It is difficult to distinguish what will be a drop-in-the-bucket trend and what will become a time honored style. In 2002, nobody imagined that today we would describe Web 2.0 style as horrific, but now some people see it as exactly that. In fact, if your website still has glossy buttons, reflections, and a floating marquis, it is time for an update. Sometimes a website design can go from trendy to terrible in as little as a couple of years’ time.
The End of Shadows and Eye-Popping Gradients
The name flat design usually means the elimination of almost all flashy gradients, superfluous textures, and drop shadows from the visual design. The design looks flat without looking inset, bulged, clickable, or beveled.
This is a good thing because it forces a designer to focus on content. It makes designers find a way to make the content be presented in compelling and simple way. This concept is not good when a designer removes all suggestion and user guides from elements. When this happens, users cannot tell what is a button or clickable link. Users have to click around to find buttons because there is no visual indication that an action will make something happen. This is an example of bad usability and it frustrates users.
An example of modern flat web design that uses bright colors and typography to connect with the user.
Bringing Back Color
Flat design is more focused on strong color. Business blue and metallic chrome take a backseat to new shades like lilac, green, and peachy read. Color is a very powerful element and it can make the difference between a website having an engaging design or being off-putting to customers. Color should be used because it accentuates the product or service you are selling, and good designers do not use a color scheme simply because they saw it somewhere else.
Stunning Typography
Typography is the foundation of flat design. Since all of the fluff and shiny buttons are stripped away, there is room for typography to shine. So far, designers have only scratched the surface of what can be done with webfonts. Many designers are looking towards print publications for inspiration. The right typography draws attention to the content and purpose of the website and not to the typography itself.
Typography design has become the focus of flat design along with the strong use of color.=
Conclusion
Flat design could be just a trend, or it could be a revolution in web design. What will make the difference for you is how well the designer implements its principles on your website.
