digg

Join DiggAbout

Donkeys and Elephants and Delegates,oh my!
Check out the most popular Elections 2008 content on Digg.

See the original image at webdesignerwall.com

2008 Web Design Trends

webdesignerwall.com — Here is a list of 82 sites picked from Best Web Gallery that show the current design trends.

Bury
show profanity settings
expand all
  • oxygenbandit, on 06/13/2008, -16/+32Very nice layouts. A lot of them borrowed heavily from the Jerad Hess / Napoleon Dynamite look though. A commentor from the site made a good point saying whatever the design is, it's more important that it is appropriate for the job rather than simply following trends.
  • nads, on 06/13/2008, -3/+117Essentially this comprehensive list is every type of web design you already know of. There is no real "trend".
    • B3N3, on 06/14/2008, -0/+12I really wouldn't say it's a comprehensive list. Some of the designs are cool to look at and might work for a designer's site or a personal website, but a lot of them really aren't all that practical for business, productivity, or social applications. I couldn't see myself using Digg or a lot of other sites I use every day if they had a collage or handwritten note design. Would you?
    • wcarolyn, on 06/14/2008, -0/+8I felt the title misleading as well. When I saw the digg story, I was wondering who webdesignerwall.com is to announce the 2008 web design trends. Then when I read the story, I realize it was just a list of several design styles, not necessarily the 2008 web design trends.
      • AngelaQ, on 06/14/2008, -0/+5If you look at the style of webdesignerwall.com, you can understand the criteria for selection. It's an emphasis on multiple fussy graphic images that draw attention away from the site's content, style over substance. Some of those sites were really hard to look at.
    • ProfessorSYM, on 06/14/2008, -3/+0Okay.
    • mrASSMAN, on 06/15/2008, -0/+1Not true.. there are trends. The Web 2.0 trend is a good example of 'fad' mentality with the gradients and gloss and smooth design. of course there are trends, as with any part of our culture.
      • CircleFusion, on 06/16/2008, -0/+1I think it's ridiculous that people are associating specific design elements with Web 2.0 (nevermind that Web 2.0 was never referring to design or style in the first place). Those design techniques have been in use in the design world for years, decades even. The fact that they are trickling their way into website design doesn't mean that they are simply part of a trend. That's just simple-minded thinking. It means we're starting to grow away from the 1990's designs. I see lots of design techniques popping up all the time in the web world that are not "typical" at all. Evidently, you're not giving those site designs enough credit.

        Also, just because a design uses gradients doesn't mean it's a copy of another site or that it's following a trend. There are many ways to use gradients. For that matter, you might as well complain about designs that use colors and lines. *gasp*
      • Dracusis, on 06/17/2008, -0/+1There is no such thing as Web 2.0, if there is, please tell me what was version 1.0, what about 1.1, 1.3.2?

        It's just a buzz word/term that's been so abused it could mean just about anything related to "how people use or view the internet", thus it means nothing. If you're talking about asynchronous Javascript XML loading then say so, if you're talking about dynamic HTML via JavaScript then say so, if you're talking about minimalist designs with thoughtful gradients then just say so.

        Calling something Web 2.0 just shows how clueless you really are. The core of technology (visual design is a technology unto itself too) and it's discourse relies on the use of precise vocabulary, learn it, use it, and people will laugh at you less.
  • third_eye, on 06/14/2008, -10/+3This really looks like an amalgam of Web 2.0 finally merges with trends from decades past. Combine organic elements with web 2.0 functionality.
  • Bobaliki, on 06/14/2008, -5/+102Dugg for cool 'Digg it' graphic
  • cledford, on 06/14/2008, -3/+14Cool designs - based on the arguments made the Digg design sucks and clean lines are for noobs? Not sure I completely agree.
  • SquireCD, on 06/14/2008, -1/+7They included so many vague ideas that this is comparable to any site! This is nonsense.
  • fenix61, on 06/14/2008, -10/+3Why do I even try
  • CrushThemTorg, on 06/14/2008, -2/+2MacTarnahan's has been using those retro labels for a few years now. (I don't know why I picked that to bitch about.)
  • Sagags, on 06/14/2008, -52/+3IbREAKdIGGScOMMENTsYSTEMmUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
    • zebco, on 06/14/2008, -0/+8You broke yourself, dude.
    • Marumekomu, on 06/14/2008, -0/+13You're getting dugg down and your comment is being automatically hidden.

      I'd say the system works.
  • zebco, on 06/14/2008, -1/+7awesome! Now I know what everyone will be making fun of next year!
  • blackdude, on 06/14/2008, -0/+42No offense, but this list is well, "everything".. not neccesarily laid out trends at all. It's like the post is a mini-css-gallery. Personally, I like the designs, but I don't like this post, for all I know, i'm just looking at sites. This article would be much better if it actually went through and talked about the trends. Seems a bit lazy & pointless.
  • username484767, on 06/14/2008, -8/+2***** trends
  • Marumekomu, on 06/14/2008, -9/+62I agree with this (comment lifted from site):

    "This is not web design, this is graphic design. For example what is described as “retro” is paper-retro, what is described as “collage” imitates paper collages. These styles are imports from outside of the medium they work with. Where is the authentic web design? This collection is just pretty Adobe-Creative-Suite stuff."
    -drx
    • defectDS, on 06/14/2008, -1/+21I'd say the fine line between the two has very much vanished by today's standards. Or rather, what do you mean by authentic web design? Grids and the Rule of Thirds?
    • amillerdsn, on 06/16/2008, -0/+0Graphic design is a major part of web design. Probably the most important as well. If its not you should seriously re-think your creative process.
      • Dracusis, on 06/17/2008, -0/+1I'm going be picky and say you should have said "visual design" and not graphic design. Graphic design implies you're designing for a static medium, which the web is not. There is big difference between the two terms even though the theory behind them overlaps a lot.
  • MScrip, on 06/14/2008, -1/+20Those sites look great! It shows what you can do when you try hard NOT make your site look like yet another Web 2.0 blog.

    Seriously, early web design started bad, but then got creative. Then a few years ago, every website started to look the same... white background, rounded corners, tabs across the top, etc. When did Wordpress become a style? :)
    • vh1`, on 06/14/2008, -0/+7"yet another Web 2.0 blog."
      that's the thing though. the whole "web 2.0" design was a trend just as much as this grunge/antique/handdrawn trend is

      everything is all trends
      • skinjester, on 06/14/2008, -3/+1Wordpress became a style when the investment of time became low enough for non web designers to use the CMS. As styles go its clearly a popular one! The simple presentation of the default WP theme is often much better stylistically and logically than something like any myspace page ever.

        style != design
      • MScrip, on 06/14/2008, -2/+3Good. Then that means it will go away! :)
  • LightSpeed4, on 06/14/2008, -1/+16I'm so happy about Web 2.0. All those generic multicoloured logos with the water reflection and a beta tag on them, on top of a site that does absolutely nothing. It's a grand age to be online.
  • itcoll, on 06/14/2008, -4/+1wonderful ......especially the ones with handwritten like notes .
  • tylermenezes, on 06/14/2008, -3/+2Web Designer Wall FTW. Though posts are infrequent, they're always good.
  • webmanoffesto, on 06/14/2008, -6/+0Great site. I will make sure to check this site regularly.
  • ortucis, on 06/14/2008, -1/+4There is no such thing as 'trend' in designing websites or just anything artistic. There is however a group of stupid people who like to follow the group and turn every ***** site into round beveled white and orange mixed piece of crap layout. I guess that is the trend though..
  • furto, on 06/14/2008, -2/+7I think nearly every one has paper clips in it. Paper clips ftw.
  • zkirill, on 06/14/2008, -2/+3Alright, this is kind of weird but I can make out a bleak comparison to the fashion industry. You know how the weird ***** that you see on the Runway you rarely see on actual people / in the stores? Well I think this is the same way. These flashy pages lead the design world forward and the actual websites just take direction from them. Catch my drift?
    • cave, on 06/14/2008, -1/+1Oh you mean like cars in car shows that have their exteriors made of fabric?? It's like that in any design industry.
    • FitNesJnky75, on 08/26/2008, -0/+0I think they're functional on a personal level. I wouldn't try to market my company with one of these websites...But the scary thing is though, some runway stuff is starting to infiltrate society on a larger scale. How else would "skinny" jeans have made a come back?! They were definitely best left in the past....
  • Perplexion, on 06/14/2008, -2/+12Hmm some interesting designs but nothing really new. Most of the sites are very graphics intensive, I'd like to see more designs that are minimalistic and rely on good design rather than flashy graphics. Anybody know of a good site to find designs such as these?
    • chubbybunny, on 06/14/2008, -5/+3LOL Like you got dug down for such a sensible comment. I swear the idiot masses on digg are getting dumber by the day.
    • FitNesJnky75, on 08/26/2008, -0/+0I agree with you Perp. What about the trends in corp. web design, this stuff is neat and all, but for the minimalist it doesn't leave much to the imagination...
  • slivatree, on 06/14/2008, -2/+0pretty comprehesive and up to date. had to surf around a bit but that's quite easy.
  • DAC1138, on 06/14/2008, -0/+10This will get more diggs if it was "Top 82 2008 Web Design Trends."
  • znicket, on 06/14/2008, -2/+2Interesting but extremely blog oriented. Couldn't see anything I could use for a serious company.
  • viralthinking, on 06/14/2008, -4/+1Part of the beauty of this list is the fact that trends = a variety of styles.
  • JoeVerrone, on 06/14/2008, -4/+4I dugg and bookmarked this. It's a good source of ideas.
  • myhandleondigg, on 06/14/2008, -0/+7"So what’s hot now? Pencil sketches, handwritten notes, card stocks, watercolor effects, collage art, script fonts, grungy and splatter ink backgrounds (glossy gradients are not "in" this year)."

    I recall visiting this site a few times over the past year and every featured design was the exact same ***** sketch design. Even their fans noticed and commented on the one-trick pony. Now they're going to say it's the new design trend? Seems like they're manufacturing their own trends just because they don't like gradients.
    • CircleFusion, on 06/16/2008, -0/+1Ok, you don't like sketch designs. Got it. But are you seriously saying that all of these designs are *****? Is it all sketch-style designs that you think are *****, or these particular ones?

      I personally see variance between those designs, even if they have some similarities. ALL graphic designs share SOME similarities with other designs. There's really no getting around that.

      I would love it if any of those who constantly complain about web design trends could compile a list of good sites that they don't think are following any trends. I have a sneaking suspicion that they would not be able to find any sites meeting that criteria.
  • btbtravis, on 06/14/2008, -4/+1Yah I think this is the way all websites should go!
  • HomieG6189, on 06/14/2008, -2/+3I know this might sounds lame. But Digg is my favorite design. It's just simple. VERY nice colors, etc, etc.
    • codercaff, on 06/15/2008, -0/+1Finally somebody agrees. I love Digg's color scheme and overall design. The blue and green header/menus at the top are great. So simple, yet so awesome.
  • 15charmaxwtf, on 06/14/2008, -0/+3I can see how some people may find them attractive but just looking at the thumbnails makes me feel ill (it doesn't help that I've just eaten but I don't feel ill looking at this Digg page)

    Can't they be a little more subtle? I'm probably missing the point.
  • MaxMWood, on 06/14/2008, -7/+3Digg needs a bit of a re design.
  • citizenkeys, on 06/14/2008, -3/+3What's important to note is that modern "web design" has as much to do with web development using standards as "design". Of a random sampling of a dozen of the sites, all of them used a doctype and validated as "standards compliant" using css and javascript. What makes "web 2.0" possible is the use of standards.

    For understanding modern web design and web development, and how we got to this point in web design/development history, I recommend these link:
    http://digg.com/design/A_List_Apart_2
    http://digg.com/design/Designing_with_Web_Standard ...
  • Metasquares, on 06/14/2008, -0/+9Oh dear, we're in the Baroque period of web design.
    • drgmdp, on 06/14/2008, -0/+1i've noted that... everything will get worse before something cool comes out..
  • 3dsn2008, on 06/14/2008, -6/+0There is one cool web resource to search for web site design elements in 3D: 3DSN.com. Here is a sample search for, say, Canon SLR camera:
    http://3dsn.com/#keywords=canon%20slr&category=0
    Unlike photobank stock photography these 3D renders are royalty-free. Over million of high quality photorealistic 3D items. Highly recommended
  • dazparkour, on 06/14/2008, -1/+1Big Fonts is a DESIGN?
    • ImYourRealDad, on 06/14/2008, -0/+2When you refer to your fonts/type in design, you're then referring to typography. So yes, big fonts is design.
  • KevenM, on 06/14/2008, -0/+1That's the funny thing about trends. They don't last.

    I'll stick to classic web design concepts.
    • Syphon8, on 06/14/2008, -0/+5YOU ARE THE 1,000,000TH VISITOR!
    • maismagardens, on 06/14/2008, -0/+1Tables are frowned upon now.

    • rowjimmy, on 06/14/2008, -0/+2add me to your webring : www.geocities.com/~sk84lyfe/
  • Jeffler, on 06/14/2008, -0/+9A new trend seems to be needing mirrors...
  • MaddieCakes, on 06/14/2008, -1/+1These all look like they were made by the same person/company... it's just the same 'trendy' crap repeated over and over. Do not want.
  • atgmac, on 06/14/2008, -0/+1Loading...
  • fudged71, on 06/14/2008, -0/+4Unfortunately, the creativity of some of these sites makes it much harder to navigate through, and find what you want to find
  • buckygrad, on 06/14/2008, -0/+2Apparently, an infrastructure capacity to handle the Digg effect is not one of the trends.
  • l815, on 06/14/2008, -0/+0I don't care how fancy a webpage is, it needs to be easily understandable. I'm sure we've all had our fair share of erroneous website encounters...
  • saynotoraptors, on 06/14/2008, -0/+1The Digg effect has been an occasional trend
  • KhalilRavanna, on 06/14/2008, -0/+1Foiled again. And I was actually slightly interested. Damn you, Digg effect.
  • redwallhp, on 06/14/2008, -0/+9Mirror 1: http://www.webdesignerwall.com.nyud.net/trends/200 ...
    Mirror 2: http://duggmirror.com/design/2008_Web_Design_Trend ...

    It's getting a little on the slow side, so you may need them.
  • rollerboy, on 06/14/2008, -0/+1This is really cool except I would not say this is a 2008 trend. This are designs I have seen before and always repeat.
  • 3hirty6ix, on 06/14/2008, -0/+0None of the mirrors work for me.
  • jonvictorino, on 06/14/2008, -1/+1Well done, Web Designer Wall.

    They always manage to post great articles. I would Digg this multiple times if I could.
  • pc101plus, on 06/14/2008, -1/+0Nice for ideas
  • Fetching more discussions...
    Show 51 - 65 of 65 discussions
  •  

    Login or register to add a comment

    Create a new account or login to join in the conversation on Digg. You'll also be able to Digg stories to help promote things you like.


© Digg Inc. 2008 — Content posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain.
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.