1. Designing the Truth
You go to Facebook and see: photos of your friends' children, funny cats, selfies with a melancholic quote and they—inevitable in the current Internet age—fake news.
Did you know that...
About 82% of students were unable to distinguish advertising labeled “sponsored content” from real news on the website, according to a Stanford University study of 7,804 students from middle school to college. Scary, isn't it?
Be sure of the source of the published material
The truth will set you free!
Design, therefore, so that you can clearly separate truth from fiction. How can you do that? I'm already writing:
1. Clearly label the content to distinguish between organic and promotional materials.
2. Provide sources so that readers know where the content comes from and can evaluate its credibility.
3. Use related content to add context.
2. Accessibility is (finally) the key
We can no longer afford to design exclusively for the healthy and young! Because Internet users are different people — and the designer's task is to enable them to use a given website 100 percent.
Accessibility has long played an important role in the design and development of networks. In 2020, this is a big trend that you can not forget. Good practices? Here are a few of them:
1. All graphic elements should have concise alt text.
2. Audio files should be supplemented with text transcription and players accessible for blind people
3. Forms should be built according to the standards. All form fields should be properly described
4. The website should be significantly enlarged (at least 200%) with browser tools, and the contrast of the interface should be changed. An enlarged page must not “lose” the content
Service available = well done service.
3. Content has great value in web design
You can't create content or design until you develop a strategy. But this is rather obvious. However, in this trend for 2020 we will focus strictly on contention. Because content is not just blog posts.
It plays a key role in the overall user experience. Unfortunately, platforms are increasingly experiencing the pain of incorrectly written content.
Microcopy is a clear trend and a mandatory element of any interface.
PRO TIP: If your site is going to collect leads, it has to offer something in return. It is best when it will be a certain value, and high-quality content undoubtedly represents it. So you can't forget this important aspect — and certainly not in 2020!
4. Inclusivity matters
We, designers, try to constantly take into account the opinions of others through user research. But at the end of the day, we are all subject to a very human tendency: the unconscious assumption that what works for us will work for everyone else.
You design an online store with vegan products and it seems to you that the audience is an easy to define group. Yet there are many identities in this seemingly homogeneous crowd.
Design experiences to be as useful, accessible, easy to find, reliable, desirable, and valuable to every user, regardless of their identity.
Different races, faiths, religions, gender identity, gender expressions, socioeconomic classes, family backgrounds, and dozens of other aspects of personality — however, everyone wants to buy a vegan product.
Therefore, excluding people poses a threat to the overall user experience. This, in turn, translates directly into business risk — especially these days, when one social media post can destroy an entire brand strategy.
5. Revolution without code
Do you know how great it feels to bring your ideas to life? I used to not really know what it was like, but today... Today I can implement my designed www. I have this power! ;) How do I do it?
Thanks to another trend for 2020 — Website Builders!
In 2019, publishing tools like Webflow have become the core of all kinds of powerful web applications, and I can't leave this issue out of the trends for 2020. It's a true no code revolution! Not everyone needs to be a programmer, but everyone can implement their designed www.
Creating a website requires: strategy, design, implementation, finding hosting and buying a domain. Optimally, you can do it all in one place.
The page in the CMS needs to be updated regularly. Of course, before each update, it is worth making a backup, because when you have five or six plugins, a template and you update the site engine, something can always go wrong. That's why Website Builders are a great alternative!
Websites have been with us for almost 30 years! But it is this year that online wizards take their creation to a new dimension.;)
And last but not least...
6. The increase in the importance of VD
Technology means little without the people who use it. Therefore, in parallel with the “no code” tools, a new profession appears, supporting these tools - Visual Developer. And I am not surprised that this field is becoming more and more popular. In short, this is a person combining programming skills and the principles of visual design UI and UX usability.
The trend for 2020 is to displace the profession of programmer and web designer in favor of a visual programmer.
In conclusion, the design in 2020:
• should be based on the latest technologies,
• to help people understand what is true and what is not
• must be accessible to all,
• It will be largely done by visual developers.
None of this is simple. There will be people who will take shortcuts - as in any other field. Fortunately, there are people who are ready to follow the trends mentioned above and create sites that will be loved by the vast majority of the audience.
