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5 Website Design Trends for 2010:
Who Would Have Thought?
 I've never been into trends. Maybe except for those Jane Fonda legwarmers and ankle weights in the 80s. And mood rings. I had a mood ring. You probably never heard of them, but they changed colors (supposedly) depending on the emotion you were feeling at the moment.
At Cat's Eye, even though my biz partner is a designer (and web developer) extraordinaire, we have the same basic logo we started with in 1993. Changed the font of the business name a couple of times, but didn't mess with the design because it worked for us.
The teal blue color was in, then out, now coming back again. But the main thing about our logo is that people still tell us is how unique and memorable it is. It's not a bad thing to be memorable, you know?
So the "best of" one year and the "predictions" for the next are interesting, though not something I print out and hang on the wall.
But when I read the IBOI Design blog's "Designers Predict Trends for 2010," I sat up. Because the predictions for 2010 all seem to be things we at Cat's Eye are already doing. Does that make us trendy?
5 Website Design Trends for 2010
1. Websites will be less sterile, more warm and friendly in tone. Personally, I'm delighted with this one. Because I've always felt that you should be having conversations with your customers. So they get to know you and trust you.
2. More attention will be given to the quality of the content. Good news for those of us who already knew that nothing, not even superior design, will keep your readers on your site if your content isn't compelling and engaging.
3. Design elements will be chosen because they work for the client's needs and target audience, not because they are trendy or "hot." Hmm. A trend toward non-trendiness. A nice affirmation that design has a more important goal than just looking pretty: it needs to pull readers into the content and copy-the part of your website that does the selling.
4. Content management systems like WordPress will become more popular. There are many good reasons to use WordPress for your website or blog, but, with the stories we've been hearing lately about web designers going missing, it's even more important to know that you have control of your own site.
5. Designers who also know web development will be in great demand. It's a pretty cool thing when you can find a designer who is also a sharp web developer. That way, you don't have to parcel out the parts of your website to different people and you get a more integrated look.
Sometimes it's nice when the trends line up in your corner.
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