This article was sponsored by our friends at Editor X—the advanced website creation platform made exclusively for designers & agencies who build sites for others.
2020 brought with it extraordinary challenges and opportunities for the design industry. With the start of a new year, we’re looking ahead with hope for a brighter future.
To guide creative professionals through this changing landscape, Editor X, the advanced web creation platform for designers, recently launched a minisite covering the 10 biggest web design trends of 2021.
The engaging experience, built entirely on Editor X, examines the repercussions of the past year and shares important insights into the future of screen design. As part of the Shaping Design publication, it serves as a trusted source for professional designers to stay inspired and in-the-know.
The report captures our unique moment in history and its effect on creative work. It features over 40 websites that champion exceptional and innovative digital design, together telling the story of the design trends to look out for in the year ahead. The result is a celebration of online creativity and the role that it plays in contemporary culture.
The minisite takes visitors on a captivating journey full of interactions and surprises to unearth. Reflecting the trends it reveals in its design, the page is a true testament to the power and versatility of the Editor X platform.
One such example is the Color Shuffle button at the site’s header. When clicked, it transforms the entire top fold, exposing a fresh new color palette. This feature coincides with the trend discussing how digital interfaces are becoming more customizable. This coming year, flexible interfaces will allow users to tweak and modify their look-and-feel, highlighting their individuality and personal taste.
Another crucial trend has to do with our collective shift online. As we practice social distancing and spend more and more time indoors, digital designers are creating immersive 3D works that are rich with visual effects. This places a heightened responsibility on web designers, who use their skills to craft digital experiences that make up for what we’ve lost in real life. This new online reality presents us with exciting creative opportunities.
Telling the story of 2020 through design
As Shaping Design looks forward to the new year, it’s also reflecting on the unprecedented year we’ve had. By selecting key works that have stood out this year, 2020 in Review is a series of articles that tell the story of our time through design.
The works are a response to the major world events of 2020, from Covid-19 to the social and political unrest we’ve experienced globally. Known for his bold poster designs, Italian artist and art director Marco Oggian is one of many creatives using their skills to bring attention to important causes.
A firm believer in the power of design, he says, “With a poster, drawing or painting, it is very difficult to change the world. But it is very easy to convey to people the idea of changing it.”
Check out the first article in the series, 2020 in review: A year in illustration, to explore some of the best illustrations created this year.
In conversation with leading designers
To further observe 2020’s implications on the design industry, Shaping Design also spoke with leading designers to hear about their past year, as well as their hopes for the future.
In an honest and intimate series of talks, designers such as Debbie Millman and Pentagram’s Natasha Jen and Marina Willer discuss their shift to remote work, the social and racial tensions and climate crisis that have made 2020 a year like no other.
For many creative professionals, this year was truly transformative. Mitzi Okou, co-founder of “Where Are the Black Designers,” recently left her tech job in order to amplify Black voices in design. “If you would have told me three years ago that I would become an activist or a design activist, especially a race design activist, I would have laughed in your face,” she says.
Others share a similar sentiment. The outbreak of Covid led designer Aarron Walter to quit his job in favor of a new role at Resolve to Save Lives, a public health nonprofit. “The pandemic caused me to reflect on how I’m spending my time,” he contemplates. “It became clear that I wanted to do something for the greater good, or do work that contributes to the world in some significant way.”
Discover more on Shaping Design ■
Editor X is the advanced website creation platform made exclusively for designers and agencies who build sites for others. Editor X combines cutting edge, responsive design with intuitive drag and drop on a flexible new canvas. Check out its interactive report on the web design trends of 2021.
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