user experience agency

Research

WHAT WEB TRENDS WILL WE SEE IN 2012?

Responsive Design and Progressive Enhancement

• Responsive web design:1. Adapts to the width of the device being

used, from PC to tablet to mobile2. Eliminates the need to produce separate

websites for different devices3. Designs are content focussed with the

same content displayed across devices4. Reduces time and cost

• Particularly useful for sites with a wide user-base of technologies

• Built with fluid grids, it is relatively easy to prepare a site to be responsive

This is an example of a responsive site. As you can see, it adapts from 1-column up to several for a desktop site. The overall look and content remains throughout each version

Native Features

• It’s not only mobile apps that can take advantage of native functionality

• HTML5 can be used to detect, and make use of, things like cameras and microphones without having to use external, third-party plug-ins

• This means that everything users would require should be available to them at their point of access Twitter makes use of many native elements in it’s mobile

app. With direct transition between camera and app, as well as mirroring smartphone messaging functionality

Applications Everywhere!

• Online and native apps are becoming more and more popular

• You’ll see more of them on both your desktop and mobile screens

• This normally means a much more integrated experience for the user

• Visually, it is likely that sites around the web will start taking cues from mobile and tablet app experiences Here at Zabisco, we use the web app ‘Conceptshare’. It

allows us to share creative work quickly and easily amongst the team, whilst adding comments

Mobile Market Growth

• The smartphone market, globally, is yet to slow down its growth

• Mobile sites and the progressive, adaptive websites will only continue to match this growth

• This means a likely reduction in Flash sites, in addition to copywriters taking out all the filler from sites to optimise the mobile viewing experience

Tablets

• 2012 sees a number of companies bringing out new tablets, the most notably, of course, being Apple with their new iPad 3

• companies are ready to bring out much cheaper alternatives which should see tablets in many more households

• As such, designers should be prepared to design for this medium

• Sites should optimise their sites for users of tablets, most notably, the elderly and children, who are proportionally more likely to have access to a tablet than an alternative method of browsing

Tablets are available in a range of prices, sizes and uses. Are you designing for them?

Pop-ups

• Pop-ups are no new thing for the internet

• Pop-up windows are increasingly incorporated into designs to reduce clutter on pages

• They give a clean, easy to follow journey for elements such as forms and login elements

The Zabisco design for Outsourcery sees pop-ups used for contact elements as well as for logging in. They’re a great way to get vital information across without distracting from any other user journeys

UX Design

• 2012 looks to be the year of User Experience

• With content and design being so integrally linked and user journeys being ever more adaptable, a user guided approach seems to be the only way through the complicated web landscape

• Designers should be mindful of this and seek to gain the best possible knowledge of what a set of users will expect from a site

As a User Experience agency we are used to giving our designers thorough research on a sites users, including journeys and personas, that allow them to create a site that is easily perceived by the end user

Conclusion

• The web is moving into more mediums, all with different screen sizes and requirements:

1. Designers should allow for this, creating sites that are accessible for all users

2. Designers should also consider that a wider variety of users will have access to these devices, including the young and old

3. These users will be used to app and other mobile UI, so its worth considering how these elements can be incorporated into web design

• Integrated services, such as native functionality are working their way onto the web as well as on mobile

• User experience should be a key. Be mindful of user journeys and who will actually be using the site:

1. Make use of UI elements, such as pop-ups, to make journeys more straightforward

Tom Wallis

wallis@zabisco.com

Thank you!