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20 Best New Websites, January 2022

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So here we are, in a brand spanking new year—time for looking forward with fresh ideas and renewed hope for the year ahead. We are kicking off 2022 with a mixed bag and, we hope, something for everyone.

Whether you’re looking for inspiration to update your site or a fresh approach to work for a new client or want to spend a little while browsing around some corners of the internet you might not usually, welcome to the first collection of the year. Enjoy!

Justice Reskill 

Justice Reskill offers a learning platform and support for people who have been through the justice system. Information is presented clearly in a positive, uplifting tone, emphasized by a bright color scheme and friendly type.

TBD Post 

TBD Post’s site is fuss-free, clean, and pleasant to navigate. Work is well presented, in an organized way, with just the right amount of supplementary information.

Speedy 

Speedy is an online business bank, and this is a pretty standard, slick fin-tech site for the most part. The added extra is that the five versions of the site–with the same content in each–have different color accents based on the flag of the specific country listed.

Nuka 

This site for Nuka eternal stationery is a beautifully simple single page. The use of handwritten type in places adds an intimacy while emphasizing the nature of the products.

Omono 

This site for online business management app Omono presents a lot of information clearly, and with a calmness projected by the use of blues and greys and subtle animation.

Pienso 

A combination of bold type, a slightly tweaked red, green, and blue color scheme, and on-scroll animations makes this site for Pienso pop.

Maison Margiela 

Maison Margiela fully embraces the digital alternative to a live catwalk with this blend of single video and edited clips.

Marie O’Shepherd 

This portfolio site for book designer and art director Marie O’Shepherd takes a minimal approach and allows the work to take center stage.

Angry Ventures

Angry Ventures add personality and humor to their site to draw the user in and entertain, while their actual portfolio is only available on request.

Chapter One 

Chapter One’s site has light and dark theme options and some engaging animated graphics.

Vesti il Futuro 

Vesti il Futuro for Mani Tese uses comic book-style interactive graphics to raise awareness of issues surrounding the environment and fast fashion.

Gazelle No.1 

Some scroll-activated video enlivens this single-page site for Gazelle’s No.1 model.

TROA 

This site for creative agency Troa is an excellent example of the effectiveness of a monochrome color scheme, and there are some pleasing transitions too.

BDCC 

BDCC’s site has a bold, slightly jumbled feel that works really well. The falling lozenge menu items are a nice feature.

Mekanism

This is a great example of a stylish website for an agency portraying itself as well-established and super polished.

Redbrick 

Redbrick’s site has a youthful, vibrant feel with colors that change to match the product branding.

Accounting Box 

This site for Accounting Box makes good use of split-screen swapping from a vertical split on desktop to a horizontal split on mobile. The animations are pleasing too.

François-Joseph Graf 

The design for François-Joseph Graf’s site does the right thing by getting out of the way to avoid competing with the rather stunning products on show.

Monsta Cats 

Monsta Cats is a site dedicated to community focussed NFTs. The site is suitably anarchic and fun to browse.

Bien Fondé 

And finally, some customizable good wishes for the year ahead from digital agency Bien Fondé.

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The Case Against UX Testing

Picture a dark office, blinds drawn. Picture a UX designer smoking a cigar. See the light filtered through the smoke whipped to fog by a spinning ceiling fan. Watch as the UX designer sits at a desk and considers the website.

The UX designer has devised a series of tests to determine if a green button is better than a red button. One of them involves tipping a tortoise onto its back. He looks the website over carefully and says, “Describe in single words, only the good things that come to mind about your mother.”

The website pauses, sweating under pressure, then replies, “Let me tell you about my mother…”

BLAM! The website pulls the trigger of an unseen gun, and the UX designer collapses, leaving the project to be rebuilt from scratch in Material by Harrison Ford, with overuse of Post-its delegated to Edward James Olmos.

Who Does UX Testing Actually Serve?

In the past’s bleak dystopian future (1982’s Blade Runner was set in 2019) no one benefitted from asking the wrong questions. And little has changed.

Designing any test to verify UX is fraught with as many complications as administering the test. Questions are skewed by bias, conscious or otherwise, and competing agendas. Even with something as apparently simple as a split test, the potential for distortion is immense.

When planned by a designer, a UX test offers little benefit to a client; the benefit is to the designer, who can then say their ideas are validated (or not).

Imagine hiring a developer to code a website, only to discover that the developer didn’t know CSS and expected to be paid to learn it before completing the work. You would hire someone else because that developer isn’t qualified.

From a client’s perspective, a UX designer should know, through experience, whether a green button is better than a red button. Designing an elaborate test to split-test the button color serves little purpose other than indemnifying the designer against mistakes.

The ROI of UX Testing

It’s widely accepted that there is substantial ROI (Return On Investment) from UX testing. We’ve all heard apocryphal stories about sites that split-tested their checkout and improved retention by 5%.

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that without user testing, that site could have improved its checkout retention by 4.9% simply by hiring a competent, experienced designer. But what about the remaining 0.1%? Well, for most sites, 0.1% represents very little profit. And the cost of recovering it via testing far exceeds the benefits.

When a company the size of Amazon, Netflix, Spotify, or Google split tests a website, it can afford to allocate $25k for user testing because it stands to gain 0.1%, and that represents far more than $25k. To meet the same 0.1% improvement, a small business has to design and run the same tests, incurring the same costs. But in the case of a small business, $25k could eat up all of its profits.

UX testing almost always works. But it is only profitable at scale.

If a good UI designer with a grounding in UX can improve checkout retention by 4.9%, tripling the project budget for just 0.1% more is a tough sell. Bluntly, that $25k is better spent on advertising.

What UX Designers Can Learn From Psychiatry

We all have the tendency to think we’re unique. It’s a survival trait attributed to our prehistoric brain. That belief in uniqueness is particularly strong in highly competitive people. We all think our site, our side-project, our approach are original. And we’re all wrong.

When a psychiatrist sits down with a patient, they have two immediate goals: categorize that patient into an established diagnosis, and assess the severity of the condition. It may be that the patient is depressed or anxious or even suffering from a potentially more debilitating condition like schizophrenia. What the psychiatrist is not trying to do, is define a new illness.

Occasionally — perhaps once per decade — a genuinely unusual patient will present themselves, and a new form of illness is considered. New treatments are found and tested. These treatments are rarely developed on behalf of individual patients; doctors work with grants from governments, medical schools, or the pharmaceutical industry and publish their results.

The vast majority of websites face similar problems. They deal with similar demographics, work within a similar culture, and deal with similar technology. As such, they can be categorized in the same manner a psychiatrist categorizes patients.

The key to delivering successful UX solutions is not UX testing in individual cases, but rather UX research, examining similar projects, and cribbing their solutions. If you categorize a project accurately, you’ll find a solution readily available.

Replacing User Testing With UX Best Practices

Your client doesn’t need to pay for UX testing to benefit from it. Enterprise sites, government sites, and even personal projects will test UX patterns. Sites like Shopify or Stripe will user-test their checkout processes at scale and enable companies to benefit from the results by adopting their platforms.

If you’re currently testing designs for small business, one of two things is true: either you’re wasting your client’s money investigating a problem someone else has already solved, or you’re designing something so original that it has no precedent (and you probably shouldn’t be).

Designers should be opinionated. Designers should know UX best practices and how they apply to a range of scenarios. Designers should be capable of making an educated guess. Designers should be self-validating.

Once or twice in your career, you may find a legitimate need to test something. However, the vast majority of the time, the correct answer is to tip the tortoise back onto its feet and choose whichever color button has the higher contrast.

Featured image: Still of Brion James in Blade Runner. Copyright Warner Bros. Entertainment

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SAP, Siemens et Atos : la continuité numérique comme réponse au défi climatique

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Réduire l’empreinte carbone d’un produit nécessite une vision de bout en bout de son cycle de vie. Pour cela, il est nécessaire de casser la barrière IT existant entre la conception et la supply chain. SAP et Siemens proposent des intégrations avancées entre PLM et ERP. Avec Atos, ils s’allient pour aider les industriels à relever le défi climatique.

Les industriels sont confrontés à un triple défi : proposer des produits toujours plus complexes, dans des délais toujours plus serrés, tout en réduisant leur empreinte carbone. Le bilan de la COP26 de Glasgow est sans appel : constater la réalité du changement climatique ne suffit plus, il faut agir. Histoire de compliquer la situation, la raréfaction des matières premières s’ajoute aujourd’hui à l’urgence climatique.

Le sujet de l’empreinte carbone est crucial pour trois raisons principales :

  • Les clients sont toujours plus nombreux à demander comment sont fabriqués les produits qu’ils achètent et quelle est leur empreinte carbone. Une empreinte que l’entreprise doit être capable de mesurer.
  • La législation devient de plus en plus contraignante, poussant ainsi les entreprises à être plus vertueuses en matière d’environnement. Mais également à mettre en place des outils montrant la réalité de leurs actions dans ce domaine.
  • La RSE met en exergue le sens des responsabilités des entreprises. La green line (empreinte écologique) devient progressivement aussi importante que la top line (revenus) et la bottom line (marges).

Une problématique à traiter de bout en bout

« L’Union Européenne veut réduire ses émissions de gaz à effet de serre de 55% en 2030 et vise la neutralité carbone en 2050. 2030, d’un point de vue industriel, c’est presque aujourd’hui, constate Denis Goudstikker, Teamcenter Business development Executive chez Siemens Digital Industry Software. À ce jour, un tiers des entreprises se sont fixé un objectif zéro émission, mais seulement 9% de ces entreprises ont réellement lancé des actions en vue de les réduire. »

Pour qu’un produit ait un impact environnemental minimal, il faut l’optimiser de bout en bout, de la conception à la production en passant par son utilisation et son recyclage. « La plupart des entreprises se concentrent uniquement sur les émissions liées à leur activité, explique Olivier Everaert, Head of Green PLM chez Atos. Elles ne prennent pas en compte l’ensemble du cycle de vie du produit et de sa chaîne de valeur, ce qui mène à des résultats sous-optimaux. Il faut penser en termes de réseau, où tous tendent vers un but commun, du fournisseur de matière première à l’industriel… et jusqu’au consommateur. »

« La réduction des impacts environnementaux commence dès la conception du produit, enchaîne Bruno Hemery, Head of Siemens partnership, SAP France. Elle se poursuit avec les approvisionnements (matières premières, emballage, etc.). Puis lors de la fabrication : produire mieux permettra d’avoir moins de rebuts en bout de chaîne et de consommer moins d’énergie. La logistique peut aussi être optimisée, en regroupant par exemple les approvisionnements de plusieurs fournisseurs (parfois concurrents) devant livrer un même client. Il faut également être capable de mieux connaître l’usage des produits, ce qui permettra de les améliorer au fil des versions. Enfin, d’autres éléments sont à prendre en compte, comme le recyclage et l’économie circulaire. »

Les actions en faveur de l’environnement ne sont pas forcément des investissements coûteux. Réduire la quantité de déchets générée lors de la production se traduit ainsi par une diminution des besoins en matière première et donc un abaissement des coûts de revient.

SAP et Siemens, artisans de la continuité numérique

Pouvoir prendre en charge l’ensemble du cycle de vie d’un produit nécessite de casser une barrière dans le système d’information de l’entreprise, celle séparant la conception, pré carré du PLM, et les fonctions finance, achat, production, vente, prises en charge par l’ERP. « Il faut décloisonner ces deux mondes, afin de mettre en place une continuité numérique, confirme Bruno Hemery. L’information pourra ainsi circuler dans les deux sens, la conception influant sur la supply chain et – partie innovante – la supply chain et l’usage du produit pouvant influer plus directement sur la conception. La continuité numérique permet également de s’assurer que l’information est identique des deux côtés. »

Le partenariat annoncé le 14 juillet 2020 entre SAP et Siemens vise à donner corps à ce concept de continuité numérique. Il s’est traduit par la livraison de nouvelles intégrations entre les offres de Siemens et de SAP. « Cette intégration fine entre nos deux plateformes donne une compréhension de l’ensemble du cycle de vie d’un produit permettant de s’assurer dès sa conception que l’on va dans la bonne direction, tout en restant compétitifs. La clé de la réussite est d’être capable d’amener des processus vertueux et compétitifs, » résume Denis Goudstikker.

Par ailleurs, la réduction de l’empreinte carbone passe souvent par de l’innovation. C’est le cas par exemple lorsqu’un constructeur automobile adopte des motorisations électriques ou à hydrogène. « La continuité numérique permet de créer des conditions favorables à l’adoption d’innovations, tout en maîtrisant le risque et en préservant la compétitivité de l’organisation, poursuit Denis Goudstikker. C’est un environnement qui permet de se préparer à n’importe quel scénario. »

Des ateliers pédagogiques animés par Atos

Atos sait diagnostiquer la chaîne de valeur des entreprises, afin de les aider à mettre en place une supply chain durable. Chaîne de valeur dont la visibilité et la transparence seront assurées par la mise en place d’une continuité numérique. La grande majorité des entreprises restent toutefois au début de cette transformation. Atos propose des ateliers pédagogiques gratuits leur permettant de mieux comprendre les applications pratiques de cette approche.

« Nous présentons une vingtaine de cas d’usages qui couvrent l’ensemble du cycle de vie d’un produit et nous montrons quelle est leur contribution sur l’empreinte carbone, détaille Olivier Everaert. Lors du premier atelier, les participants sont invités à nous faire remonter leur avis sur ces cas d’usage. Sont-ils applicables à leurs métiers ? Semblent-ils valables ? Peuvent-ils être améliorés ? Le second atelier permet de faire une plongée sur quelques cas d’usage sélectionnés, puis de discuter avec les participants de leur feuille de route de transformation. »

Ces ateliers d’idéation mettent l’accent sur le codéveloppement des cas d’usages et la cocréation des trajectoires de transformation des entreprises. Un premier brainstorming avant le passage à l’action…

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5 Big Web Design Predictions for 2022

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Every year, at this time, blogs like this one like to try and predict what’s going to happen in the year ahead. It’s a way of drawing a line under the archive and starting afresh. A rejuvenation that, as humans, we find life-affirming.

Ten years ago, I would have had high confidence in these predictions — after all I was eventually right about SVG adoption, even if it took a decade. But the last few years have shown that web design is tightly interwoven with the muggle world, and that world is anything but predictable.

So as we look at what might occur in the next year (or five), think of it less as a set of predictions and more as a wishlist.

Last Year’s Predictions

When I write this post every January, I like to keep myself honest by glancing back at the previous year’s predictions to gauge how accurate (or not) my predictions have been.

Last year I predicted the long-term trend for minimalism would end, WordPress would decline, cryptocurrency would go mainstream, and then hedged my bets by saying we’d make both more and fewer video calls.

Gradients, maximalism, and the nineties revival pulled us away from minimalism. It’s still popular, just not as dominant.

WordPress is still the biggest CMS in the world and will continue to be for some time. But the relentless grind of no-code site builders at the low end, and being outperformed by better CMS at the high end, mean that WordPress has passed its peak.

Over-inflated predictions for BitCoin reaching $100k by December 2021 turned out to be a damp squib. In the end, Bitcoin only tripled in value in 2021. However, with micro-tipping and major tech companies moving into the arena, it’s clear digital currency arrived in the public consciousness in 2021.

And how could I be wrong about more but also fewer video calls? So I’m calling that my first clean sweep ever. With that heady boast, let’s take a look at the next twelve months.

What Not to Expect in 2022

Do not expect the Metaverse to be significant in anything but marketing speak. Yes, the hardware is slowly becoming more available, but the Metaverse in 2022 is like playing an MMORPG on PS5: theoretically, great fun, until you discover that absolutely none of your friends can get their hands on a console.

Ignore the blog posts predicting a noughties-era retro trend. All those writers have done is looked at the nineties-era trend and added a decade. Fashions aren’t mathematical; they’re poetic. Retro happens when people find a period that rhymes with present-day hopes and fears. After the last couple of years, if we revisit a decade, it’s likely to be the late-forties.

Finally, don’t expect seismic change. Material design, parallax scrolling, and jQuery are still with us and are still valid choices under the right circumstances. Trends aren’t neat; they don’t start in January and conclude in December.

5 Web Design Predictions for 2022

Predictions tend to be self-fulfilling. So we’ve limited ourselves to five trends that we believe are either positive or, at worst harmless. Of course, there are no guarantees, but if these come to pass, we’ll be in good shape for 2023.

1. The Blockchain is Coming

Underpinning the cryptocurrency industry are blockchains. In simple terms, they’re a set of data that can be appended to but can’t be edited or deleted. Think of it as version control for data.

As with most technology, the first wave has been a way to make a fast buck. However, the exciting development is blockchain technology itself and the transformative nature of the approach. For example, Médecins Sans Frontières reportedly stores refugees’ medical records on the blockchain.

Imagine the Internet as a set of data, editable for a micro-fee, and freely accessed by anyone anywhere. Instead of millions of sites, a single, secure, autonomous source of truth. Someone somewhere’s working on it.

2. Positivity & Playfulness & A11y

Even before world events descended into an endless tirade of grim news, time was running out for dull, corporate, geometric sans-serif design.

We added gradients, we added personality, we embraced humor. And contrary to the established business logic, we still make money. Over the past few years, there have been extraordinary efforts by designers and developers to examine, test, and champion accessibility, and thanks to them, inclusive design is no longer reliant on the lowest common denominator.

In 2022 you can get experimental without obstructing 10%+ of your users.

3. Everything Green

Green is a fascinating color, the primary that isn’t (except in RGB, when it is).

Green has the same visual weight as blue, is substantially more flexible, and yet to date, has been radically underutilized in digital design.

Green has a prominent cultural association with the environment. At a time when tech companies are desperate to emphasize their ethical credentials, marketing companies will inevitably begin promoting a brand color shift to green as a quick fix for all those dumped chemicals, strip mines, and plastic-filled seas.

We’ve already seen earthy hues acquire popular appeal. At the other end of the vibrancy scale, neons are popular. Green spans both approaches with everything from calm sages to acidic neons.

In 2022, if you’re looking for a color to capture the moment, look to green.

4. Hero Text

A picture is supposed to be worth 1000 words, although I’m not sure anyone has actually tried to measure it. The problem is that sites increasingly rely on stock images, so the 1000 words that we’re getting may or may not accurately reflect 100% of our message.

In 2022, a handful of well-chosen words will be worth more than an image, with hero images taking a back seat to large hero text. This is aided by a number of minor trends, the most notable of which is the willingness of businesses to look beyond the geometric sans-serif to a more expressive form of typography.

Reading through the prediction posts on sites other than this, almost everyone agrees on large hero text replacing images, which virtually guarantees it won’t happen. Still, at the start of 2022, this seems to be the direction we’re taking.

5. Bring the Noise

One of the unexpected consequences of the past couple of years has been a renewed connection with nature. The effortless complexity in nature is endlessly engaging.

We’ve already begun to popularise gradients — there are no flat colors in nature — and the next logical step is the addition of noise.

In visual terms, noise is the grainy texture that sits so beautifully in vector illustrations. Noise has dipped in and out of trends for years, hampered a little by the leap in file size it creates. However, with WebP and Avif file types, noise is now usable on production sites.

Designing in 2022, when in doubt, throw some noise at it.

 

Featured image via Unsplash.

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80% des français considèrent que l’action internationale face au réchauffement climatique est un échec selon un baromètre ODOXA/SAP  

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80% des français considèrent que l’action internationale face au réchauffement climatique est un échec selon un baromètre ODOXA/SAP

Paris, le 29 octobre 2021 – À l’occasion du lancement de la COP26 qui se tiendra du 31 octobre au 12 novembre à Glasgow, ODOXA et SAP révèlent les résultats de leur Baromètre du développement durable. Ce baromètre est basé sur une enquête d’octobre 2021 issue de questions posées à un échantillon de 3 010 Français âgés de plus de 18 ans.

Le constat est sans équivoque. La perception des Français en ce qui concerne la lutte contre le réchauffement climatique est très claire : de nombreux efforts restent à fournir, la mission est loin d’être accomplie et les citoyens attendent des dirigeants à la COP26 des actions fortes et immédiates.

Parmi les résultats les plus importants de ce baromètre du développement durable, nous pouvons notamment y trouver :

  • Pour 8 Français sur 10, jusqu’à présent l’action de la communauté internationale pour lutter contre le réchauffement climatique est perçue comme un échec. En effet, seulement 20 % des interrogés considèrent que les efforts consentis depuis l’accord de Paris sont une réussite. Parmi les personnes interrogées, la majorité des convaincus a entre 18 et 24 ans (33%), alors que les employés représentent les plus sceptiques face à ce résultat avec seulement 20%. De plus, on remarque un régionalisme de ce constat : en Nouvelle Aquitaine, 86% des interrogés soulignent ce constat d’échec, alors que la Normandie atteint 75%, le taux le plus bas en France métropole.

 

  • La politique environnementale est l’un des enjeux décisifs dans les intentions de vote à l’élection présidentielle. Le baromètre souligne que 69% Français ont à cœur de considérer les politiques environnementales parmi les sujets clés qui aiguilleront leurs intentions de vote. Cette perspective est partagée par 78% des étudiants et 74% des cadres. Notons que la Bretagne ressort avec 77% alors que le Centre Val de Loire partage cet intérêt à 67%.

 

  • La confiance en la COP26 pour prendre de grandes décisions est hétérogène au sein des populations interrogées. Parmi les plus optimistes, les 18-24 ans pensent à hauteur de 64% que la COP26 sera bénéfique. De l’autre côté du panel, les 50-64 ans sont les plus sceptiques avec 66% de l’échantillon. Si la moyenne nationale est à 59%, 6 régions sont en dessous, les Hauts-de-France au plus bas avec 53%. La Nouvelle Aquitaine est encore une fois en haut du classement avec 68%.

 

“À la veille de la COP26, nous voulions comprendre davantage la perception des français autour du réchauffement climatique. Cette étude démontre plus que jamais l’intérêt grandissant de tous autour des problématiques environnementales. Chez SAP, nous sommes persuadés que les entreprises ont également un rôle à jouer dans la lutte contre le réchauffement climatique, que ce soit dans la gestion de leurs activités, les efforts nécessaires pour réduire l’empreinte carbone de leurs produits et des services qu’elles proposent, mais aussi pour apporter plus de transparence envers les consommateurs.”, déclare Pascal Le Nahédic, Head of Green Line SAP France.

 

Gaël Sliman, président d’Odoxa, affirme que : « Pour 6 Français sur 10, les questions d’environnement et de développement durable sont insuffisamment évoquées dans la campagne présidentielle. C’est bien dommage car l’environnement est l’une des trois priorités majeures des Français, après le pouvoir d’achat, mais devant l’emploi ! Or, les Français n’opposent plus la fin du monde et la fin du mois. Pour eux, il faut poursuivre les politiques environnementales audacieuses car pour 6 Français sur 10 les politiques environnementales ne sont pas incompatibles avec la croissance et l’emploi. Une leçon à méditer pour nous gouvernants et les candidats. »

À propos de SAP

La stratégie de SAP vise à aider chaque organisation à fonctionner en “entreprise intelligente”. En tant que leader du marché des logiciels d’application d’entreprise, nous aidons les entreprises de toutes tailles et de tous secteurs à opérer au mieux : 77 % des transactions commerciales mondiales entrent en contact avec un système SAP®. Nos technologies de Machine Learning, d’Internet des objets (IoT) et d’analytique avancées aident nos clients à transformer leurs activités en “entreprises intelligentes”. SAP permet aux personnes et aux organisations d’avoir une vision approfondie de leur business et favorise la collaboration afin qu’elles puissent garder une longueur d’avance sur leurs concurrents. Nous simplifions la technologie afin que les entreprises puissent utiliser nos logiciels comme elles le souhaitent – sans interruption. Notre suite d’applications et de services de bout en bout permet aux clients privés et publics de 25 secteurs d’activité dans le monde de fonctionner de manière rentable, de s’adapter en permanence et de faire la différence. Avec son réseau mondial de clients, partenaires, employés et leaders d’opinion, SAP aide le monde à mieux fonctionner et à améliorer la vie de chacun.

Pour plus d’informations, visitez le site www.sap.com.

Contacts presse SAP :

Mathilde Thireau : mathilde.thireau@publicisconsultants.com

Robin Legros : robin.legros@publicisconsultants.com

SAP News Center. Suivez SAP sur Twitter : @SAPNews.

Veuillez tenir compte de notre politique de confidentialité. Si vous avez reçu cette alerte de presse dans votre courriel et que vous souhaitez vous désabonner de notre liste d’envoi, veuillez communiquer avec presse-sap@publicisconsultants.com et écrire Désabonnement dans la ligne Objet.

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10 Homepage Design Comparisons to Inspire Your Business in 2022

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Looking to give your homepage a well-needed design update in late 2021 or 2022? Not a bad idea; first impressions are crucial when it comes to business websites. But, fixing your homepage and website design is no easy feat.

Web design trends are evolving faster. Blame the ever-decreasing user’s attention span. The average visitor now spends just 0.5 seconds scanning your homepage to form an opinion about your brand and decide whether to click through or bounce.

Increased user expectations and uncertainty in the user’s response, which is highly impacted by the site’s first impression, are other reasons to consider. This is why the designs which were trending in 2019 are no longer viable in 2021 or 2022.

We have curated the ten best examples of homepage designs to inspire your business in 2022, including a rundown of the best strategies and tips.

Let’s start by highlighting why homepage optimization is necessary for 2022:

Why Your Homepage Will Be So Important in 2022

Your website — especially your homepage — is your brand’s first chance to attract, build trust with, and connect with visitors.

According to recent statistics on why website design is important:

  1. 38% of visitors will stop interacting with a website if they think the layout isn’t visually appealing or intuitive. This creates a higher bounce rate and fewer conversions.
  2. 94% of a visitor’s first impression is based on website design (including colors, fonts, layout, navigation menus, etc.).
  3. 46% of people base a business’s credibility on the aesthetics of its website. Brands with less-than-stellar homepage designs are seen as less trustworthy than companies investing in the visitor experience.

Think of it the same way as walking into a brick-and-mortar store. Visitors are more enticed by a carefully curated ambiance of neatly stocked shelves and welcoming employees than a store that’s dark, messy, or seemingly unfriendly.

Using this logic, your homepage’s above-the-fold section is where you’ll greet visitors and reel them in for more.

10 Homepage Design Comparisons (2019 vs. 2021) To Inspire Your Business Website Design in 2022

Homepage design has come a long way since 2019. In this section, you will explore how.

These homepage designs crush it above the fold. Take just a few of these tips to heart, and your website will be poised to attract leads and conversions — no matter which industry you’re in.

1. Netflix – Crafting The Perfect Call To Action That Reduces Friction With An Additional FAQs Section

Most businesses make the mistake of adding a CTA button that first persuades the user to click on it and then asks for the visitor’s email address.

Netflix also did the same in its 2019 design.

However, Netflix combined both steps in its 2021 homepage design.

The new, improved 2021 homepage design asks for the user email address right up front along with the CTA button.

Here is a good comparison of both the designs:

2019 homepage design

vs.

2021 homepage design

Key Takeaways:

  • The design encourages visitors to enter their email address right when they land on the homepage. As a result, form submission is much easier when the user has started the process. Hence, Netflix makes it easier for visitors to move along their conversion funnel nicely by reducing the friction.
  • The 2021 design also has a nice FAQ section that provides quick information about the company’s services and improves the overall user experience.
  • FAQs also help increase the organic presence of the website in the search engines because Google presents snippets from the FAQ section in the form of an answer box in the search results.

2. Spotify – Revamped Color Combinations For Improved CTA Visibility And Using The ‘Rule of Three’ For Heading Text

The older 2019 Spotify homepage design used light pink and orange colors in its home page main area. The CTA color was green, but if you look closely, the CTA lacks visibility.

The new 2021 design uses blue and green colors with a much larger font size for the main heading. The colors are attractive, and the CTA is visible clearly.

Here is the comparison of the Spotify homepage 2019 design vs. 2020 design:

2019 homepage design

Vs.

2021 homepage design

Key Takeaways:

  • Blue is the most versatile color, and green is the perfect choice for the CTA button. Spotify used universally accepted color combinations to redesign its homepage and made the CTA more visible.
  • The main heading is also made larger than it was in the 2019 design, and it follows the rule of three in writing which is effective and satisfying. It uses just three words in the main heading to allow the human brain to process information as a pattern that is more memorable.

3. Hulu – Give Priority To Your Brand Name And Hide Pricing

If you compare the Hulu 2019 vs. 2021 Hulu homepage, the brand name has been prioritized and shown as the main heading.

Moreover, the older homepage had pricing information everywhere, which has been reduced intelligently in the new design.

2019 homepage design

vs.

2021 homepage design

Key Takeaways:

  • The brand name ‘Hulu’ is displayed as the main heading of the homepage, which helps to build audience trust.
  • The older design persuaded the users to pick a paid plan even though they had a free trial option—this discouraged users from trying their service. The new 2021 design encourages users to try the platform for free. In addition, the packages have prominent CTAs that mention “try for $0”. This design move improves conversions on the website.
  • The new design makes it easier for the visitors to select a viewing plan with easy comparison of the three available plans. The best part is, customers can start all the plans for $0. It’s a win-win situation for the users, and they can quickly pick a plan to start watching Hulu.

4. Nextiva – Reduce Visual Noise And Add Pictures In Menu To Improve UX

Nextiva realized the importance of reducing visual noise in its newly designed 2021 homepage. Visual noise happens when you use too many colors to attract user attention. Different colors compete with each other resulting in diluted customer observation.

In the old 2019 homepage, Nextiva used orange, blue, and green as the primary colors, while in the 2021 revamped design, they have used blue as the main color.

Here is a comparison of the two designs:

2019 homepage design

vs.

2021 homepage design

Moreover, the older homepage didn’t have an image in the product menu, but the new 2021 homepage improves the UX further.

Below is a comparison:

2019 homepage design

vs.

2021 homepage design

Key Takeaways:

  • Nextiva used blue as their base color for the homepage design and removed orange and green colors to reduce visual complexity. This is an excellent change to keep the user’s attention focused. Notice the green colored bar at the top of the homepage in the 2019 version now replaced with blue.
  • The 2021 design has a clean look compared to the 2019 design, which looks scattered with too many different elements, including CTAs that confuse the users.
  • The product menu does an excellent job of linking intelligently to service pages such as phone systems and video meetings. The image of a smiling lady attracts users to click on Nextiva’s products to learn more about them. Improving UX is an impressive way to reduce bounce rates and increase time on site.

5. GoToMeeting – Avoid Lengthy Sign Up Form, Educate Users About Your Products, and Add Images That Depict The Current Needs of The Audience

GoToMeeting does a great job educating the users about their product by adding more content on the homepage that comprehensively explains their product features.

Moreover, they have replaced the older hero image with a new picture that portrays the changing needs of their audiences. Nowadays, there is a rise in work from home culture due to Covid-19. Hence, the photo and the heading text clearly target the needs of their users.

Here is a comparison of the 2019 vs. 2020 homepage of GoToMeeting:

2019 homepage design

vs.

2021 homepage design

Key Takeaways:

  • The 2019 homepage design had a sign-up form on the homepage, which GoToMeeting removed in the 2021 design. People hate to fill in so much information right when they land on the home page. Hence, GoToMeeting did the right thing by removing the signup form from their homepage.
  • The hero image steals the show of the 2021 redesign because the picture of a working mom with her kid playing studying in front of her is a great way to portray the current needs of the society when over 60% of the employees are working from home. Audiences can quickly relate their working environment with the hero image leading to more sign-ups.
  • The older 2019 design was confusing, and it made little effort to help the users understand the different features of the product. The new 2021 homepage design has a product features section that explains the different features of the software. When users are educated about the product, they earn the confidence to try the product.

6. Zillow – Apply Hick’s Law To Allow Visitors To Take Faster Decisions

Zillow does an impressive job of applying Hick’s Law in allowing visitors to make faster decisions. Hick’s law states that the more options you present to the users, the faster they will decide. Therefore, it is a major factor in improving website usability.

The old 2019 homepage design of Zillow offered too many options to the users, like they want to buy, rent, or sell a property. The users first select either one of the three options and then enter the zip code to start their search.

The new 2021 homepage design changed that. Now, Zillow offers users a single option. They only need to enter the zip code to get started.

By reducing the number of actions that users need to take to just one, the homepage design eases the overall decision-making process of the site visitors.

2019 homepage design

vs.

2021 homepage design

Key Takeaways:

  • The new homepage design has a simple search bar that persuades visitors to take prompt action.
  • The Hero image is placed smartly behind the search bar to depict the needs of the users accurately.
  • The homepage does have three different panels for buying, renting, or selling a home when the users scroll below. The old design is missing that. The new design removed so many options above the fold and kept just a single option for the users to encourage more users to search properties on the site.

7. Plex – Placement of Prominent Calls-to-Action On Homepage

The CTA is a key element of every website. It helps the users decide on their next action and helps to convert the visitors into leads.

Plex lacked an optimized CTA placement in its 2019 home page design. Hence, the 2021 design received an uplift to better place the CTA for increased visitor engagement.

Take a look at the home page designs of Plex from two different years. If you compare the two home pages of 2019 vs. 2021, the primary difference that will grab your attention is the CTA.

2019 homepage design

vs.

2021 homepage design

Key Takeaways:

  • The call-to-action buttons are more prominent and have actionable texts.
  • The number of CTA buttons is increased to two to encourage users to take action.
  • The additional CTA button is wisely placed at the center to get immediate attention.
  • Note that the color choice for the button is also bright and highly contrasts with the background yet matches the color theme.
  • The old heading text ‘Stream Smarter’ was confusing because it didn’t help the users understand what Plex does. Hence it is now revised to ‘Watch Free Movies and TV on Plex.’ The new text is easy to understand and has the word ‘Free’ to increase the number of visitors clicking on the CTA.

8. Dropbox – More Above The Fold Content And Change of Fonts

Dropbox has significantly worked on its main content, which is clearly visible in the comparison homepage design images of 2019 vs. 2021.

The 2021 homepage is seen fixing faded, minimalistic, and less engaging content in the older homepage.

2019 homepage design

vs.

2021 homepage design

Key Takeaways:

  • Sans serifs, with their clean readability, are included for longer bouts of the homepage.
  • Bold sans text is doing the job of drawing user attention effortlessly.
  • The color contrast of the text with the background is increased, which improves the visibility.
  • The right side image of a laptop is replaced with a screenshot of the software, which intrigues users to know more.

9. Cisco – Moving Blocks To Outsmart Competitor Websites

The homepage design of American technology company Cisco has seen a drastic change in 2021; it deserves to appear on this list. The company website smartly represents an appeal for future development through its killer homepage design.

Here is a comparison of the old 2019 homepage design vs. the new moving block design of 2021:

2019 homepage design

vs.

2021 homepage design

Key Takeaways

  • The home page contains moving blocks with news from the blog. As you hover over the image, it widens up, and a CTA button appears. The blocks represent a design of the future which the competitors might find hard to replicate.
  • Every block has a CTA, which was missing in the 2019 design. Each block represents a specific Cisco service and caters to the different needs of the visitors.
  • The new design is elegant and cleaner with lots of information.

10. Slack – Product Video On Home Page For More Conversions

Slack has made it easier for the users to understand the product well by using a video on the homepage.

The 2019 design has an image, while the 2021 design has a video that helps the visitors understand how the product works.

Here is a comparison of the 2019 design vs. 2021 design:

2019 homepage design

vs.

2021 homepage design

Key Takeaways

  • The inclusion of a product video leaves a great impression in the minds of the visitors and shows them what your product does.
  • Video helps Slack to make its value proposition clear and super fast.
  • Video has a strong correlation to conversions, and they work well as compared to hero images. Slack used a hero image on the homepage in 2019, but they replaced it with a video in 2021.

Final Thoughts on Using These Homepage Designs for Inspiration in 2021

By making it to this point in our guide, you now have plenty of inspiration to run with when upgrading your homepage. You should also have a better understanding of how powerful this tool may become for your brand.

So now it’s time to brainstorm how to use these ideas for your own 2021 homepage design. First, jot down the key points from this guide and honestly assess how your website currently compares.

Accomplish this task, and your brand might see an uptick in website traffic and conversions. It may even earn a spot in a roundup of killer website designs just like this one.

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20 Best New Sites, June 2021

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Ever since online stores first emerged they’ve faced one big challenge compared to their real world rivals; yes, it’s convenient to shop wherever, whenever you want, and delivery options permitting, buy from anyone anywhere in the world. But it’s a minimal experience compared to the fuller sensory experience of shopping in the real world.

Online stores can only access our sight and hearing, whereas physical shops can engage all our senses. How can a website compete with the experience created by walking into a physical space where lighting, layout, decor, and background audio are all carefully designed to create an appropriate atmosphere; where you can touch fabrics to check how they feel, try clothes or shoes on without having to buy them first? How do you sell scented products without allowing them to be smelled?

In this month’s round-up, we see a few different approaches to solving this dilemma, sites that focus the copy, visual, and auditory, to work on the imagination.

Go Love Yourself

This microsite to advertise The Body Shop body butters, uses sensuous imagery and video to create an atmosphere of indulgence while also offering comprehensive product information.

Niarra Travel

Sustainable, bespoke travel agency Niarra Travel makes good use of some beautiful photography. The background color scheme of earthy greens and neutrals fits both the luxury and eco-conscious aspects of the company.

by Humankind

by Humankind is a personal care brand making toiletries from natural ingredients. The focus of their pitch is reducing plastic waste. The site is appropriately sparse, with simple product shots and mostly warm neutral colors.

Mama Joyce Peppa Sauce

This one-page site for Mama Joyce Peppa Sauce is big and bold. Lots of scrolling type and vintage style illustration. You don’t need to look for a ‘buy now’ because the cursor itself is it. Click almost anywhere, and two bottles of sauce go into your cart.

Eadem

Eadem is a beauty company for women of color — their flagship product is a serum that fades dark spots without bleaching. Pinks and dark golds contrasted with fresher oranges and pale greens create a color scheme that feels rich but not heavy.

Pact Media

Pact Media is a full-service digital design agency whose work mainly focuses on agencies, businesses, and organizations involved in conservation. Large type and greyscale with red accents create a strong feel, while color on image rollover adds extra impact.

hueLe Museum

hueLe Museum is a collection of clothing brands. The philosophy behind it equates choosing clothes to choosing flowers, and there are some beautiful flower images. There is a sense of tranquility to the site, and it is even better on mobile.

Marnie Hawson

Photographer Marnie Hawson’s portfolio site is clean and simple, with a warm green (again) background and an engaging asymmetrical grid layout.

Kōpiko

Kōpiko is a micro-bakery that offers a sourdough delivery subscription service to its local area. It makes and sells only two products, and the single-page site is suitably simple. Putting the subscription form above the product and company information gets to the point without seeming pushy.

Banila Studio

Banila Studio is a branding and design studio in Basque Country. This is a nice example of sideways scrolling, and the alternate color scheme option is a fun touch.

Big Green Egg

Big Green Eggs are high-end barbecue/outdoor ovens. Lots of high-quality food photography is the key here, along with a clear build-your-own setup process.

Pawzzles

Pawzzles is a puzzle feeder toy for cats, and yes, there is a cat video. This has a fun feel, with some rather sweet illustrations and lots of silly puns. By cat lovers, for cat lovers.

Melopeion Organic Thyme Honey

The choice of display type on this site — crucially one that works well for both the latin and greek alphabets — emphasizes the Cretan origin of Melopeion honey. The illustrations are appealing, and the shopping basket icon is an especially nice detail.

Brendel Wines

This site for Brendel Wines is all about photography, large background photographs, and video, as well as product shots. More specifically, the lighting in the images creates an atmosphere, a sense of warm summer evenings.

imNativ

imNativ is an upholstery fabric: not the most exciting product to present enticingly. Some good, close-up photographs and well-styled images of the fabrics in use make them desirable.

Thursday Studio

Thursday design studio has produced a very pleasing, clean site for their own portfolio. The split-screen scrolling that changes to sideways scrolling on mobile is especially nice.

HALEYS Beauty

HALEYS Beauty uses a soft, powdery color palette and a clear, well-spaced grid, which gives it a modern, feminine feel.

Wookmama

The Wookmama app is a color visualizer which displays palettes and applies those palettes to real-world images. Colour is, as one would hope, used well here, along with plenty of screen mock-ups.

Planet of Lana

Planet of Lana is the first game from Wishfully Studios, due for release in 2022. This teaser web page really allows the game illustrations to do the talking.

The Future of Office

The Future of Office is a sales site for office space to rent. It has a fresh, airy feel which reflects the open, minimal aesthetic of the spaces on offer.

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Soft UI: Making Sense of the Latest Design Trend

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A new design trend has emerged in the last year: Soft UI or Neumorphism is everywhere. 

Even Apple is in on the trend; the company introduced a host of changes in both its mobile and desktop operating systems that use the style. The elements of Soft UI introduced by Apple reflect various aspects of the Microsoft Fluent UI design too. 

So, if soft UI is such a huge concept, what do we need to know about it? How does soft UI work, and what are the pros and cons of using it?

What is Soft UI (Neumorphism)?

Soft UI involves using highlights and shadows in design elements to make them look as though they’re layered on the page. 

The term neumorphism is derived from a previous design style — skeuomorphism, where designers create something as close to its real-life counterpart as possible. If you remember the shift between iOS 6 and 7, you’ll remember the switch between skeuomorphic and flat designs. However, neumorphic design isn’t quite as dramatic. 

Neumorphism doesn’t focus excessively on things like contrast or similarities between real and digital elements. Instead, this “soft UI” practice creates a smoother experience for users. 

With neumorphism, you get the sense that buttons and cards are actually part of the background they’re on. This trend removes the flashier aspects of a typical interface and focuses on a softer style that stays consistent throughout the design. 

The Common Features of Soft UI

Soft UI is all about smoothing out the experience by making everything feel more connected. There’s nothing overly harsh in the aesthetic, hence the term “soft.”

So, what kind of features can you expect?

Rounded Corners: Soft UI removes some of the sharper parts of the interface, like the corners on modules and segments. This allows for a more gentle appearance overall. In this experimentation from Iqonic Design, we can see how the round corners tie everything together.

Transparency and Background Blur: Background blur and transparency are more popular today since the infamous iOS 7 solution emerged. Most people hated the appearance of ultra-minimalism, combined with thin fonts. However, the background blur effect was more popular. The blur in soft UI shows that part of the window is connected to the rest of the OS. It seems like parts of the background in the app are pushing through to the surface. 

Unified Symbols: Everything needs to fit perfectly in a soft UI design. Anything that doesn’t look like it’s part of the same entity throws off the experience. In this design experiment by Surja Sen Das Raj, you can see how all the colors, shadows, and gradients tie together consistently. Because everything is more uniform, the experience flows perfectly for the end-user. 

Implementing Soft UI Elements in Your Design

So, what does neumorphism look like in your UI design process?

Ultimately, it’s all about subtle contrast and aligned colors. Every part of your interface needs to look like it’s part of the same form. Your element and background need to be the same color so that you can create a feeling of objects protruding from the background. 

With Soft UI, the keys to success are shadows and highlights. 

Let’s take a look at some key steps. 

Achieving the Soft Look

When you’re designing your interface, remember that sharp edges make the interface more serious and formal. Rounded corners are more playful and friendly. 

What also makes the design look lightweight and delicate is plenty of deep shadows and highlights. When you add shadows to elements, you create a visual hierarchy. The items that cast a larger, deeper shadow are the ones closest to you. That’s why only a few elements need to cast an intense shadow. Everything else should work in the background. 

Take a look at this design by Alexander Plyuto, for instance.

Creating Smooth and Delicate Gradients

Gradients are part of the shadow and highlighting process in Soft UI design. Ideally, you’ll need to choose colors from the same palette, just toned down or brightened, depending on your needs. The gradient needs to be barely visible, but just enough to make the elements stand out. 

For white gradients, like highlights, use a very delicate color somewhere between white and your background shade. For instance, consider this design from Marina Tericheva.

Consider the Little Details

Finally, remember that the neumorphism design principle is all about little details. 

Choosing a font that visually matches the background is an excellent choice. However, you can also choose something more contrasting, as this will help information stand out. 

Adding a little bit of the background into your fonts might be suitable too. For instance, if you have a green font and a grey background, add a little grey into the mix. 

Extra elements in your design, like allowing a button to shift into a more recessed state after being clicked, are a great way to make the soft UI more engaging. Everything your end-user interacts with needs to feel smooth and perfectly unified. 

The Problems with Soft UI Design

Just because a design process is trending – doesn’t mean it won’t have its issues. 

Neumorphism is a fun way to make apps, operating systems, and websites feel more friendly and informal. However, this softer approach has a weak spot too. 

When you’re dealing with a small margin of contrast and color where neumorphism works well, it’s hard to get the effect right every time. For instance, this all-yellow design for Dtail Studio may be overwhelming for some.

A slight deviation in saturation or a problem with your shadowing could render the entire effect of Neumorphism completely pointless. 

Another major issue is accessibility. The soft UI design looks great for people who have a full visual range. However, visually impaired users might not see the same benefits. Anyone without perfect vision may see crucial objects disappearing into the background.

Your users don’t necessarily need significant vision problems to struggle with neumorphism, either. The design is all about softness that causes elements to almost blend together. People with low-quality screens that don’t have as many pixels to work with won’t see these elements. 

Issues With Buttons and CTAs

Another major issue of neumorphism is that its subtlety can lead to problems with attracting clicks and conversions. Usability is the most important consideration of any UI design. 

Unfortunately, when you focus on subtle elements throughout your entire interface, usability sometimes takes a hit. 

Let’s consider buttons, for instance – they’re essential to any interface. To simplify the customer journey, these buttons need to be noticeable, and they need to shift into different states when your customers interact with them. 

For the button experience to be excellent, users need to notice the design instantly. However, the heart of neumorphism revolves around the idea that nothing stands out too much. 

This isn’t just an accessibility issue; it’s a problem for conversions too. 

Neumorphism is soft on the eyes, with minimal color contrast and few color pops. This means that CTA buttons don’t stand out as much as they should. Buttons almost blend into the background, and the website struggles to pull attention to the areas that demand it most. 

How to Experiment With Soft UI (Free Kits)

The key to unlocking the benefits of soft UI interfaces without getting lost in the negative points – is proper experimentation. Like any new design trends, professionals and artists will need to learn how to merge the elements of soft UI together in a way that doesn’t compromise usability. 

Trends in UI design can’t focus exclusively on aesthetics, as a customer’s comfort will always be an essential part of the process. 

If you want to start exploring, here are some of the best kits and freebies to get you started:

Closing Thoughts on Soft UI

The world of design and the trends that we use are constantly changing. Companies are always searching for the best ways to connect with their users. Often, this means focusing on an interface that really connects with your target audience and delivers the best possible results. 

The soft UI design trend has its benefits and its downsides. On the one hand, the smooth appearance of every element on a combined screen can deliver a delightful aesthetic. Buttons feel less imposing, and elements are friendlier and easier to interact with. 

On the other hand, neumorphism also makes it difficult to truly capture your audience’s attention in the places where it matters most. It suffers from accessibility issues and requires plenty of care and practice.

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3 Ways to Design More Inclusively

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Inclusive design is often mistaken for accessibility, or even used as an interchangeable term, which is a good indication that most designers don’t know what it means.

Accessibility is a process that seeks to mitigate issues in a design that is not sufficiently universal; inclusive design increases the universality of the design. In real-world terms, an accessible building may replace its front steps with a ramp; an inclusive building is constructed at the same level as the sidewalk.

Accessibility is concerned with objective, measurable improvements. It’s a UI concern. Inclusive design is subjective, more difficult to measure, and is a UX concern. By designing inclusively, we extend our designs to the widest possible user group and contribute to a better society. Here are three ways to get started.

1. You’re the Edge Case

When designing, it’s normal to assume that we are normal. After all, we are the center of our experience of the world. Everything from our preferences to our empathy stems from our individual place in time and space.

When we use the term “edge case,” what we’re referring to is a minority experience, a way of using our design that is uncommon or distinct from our own expectations.

But what would happen if we treat ourselves as the edge case? What if all of the experiences that we deem to be minority experiences are actually the core, common user experience of our design?

If we start from the position that we are the one out-of-step with the design, that most people will not think or act as we do, then we’re eliminating thousands of biased decisions about how our design should be.

Draw From Life

It has always surprised me that in Europe’s dark ages — ranging from the decline of the Roman empire to the Proto-Renaissance — it didn’t occur to anyone to draw from life. Artists drew things the way they thought they should look, which is why so many Byzantine icons of the infant Jesus look like a middle-aged blonde man that has been shrunk.

It’s important to draw from real life as much as possible. That means abandoning personas — which are by definition under-representative and frequently loaded with bias — and engaging with actual users. Most of all, it means taking a step back and opening your eyes.

2. Stop Making Inclusive Design Part of Your Practice

Inclusive design cannot be a part of your practice; it’s an all-encompassing attitude. Your design practice must be inclusive. At least, it should aspire to be…

As human beings, we are biased—all of us. The reason for that is that bias — be it racism, misogyny, nationalism, homophobia, or anything else — is cultural. And we all exist within society. We’re all bombarded with information that reinforces those biases every day.

Accept that you have biases and that your biases will pull your design work away from the inclusive solution you aspire to. But equally, accept that by acknowledging your biases you’re limiting the influence they have over your decision-making.

Do Not Require Users to Self-Identify

It’s divisive and abusive to partition users into groups, especially when the act of doing so perpetuates bias.

One of the most encouraging developments of the last decade has been the introduction of the answer “prefer not to say” in response to personal questions about race, gender, status, and so forth. But if “prefer not to say” is a valid option, in other words if you don’t actually need to know, then why ask at all?

Beware Occam’s Razor

Occam’s Razor is an often misquoted idea that (to paraphrase) states that when making a decision, the one with the least assumptions is the correct choice.

The problem is that Occam’s Razor implies that there is a ‘correct’ decision. But in fact, inclusive design benefits most from a flexible UI and a high tolerance for deviation.

If you can identify the assumptions in a design decision sufficiently to count them, then you’re best served by testing, not comparing, those assumptions.

3. Design Flexibility Into Everything

There is no such thing as a “natural normal,” but there is “perceived normal.” Much of our behavior is governed by the experiences we’ve had since we were very young. Despite existing somewhere on a scale of ability and preference, most of us have inched towards what we have been told is a “normal” range all our lives.

However, it is a physiological fact that every characteristic exists somewhere on a spectrum. There are no black and whites; it’s all grey.

When we design a site or app, we tend to silo certain characteristics into one. Someone who is visually impaired is treated to the same ‘solution’ as someone who is blind, even though visual impairment can range from screen reflections on a sunny day to someone who was born without optic nerves.

There are people who have lost their sight through degeneration or accident and will be able to make visual connections based on remembered visuals. Other people have never seen anything and their conscious mental process isn’t figurative at all.

To accommodate the full gamut of possible interactions with our design, we need to design to a scale, not with absolute values. This means thinking less about set colors and sizes and more in terms of contrast and scale.

Avoid Communicating in Color

Few areas are more indicative of a spectrum of experiences than color.

Color is instantly problematic for designers because quite apart from color blindness, color has deeply personal associations.

Over the last couple of decades, it’s been repeatedly proven that it is contrast, not hue, that increases engagement. Green does not always mean go; red does not always mean stop.

Color involves so many biases and assumptions that it’s simply better to work with contrast than select the ‘right’ hue.

Bigger Typography (Sometimes)

In the first draft of this article, I wrote that increasing the scale of your typography was always good.

My rationale was that some users will benefit from larger type, and zero users will be hindered by it. But that’s not true. Larger type means fewer lines per viewport, which means more scrolling; not a problem for some users, but potentially an issue for those with motor control issues.

That was one of my biases right there.

Congratulations, You’re Now An Inclusive Designer

Good design is self-aware in origin and unselfconscious in execution.

Inclusive design isn’t about enabling access for everyone; it’s about designing for a user experience that is welcoming and respectful. Every one of your users should feel not just enabled but validated.

Inclusive design isn’t a series of items on a checklist; it’s an ideal, like harmony or beauty, that we may struggle to achieve but that we should strive for nonetheless.

 

Image via Pexels.

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