Happy New Year! 2014 is here, yes we made it.

As we enter into another 365 days in the digital frontier I feel it is important to look back and acknowledge the design trends of 2013 before moving forward into 2014.

1. Flat design

Flat design was one of the biggest trends of 2013 and will certainly carry on into 2014. It developed as designers pushed against skeuomorphism based techniques like drop shadows, gradients and textures, in favour of a clean, simpler aesthetic with bold vibrant colours. A few good examples of this are Windows 8 and Etch.

2. Long scrolling sites

Long scrolling sites developed from a mobile first way of thinking, because of the increase in smartphone users who are now used to navigating a website with the flick of their thumb. This lead designers to envision websites where the audience can discover content without the need to click to another page. Some excellent examples would be Pencil by FiftyThree and Sprout.

3. Hero images

Conveying a message or an emotion quickly has always been an advantage of photos over text and this was seen time and time again in 2013. Hero images fill the screen and utilise visuals to display the app/product in a natural environment or connote meanings through the photos.

Often combined with a large bold header and a smaller light tagline which can be seen on sites like Squarespace and Peak.

4. Large Illustrations

Like big photos, illustration has been readily introduced into web design in 2013 to quickly lead the audience to an emotional state. Illustration is the big trend that I can see moving forward into 2014 as the heavy reliance by web designers on big stock photos feels a little too easy at times, and lacks the craft that illustration demands. Some beautiful examples are Alex Araujo and Tillamook.

5. Responsive design

Responsive design has been considered since the birth of the smartphone but became a household phrase in 2013. Responsive design isn’t so much a trend but a way of thinking that will be around for a long time to come. Maintaining a consistent user and brand experience across different screen dimensions is now the challenge of web designers, as tablet and smartphone user figures continue to grow. A few good examples are Microsoft or An Event Apart.

Overall it was a great year for design and we are excited to push forward with new ways of thinking in 2014.