as AI, the growing buying power of Gen Z, and advances in technology have made quite the impact in the world of web design. So what’s in store for us in 2024? Here are 8 interesting trends we foresee for the industry this year.

Mixed Media

A big trend of the moment is skeumorphism, a design style that makes use of digital interface objects that mimic their real world counterparts.  We imagine this style having a huge presence to create a mixed media effects on artwork and ui elements.  Collages of hyper-realistic elements like stickers, paper textures, shadows, tape, and other dimensional objects.

Hyper-minimalism

As a reaction to a move away from maximalism and bold design, hyper-minimalism will also carve out its own space in 2024.  Hyper-minimalism embraces ample white space, or an “infinite canvas” providing users breathing space to take in the visuals on the site. This style leans elegant and purposeful, with clean sparse typography and thoughtful moments for artwork.

Nostalgic Futurism

Gen Z's influence on web design is unmistakable.  With that comes their vibrant, eclectic, kitch style. Think retro aesthetics from the 90’s-2000’s meets tech-savvy maximalism, featuring stickers, zine-like collage, fish-eye lens imagery, 3D rendering, bold graphics, and expressive type.

AI Integration

Its only been a little over a year since ChatGPT made its debut and already its changed the way we work & create immensely. AI will integrate into all design workflows, increasing efficiency from ideation to building wireframes or writing code.

Its also going to have a huge impact on visual trends. With text to image generators like midjourney and Dall-e, there will be boundless potential for the artwork seen on sites and visuals can even be customized on demand based on user data or brand design systems,

Accessibility and Inclusivity in Design

It’s 2024 and frankly there are no excuses for not making your site accessible to more users.  Accessibility is complex and sweeping but its such a valuable investment when it comes to web design. Prioritizing accessible web experience can be done by considering minimum color contrast ratios, responsive and flexible interfaces, semantic HTML and proper markups, and site navigation by keyboard or assistive technology, to name a few.

Multi Planar & Parallax Scrolling

This highly popular trend from about 10 years ago, is going to take on a new personality in 2024.  Parallax scrolling will not only have its signature depth effect, but will incoporate more 3D and motion based assets, loading and moving as the user scrolls.

Also multi-planar scrolling will piggyback off this trend.  As users scroll down webpages, they will encounter content that moves across the x- and z-axis as well. This style of scrolling mimics the more human intuitive interactions, moving up and down, swiping left and right.

Variable Type

Experimentation in typography plays into the maximalism trend.  With the help of variable typography, playing with type width, weight, slant, and other parameters is becoming way more flexible. One font, behaves like multiple fonts, expanding brand systems without negatively impacting page load while also giving designers more freedom when crafting  the personality of the brand.

Dark Mode and Interface Adaptability

In 2024, we are going to see a growing popularity of dark mode and adaptable interfaces. These interface changes allowing users personalize their display preferences for a comfortable browsing experience. This trend is user-lead as users are yearning for tools that increase accessibility, reduce eye strain, and even can be more energy efficient.

As we embrace the web design trends of 2024, it's clear that the intersection of aesthetic innovation and enhanced user experiences defines the trajectory of digital creativity. Whether reveling in the expressive maximalism of brand aesthetics or prioritizing inclusivity and accessibility in UX/UI, the web design landscape is poised for a year of captivating, immersive, and user-friendly experiences. What will you make this year?