Web Design Trends For 2009

Last Updated on Tuesday, 30 November 1999 00:00 Written by Administrator Wednesday, 10 February 2010 11:18

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We Web designers are a fickle lot. We love to experiment with things. We love to observe how people interact with our work. And we love to try out unusual design approaches that might possibly go mainstream and become a classic approach. As a result, new design approaches come up, and as more and more designers notice them and make use of them, new trends emerge.

Over the last months, we’ve analyzed numerous Web designs, observing emerging trends and weighing the merits of numerous design decisions and coding solutions. In this post, we present Web design trends for 2009: recent developments, new design elements and new graphic approaches. We also discuss situations in which these trends can be used and present some beautiful examples. Did you miss any recent development in this overview? Let us know in the comments!

This article covers only 10 of the over 25 trends we’ve identified over the last months. The second part will be published next week. We’ll cover new layouts, new visual approaches and new design elements. Please stay tuned.

Update: the second part of our review is now published as well.

[Offtopic: by the way, did you already get your copy of the brand new Smashing Book?]

Web Design Trends For 2009

Let’s first take a closer look at the main trends we identified, discovered and observed over the last months. In this overview, you’ll find a review of each trend and more beautiful examples that can inspire you in your next project.

Embossing ~~Letterpress~~
Rich user interfaces
PNG transparency
Big typography
Font replacement (sIFR, etc.)
Modal boxes
Media blocks
The magazine look
Carousels (slideshows)
Introduction blocks

Now let’s go into detail and take a closer look at each of the trends presented above.

1. Letterpress

One of the most unexpected trends we’ve observed over the last months was the emergence of letterpress (actually pressed letters) in Web design. Probably the most important reason for this trend is the simple fact that this technique has been rarely used until now. Letterpress is used in various styles and on various websites and for various topics; in particular, it is often used in product designs and on websites for online services.