Why is a beautiful web important? Does the “simple web” make us happy? Here’s our views on making the world a prettier place.
Website Design Trends
Design trends come and go, and the “utilitarian” look of websites has persisted for the past several years.
- Flat design brought large blocks of solid color instead of gradients and textures.
- Full-page photo backgrounds showing on either side of white content areas were replaced by full-width layouts and “bands” of desaturated photos.
- Rounded corners became sharp, straight lines.
- Animated elements (other than video) all but disappeared.
The arguments for this simplicity are good: faster load time, easier understanding, quicker navigation.
Does the "simple web" make us happy?
As described in Web Designer Depot’s article, 7 Predictions for 2017 That Might Actually Happen, “As human beings we’re attracted to beauty. If a product is beautiful, the experience of using it is more enjoyable. A product that is enjoyable will be used more.”
In their fantastic article, “Emotion and website design,” the Interaction Design Foundation breaks it down to the super-geek level with research on hedonic website elements (e.g., color, images, shapes, and use of photographs); human computer interaction tradition (HCI); and the role of affect and emotion in the examination of information and communication.
While it is well known that emotion is important to the interpretation of experience, it is only in recent years that research has begun to transcend utilitarian aspects of website design to consider empirically affective elements of design. Therefore, not only is it important that websites are useful and easy to use, but also that they entice the user to experience emotions such as enjoyment, involvement, trust, or satisfaction.
Why is a beautiful web important?
In a nutshell, humans like pretty things that make us happy. There will always be a place for utilitarian design, and the mobile web demands that we design more simply. But that doesn’t mean that websites have to be boring or all look the same.
Here are three recent examples of how we’ve used the human desire for beauty and delight to create website designs that are engaging and effective:
- PLIA (the Pollution Liability Insurance Agency for the State of Washington)
Clean, simple design and intuitive calls to action help users quickly find what they need on this government website. Subtle photography and logo-inspired design elements keep it beautiful and engaging.
Bright colors, curves, “leaf” icons, and hover animations help make staying healthy exciting and attractive.
Carteret’s website showcases their beautiful waterfront location.
Click on the slider button and hover over a Featured Section to see animation touches that delight. We like to add these to designs because – as our designer said – “They make people happy!” It can be all too easy to subscribe to the “take-out-anything-extraneous.” view.
Returning to a Beautiful Web
Usability helpers like reliable video playback, big buttons, and proper plugins are important.
On top of those, here at AndiSites we’re all in to make the web a more beautiful place.
