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Annoying Trends in Web Design

Overcoming designer’s block can be a frustrating experience for web designers when the well seems dry. We often have to turn to the work of other designers for inspiration. It’s this process that can lead to trendy duplication or reproduction of styles, elements, or methodologies. Creativity is an integral component of web design which is why designers should aim to transcend the trends of the day.

On a personal note, I really resent trends and the influence they have on the creative process. There’s always going to be a degree of trendy flavour that unavoidably slips into a web design piece, but there are some trends that seem to be overwhelming in their application. The worst examples are found in instances where a trend is being followed simply because it is a trend. Web designers should fight the urge to design for themselves wherever possible, however; there are countless cases where finished products are clearly the result of a web designer making a website a certain way because it happens to suit their tastes at a particular moment in the crest of a design trend. Web designers should always remember that their work has a purpose and it is not to be cool or hip. It is to serve the purpose of the client. Here is a list of trendy web design styles or elements that I heartily disagree with.

One thing I do want to point out is that many of these designs demonstrate remarkable skill and feature artists much better than myself. So I’m not criticising the skill or talent here, just the willingness to float down the stream in some of these instances.

The large type “Hello” welcome message

I get that designers have a bit of an issue with stuffy formal corporate culture, but the overuse of these “down to earth” welcome messages is a bit annoying. It seems like in some cases, it’s just an excuse to fill up space with large type because large type is trendy. In countless cases the opening lines are even identical. It’s usually something like, “Hello, we are so and so and we build beautiful websites”. In my opinion, and you’re free to disagree with it, it comes across as insincere (ironically) and unprofessional. Something that really underscores how trendy this is, is the fact that I did not have to look far to find these instances. Here are some prime examples of this trendy trend.

Cutesy cartoon style

This is a trend that I really just don’t get. Every time I sit down with a client and ask them about the impression they want to give in their design material, they all say PROFESSIONAL. This style is anything but. It looks like it’s designed for the enjoyment of hipsters and anyone under the age of 7. Basically this style takes all elements that appear in a web page and make them look like they were meant for an illustrated children’s book. I expect that this trend grew out of the age of Web 2.0 with its glossy cute buttons. I can’t say this often enough, design for your clients needs, not your own tastes. Let’s examine some of the perps:

Less is more

This profundity seems to be popular only because it sounds clever. I’m sorry to say it, but less is NOT more; it’s less. What people are trying to say when they say this is sometimes simpler is better. Sometimes simple and minimal web design is appropriate but this is absolutely not a hard and fast rule when it comes to design. The trend in modernist design has poisoned the well in so many mediums. In my own city, the most beautiful buildings are by far the ones designed at the turn of the century when they still used decorative elements and brick work to enhance the beauty of any design. Today’s designs are stripped of anything decorative with no reason that I can tell except to try to appeal to the “less is more” maxim. Design (in the case of web and print) is about using colors, elements, pictures, and typography creatively to enhance a message. When designers produce something that is black text on a white background with a couple lines in it, it’s like the parable of the talents where the guy hid his master’s investment so that he wouldn’t make a mistake. It’s cowardly design. It’s true, that if you try to get elaborate with colors and elements, you could end up making something that is gaudy, but the other extreme of doing nothing with your design is at least as bad.

What’s worse is that communication strategy should be focused on creating a rapport with your audience, but the designers seem to almost be saying that they’re too good to put any effort into making you feel at home here. It’s exclusivist and carries an atmosphere of arrogance. This is their domain and you’re going to have to meet them where they’re at. It’s one of the worst qualities of fashionable design, in my opinion.