Oh, 2021. Expectations were high, but we found ourselves doing a lot of things that felt eerily familiar – working from home, binge-watching the latest Netflix release, ordering yet another sweatsuit online (...but maybe that’s just me). Some might even call it Deja Vu.

One common factor among all of these pandemic habits – and yes, that includes a daily Wordle break – is the web. We go online to shop, work, entertain ourselves, socialize, and even visit the doctor. Companies have responded to this extraordinary amount of digital attention by taking a closer look at how they present themselves, their products, and their services online.

As a result, we’ve seen website designs that skew more creative and non-traditional than ever before. This means the prevalence of elements like custom Illustrations, standout typography, and layouts that put a unique spin on the standard grid. Read on for our thoughts on these trends and others to watch in the new year.

In this post:

• Fun with Typography!
• Illustrations Galore
• Non-traditional Mastheads
• Scroll Hijacking
• Fluid Grids
• Visible Borders
• Unique Gradients
• Prioritizing Performance

Fun with Typography

Typography has always been an important part of web design; a font can say a lot about an organization’s personality, brand, and overall ethos. In 2022, we’re expecting to see a few trends take hold in this category.

First, oversized text. Masthead styles are changing quickly – more on that below – and some sites have come to favor text as the statement piece instead of an image or video. With so many unique fonts available (looking at you, Chobani!) it’s easy to make this approach visually engaging and fun. Some sites even take text a step further with animations or interactive hover effects.

Using text as a pattern or texture is another trend that we’re expecting to see more of in the new year. This use of text is more decorative than functional, but adds a distinctive flair particularly if the site’s topic has to do with reading or language.

Finally – and this should come as no surprise – we’re seeing a major resurgence of nostalgic serif fonts. Serifs were previously cast aside as boring, uninspired, and overly formal. But these days, they’re back as a nod to the popular vintage aesthetic. Serifs are even moving beyond website use into logos, packaging design, and more.

Illustrations Galore

With brands becoming more apt to express a distinctive personality, we’re also seeing illustrations used more often online. These can either be fully custom or modified versions of stock graphics.

One big trend in illustration is a three dimensional look. Graphics that are 3d quickly grab users’ attention since they stand out from text and flat images. And depending on the designer’s style, they can also make a site feel more futuristic or interactive (if the graphic is animated or dynamic).

Illustrations are also popular on a smaller scale as icons. Icons have long been used to supplement online content, and we continue to see them growing in popularity across all of our verticals. Law firms use icons to represent practice areas, nonprofits use them to highlight programs or projects, B2B companies leverage them to draw attention to services, and so on.

Icons can either be designed from scratch or downloaded from a library like The Noun Project and customized based on the site’s content.