What is Flat Design?
Raleigh Web Design Trends for 2014 Include Flat Design.
Web design trends tend to come and go. In a previous post, we talked a little bit about the predictions for 2014’s web design trends. The top running trend for 2014 is flat design. Entering into the last half 2013, it seems like we are seeing flat web design everywhere! It’s taking the digital world by storm.
What is Flat Design?
Essentially, flat design embraces 2D screen. Most recently, Windows 8 has captured some of the most important qualities of flat design:
- Minimalist interface
- Solid blocks of saturated color
- Creative typography
- Strong lines
- No shadows
- Little to no gradients
Websites with a flat design look modern and bright. They’re also easier to create than designs that rely on background images and embellishments.
Flat design takes on an overall “as simple as possible” approach. Flat designs are also very easy to navigate, making it easier on visitors, in general. Though the look of 3D designs is a bit more realistic, they also tend to be busier and harder to navigate. Getting rid of the 3D aspect of web design also aids in a faster loading time for the actual website.
Consider this; to achieve the 3D effects, textures, and gradients, a web designer has to use a background image. Those images take a lot of time to load. With a flat design, there is no actual background image, therefore, resulting in a quicker loading process.
Lastly, flat design it’s much more adaptable to mobile. If you’ve thought about a responsive website and want to allow your viewers to access your website from almost any device of their choice, flat design is the way to go!
Though it is currently a popular design, flat design is not necessarily better than 3D design. It mainly depends on your audience. Just remember; most important aspect of welcoming a flat design is that your viewers can easily navigate your interface and recognize the components of your website.
We hope to have answered the question, “What is Flat Design?” If you’ve got a simple, relatively small content driven website, you might want to consider jumping on the flat design trend wagon! If you’re interested, contact our Raleigh NC web design company, TigerHive Creative Group, to talk more about what flat design can do for you! Creating a new, flat designed website might be just the thing your small business needs to jumpstart your productivity in 2014!
