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2023 GRAPHICS AND
WEB DESIGN TRENDS

Take a moment to consider the websites you’ve seen over the last few months. A handful probably stuck out to you based on their user-friendly interface and streamlined layout. The same goes for websites with a lousy user experience — they leave you with a negative feeling about the brand.

The internet is vast yet saturated so having a website with fantastic UX and design is now a necessity.

2023 Trends Header Image

After gathering modern website examples and performing our UX research, we saw patterns. We took the time to highlight website design trends that will likely impact the online world in 2023

Keep reading to discover 20 graphic and web design trends we can expect next year.

While small animations are nothing new to web design, we expect this trend to expand even more in 2023.

Subtle movements bring a website to life, which in turn can offer visitors a more exciting experience. Micro animations can also be a wonderful tool to emphasize necessary areas of a page and direct the user’s attention accordingly.

Glass is actively utilized today but in new forms and types. The textures have transparency, which is suitable for any visibility and the realization of any idea.

A glass design and picture highlight the user's attention. This trend allows you to exhibit the face of modern graphic design, as seen in Windows 11 and iOs. Textures of this kind in 2023 will start appearing more often than others and will be more eclectic with 3D effects.

Computer screen featuring glass texture web design

Web pages that substitute photography with illustrations are becoming a popular design trend. One of the main reasons is that illustrated images normally have smaller file sizes and load faster than photography. With Google’s ongoing push for quick load times through its Core Web Vitals page experience measurements, more web designers and developers are examining ways to speed up web pages.

llustrations can also be a wonderful way to portray a concept that may be more demanding for a photo to convey. Web pages that concentrate on a service or a cause and don’t have distinctive product images can benefit from well-crafted illustrations to convey an idea.

Finally, a custom, unique illustration can be a great way to grab users’ attention and imagination. Spending the additional time and budget on a high-quality, original illustration can be beneficial for your online presence.

The recent Firewatch video game website employs bold but simple illustrations to capture the game’s feeling. As a bonus, parallax animation adds an incredible depth effect as the user scrolls down the page.

Images familiar to people for many years deliver nostalgia. Earlier web designers really loved the 80s epoch, but the 90s are becoming a trend nowadays. The "retro" style may seem totally new for today's generation, but it is absolutely eye-catching.

The retro period has a new life, and web designers and developers can use it to attract site visitors

The next retro trend is the beauty of the 2000s. In that period, there were numerous technological solutions and breakthroughs, and the period was usually complemented by neon colors, CD textures, and other attributes.

Most projects are often loaded with everything at once, so the style may need to be altered for brand logos and interface design. This trend is ideal for independent projects; images in the year 2023 can be popular.

Some companies are starting to offer dark-mode versions of their website, and this website design trend will keep growing in 2023. Dark mode, night shift, and other low-light user interface options deliver users with a low-contrast site or app that is more comfortable to look at in low-light environments.

The distinctive quality of Art Deco is symmetrical and geometric shapes. This trend will surely stay for years because it has been time-tested.

This style fuses ideal metal shades and glittering chrome that can amplify the impression. The Art Deco style is ideal for a beautiful picture, and such a trend shows well in web design. Moreover, geometric shapes will help reduce visual stress by creating subtle solutions.

Forms of this style can be used for branding, particularly if the task is to be minimalist and have rich aesthetics.

Monochromatic website design has been gaining traction recently, and we expect this to continue into 2023. This style can deliver a clean, simple appearance and causes elements containing color to entice the user’s attention. This design can be highly useful if your organization focuses on pushing interaction with an important call to action.

This trend is familiar, especially regarding animation models, but it will also be suitable for web design. Much more interesting is the mixture of 2D and 3D worlds, which can complement each other, providing bright contrasts and a complete change in the attitude to this concept.

This trend is mostly used in landing pages, media websites, and digital publications.

Realistic images look more compelling than classical animation. From a technical point of view, it is more straightforward for designers to convey meaning, texture, and energy because it is nearer to human perception than flat 2D images.

Interactive websites have become increasingly popular, and it will continue to be at the core of responsive web designs in 2023.

Consumers spend more time on websites that employ responsive and interactive features. Although UX design trends like this can be pricey and time-consuming, some web design companies hope to see more automated effect processes emerge. This can help cut costs for clients who want unique, interactive features on their sites.

Responsive web design is visually appealing and informative, and it keeps users on the website longer and boosts brand awareness.

In 2022, a full-fledged branding element re-emerged: Quick sketches, drawings, and abstracts.

Images can be of any sort and nature, from people and faces to abstractions and geometric figures. Developers can adjust such a trend to any sphere or project, as it can lead to a unique design solution.

This graphic and web design trend will likely grow in popularity in 2023. That’s because the connection between the company and its client is valuable. Hence. it is crucial to deliver originality and a personal approach.

A phone displaying drawings in branding web design

Neumorphism graphic design has appeared from the foundation of web 2.0 skeuomorphism design and flat design. Essentially, neomorphic design features a clean, subtle visual look that stays consistent throughout.

It’s a monochromatic style that depends mainly on shadows and slight color changes. This can allow the user's attention to concentrate on necessary content while minimizing any threat of visual clutter.

While this style is arguably very visually compelling, it can produce user experience issues if not managed correctly. That’s because it lacks contrast in elements, such as buttons. Because of this, many UX professionals recommend avoiding this style.

If used correctly, neomorphic web design can deliver a fabulous look that feels incredibly fresh and clean.

This trend for facilitating the resource without visual and functional loading is convenient. The design turns out to be stylish, and the possibility of doing something wrong is minimal. Such a design is frequently accompanied by simple fonts, balanced shades, and single tones.

An image featuring gradient design

When Instagram rebranded in 2016, people surely noticed the new gradient logo. It was so distinct from the popular style then, but their decision to modernize gradients influenced design.

Gradients have become more favored among creatives searching for new website design inspiration. Identifying the popular trend, ColorSpace has produced a website with gradient designs that also works as a tool for generating gradients and color palettes, making it simple to create your own unique design.

We expect to see more and more gradients combined in new website designs in the coming year, among other 2023 website design trends.

In past years, new website designs have come up with straight, horizontal lines to separate sections on web pages. However, it was discovered that using diagonal lines provides a clear and exciting path for the user’s eyes to follow down the page.

The combination of diagonal lines and animation is the ideal example of how various upcoming graphic and web design trends can integrate to deliver a fantastic, modern website with an exciting user experience.

Scroll animations are an exciting UX design trend that's become more prevalent in recent years. This web design highlights visual design talent and front-end development skills and boosts page time and engagement.

As long as the features don’t take away from your goal or confuse users, this 2023 web design trend can be a highly effective way to make it more straightforward for users to convert.

Illustrated characters continue to be a possible trend for homepage designs in 2023. Characters unique to your web design add flexibility through clever placement and positioning, creating a memorable experience. Plus, who doesn't like a great cartoon character?

Another value incorporated from illustrated characters is they can even point to a call to action button without looking too cheesy.

Finally, since clean illustrations often load faster than photos, this style can be great for page load time.

In our rushed society, users have less time to spend on websites. For this reason, the design is adapted to incorporate large, bold titles and shortened messaging to grab audiences' attention and decrease the time to convert.

The larger heading tags are typically paired with smaller sub-text copies if more information is required, similar to the minimalism approach.

Web design featuring abstract design

Another web design trend that catches our attention is using abstract shapes. You may notice brands use more unique forms that add a level of intrigue for users.

The elje group does a great job of combining abstract shapes and graphics that resemble a lava lamp to keep users interested. Witness how this company has merged a few 2023 web design trends, including modern gradients and diagonals, in the intro when you load the page!

Some of the most fascinating modern website examples use dynamic, responsive landing pages. Keeping users engaged on an uncomplicated, static landing page is difficult. Adding responsive web design features, like animation and interactive elements, can keep users engaged on the page longer.

The interactive and animated page elements are excellent examples of using creative UX web design trends to create a boring landing page more dynamic.

Another web design trend that catches our attention is using abstract shapes. You may notice brands use more unique forms that add a level of intrigue for users.

The elje group does a great job of combining abstract shapes and graphics that resemble a lava lamp to keep users interested. Witness how this company has merged a few 2023 web design trends, including modern gradients and diagonals, in the intro when you load the page!

DETAILED FOOTERS

Often, footers are an afterthought in web design and development. However, a web design trend creating a splash is “footer boosts.” What was once just used to provide contact information or a signup form has transformed into a space to include additional elements of the homepage.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The graphic and web design trends listed above will likely emerge in 2023. That’s because online consumers these days crave more interaction with brands.

If you are ready to take your business website’s design to a whole new level, the team of experts at Virtual Bears can help you create an engaging and functional website that incorporates these trends.

Send us a message to know how we can help!

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