Emerging Trends in Web Design
Upon further exploration of web design I started to identify the emerging trends that were touched on in Lecture 2 of the unit. I was first using the internet in the days of 56k dial up, essentially on the brink of the web technologies era. It's incredible to have seen firsthand the rapid development of website innovation, all the while remaining fully capable of adapting and using these new technologies. I think this highlights the importance of User Interface Design, and why user testing is such an important stage of the design process.
Speaking of design process, lecture 2 outlined that the traditional 'linear' design process is now obsolete, as it omits various steps that are considered standard practice by modern designers. For example, the traditional design process started with the 'Planning' phase. The lecturer argued that it's impossible to start planning these days without having discovered the various aspects surrounding the context of the brief.
This would include general research of the field/industry you are designing for, observing case studies within the same subject area, researching the client to gauge the nature of the business etc, and a competitive analysis to determine how your client's digital content can have a greater online presence.
But I digress. The following are just a few emerging trends in website design:
Real-Time Data and Content Source: Google.com
There are many examples of real-time content, such as live sporting updates, pre-bookings for events with automated "queues", live traffic reports (even on mobile GPS apps), and up-to-the-minute weather updates. In this example, Google is giving an overview of the statistics relating to a website, including how many people are viewing the website at any given time.
Cross-Browser Capabilities Source: Smashingmagazine.com
Cross-browser refers to the ability of a website and web applications to function in environments that provide its required features and to bow out or degrade gracefully when features are absent or lacking. Virtually all apps created today must be capable of being viewed and used on at least 2 different types of devices, such as smart phones, tablets, and laptops. It is also essential that modern websites employ a "condensed" version of their website for mobile devices, if they wish to remain relevant and competitive.
http://www.mileycyrustongue.com
This website perfectly sums up this emerging trend.
Next week I will look into more complex trends that make great use of newer technologies such as html5.
