2012 is here, and nearly 4 months have gone by.  It is now time to look into the trends that are causing quite a revolution in the web world and the ones that have made a change into how people run their businesses or execute their online processes. The trends are indication of what is popular, what is good and what the new technologies in the market are. Let us take a look at the modern web design 5 trends of 2012.

1. Banner & Ribbon Graphics

There is one more aspect to the design element that designers are using across the websites. These are the smart looking banners and ribbons across the portals, sometimes they are also badges or bookmarks. With so much free information available, these banners will be a new way of announcing to the world the business or the new updates available with the business.

Its amazing the number of websites that have begun using these options in their portals over the past few months. Not only on the computer version, but they are also visible in the mobile devices as well. There are banners wrapped around the various free downloads and feature articles that are on the websites and the blogs.

So, next time you consider revamping your portal, you know what new options you have!

2. Fixed Position Navigation

Even though the fixed position navigation was important, it wasn’t trending in 2011 or the year before. For a website that has not many sub pages or links, and then it is necessary to feed in a few sub links to help make navigation easy. This will help the overall page layout and ease the surfing across pages. The basic concept here is to have a navbar like the blogs and other websites do where the visitors will find the site map and can easily scroll through the existing content.

An option would be to incorporate a slideshow of sorts that scrolls the various pages across the website. This makes it easy to see the content and for the visitors to browse through the various information and content. Pretty soon this will become an integral part of all the websites that are launched in 2012.

 

3. Response based Web Design

Having a web design that is responsive will be one of the key trends of the current year. Not many designers are aware of this or its importance but those who have understood the need for the responsive designs are ahead of the game. The designers will have to adopt fluid layouts as against the fixed width they have been using earlier. This allows for more and better designs, style sheets and gives the websites higher hit rate and chance of getting noticed. It will also make them visible the same across platforms, both PC, mobile phones and tablets.

 

 

 

 

4. Menu with Multiple Columns

There are times when a person visits a website and logs out instantly because the number of links and images overwhelms them. Well, this is all about to change with the new layouts coming into action. The multi column layouts are not only smart, but elegant and can be customized to match the other colors. It can be fitted around the company logo and USP, adding to the entire look and feel of the portal.

One can browse through some of the new websites that have cropped up to get familiar with the new style and layouts. It not only makes it easy to navigate, but makes the entire website look better and more inviting.

5. Big Vector Art

Brands these days have begun putting up a big mascot that represents their business, or acts as a spokesperson for the brand and business.  This is done through illustrations and graphics on the website, across every page. The 1^st thing a visitor sees are these made from vector art, with a bit of illustration from the designer.  Everyone who uses the internet would have seen the MailChimp that can be seen across windows, Android and iOS apps. The little logo does catch the eye and has been causing quite a revolution with other businesses. There are many vector dudes found across layouts, which people incorporate into their portals, adding to the aesthetics. If 2011 is any indication, then 2012 will only be an extension bringing in more cute logos.