Examples are provided.

1) Real-life imagery

Pinterest and Instagram had taken the social media communities by storm. Instagram-like photos expanded into various areas of visual design including websites. The majority of the websites that we see these days features real-life photos of people, food and objects. The goal is putting images that appear as authentic and credible as possible.

Interestingly, graphic and web designers are moving into the depiction of real people in real-life scenarios. Visuals are no longer confined to the traditional depiction of models – whites, blondes, slender figure, etc. There is diversity to make the ads, most especially, more believable.

Burt’s Bees Baby

American Eagle Outfitters

Prada

2) Motion graphics

Online videos are so popular nowadays thanks to YouTube and Vimeo and of course, mobile devices. Websites and landing pages are integrated with a flat design, full-screen video background, GIFs or real-object stop-motion graphic.

Yahoo launched its Motion Ads, the advertising format that combines HQ branded images with discreet animations. Through this, Yahoo is able to create high-impact user experiences upon logging in. Google followed suit with its Google Now.

Visit the website to view the graphics.

We Heart Trees

Wistia

3) Flat design

We have seen the best of flat designs in 2013 or so we thought because the trend is still strong this year. In fact, it is not showing any signs of dwindling down. Flat design is backed by minimalism wherein the traditional design techniques such as drop shadows and gradients are minimized.

Flat design is suited for mobile devices. Not to mention, the technique emphasizes the objects and other elements in the website.

Oreo

Aleksandra Kuban

4) Soft pastels

Pantone publishes its color of the year which is radiant orchid (18-3224), leading the pastel color trend for this year. Even the flat websites which embrace bold colors turn into softer hues this year.

Nowadays, not just the websites, print designs with backgrounds, images and fonts among other graphic elements are no longer sporting loud colors.

Every Last Drop

Future of Car Sharing

5) Textured fonts

Before, web designs are usually made from flat fonts, and textured fonts had traditionally been used for print designs. Those are the days because today we see more flat designed sites with textured and even pastel fonts.

Typography designs are used just like images, graphics, videos and illustrations in influencing and conveying identity. Why not? Textured fonts have the capability of pushing the boundaries on normal, 2D designs while also giving new meanings to brands as taken from the typographical point of view.

Church on the Rock

Moustache Me

These are the trends that we have seen so far in terms of image, graphic, illustration, color and typography. These are the trends that we should embrace now because we are going to see more of these in 2015 and beyond.

Further, these are the trends that can elevate the status of your brand. Remember that consumers are constantly exposed to hundreds of advertisements in print, media and digital on a daily basis. Breaking the clutter will be difficult.

Nonetheless, there remains a need to resonate with the prospects and customers. These visual design trends could be the answer since these elements easily catch the attention of the target market.

Variations of these elements continue to creep into the digital marketing strategies of the brands. Why not? These trends proved to be successful for the brands mentioned above. The next online brand success story could be you!

The post 5 Inspiring Visual Design Trends of 2014 appeared first on Internet Marketing Reach.

The problem is there are no simple “right” answers for most web design questions (at least not for the important ones). What works is good, integrated design that fills a need—carefully thought out, well executed, and tested.

― Steve Krug, Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability

Today, both offline and online business owners aim to promote their brand and product and service offerings on a global scale, enhancing the competitive edge and bottom-line in the process. This is possible with the help of a professionally-designed, highly customized website.

Business owners may not realize the importance of custom web designs in bringing in more traffic and thus more sales opportunities.

1) A customized website differentiates the business from the competition

It is a form of distinction that tells much about your brand and branding strategy. The overall design will be associated with your brand alone, so your website will always be on top of mind of the consumers when they remember an associated subject with it. Unique designs are often easily recognized and recalled by the visitors.

2) A custom site reflects the business philosophy and values

It is more than being a showroom for your products and services. Rather, the website can help the visitors in creating appropriate and favorable impressions of the brand as a whole. It won’t be difficult to encourage these visitors to invest in and transact with your business.

3) A custom-built website entails professionalism

It is more related to the reputation that the company is trying to maintain. Professional elements can be easily distinguished. In fact, any average Internet user can tell which site is professional looking and which is not. Businesses with custom sites are perceived as credible enough to do business with.

4) A tailor-made website synergizes with the overall marketing purpose

It contributes in convincing the consumers to purchase, so conversion is also easier with custom designed sites. What we’ve learned from customer psychology is that an individual will only purchase from a reputed company. Custom sites are essentially designed to suit the taste of the target market as well as the products and services that it markets.

5) A custom-made site complements optimization

It’ll be constructed to be search engine friendly. SEO elements can be integrated during the coding stage to increase the findability of your website. What good is a customized site if your target audience cannot find it? Professionally written codes are the necessary first step towards having a profitable site, attracting the right audience who are ready and willing to purchase.

The customization dilemma

Unfortunately, in most cases, the budget dictates the decision to opt for using website templates, which is the less costly option than custom websites. Custom website design and development is not as expensive as you think especially if you are going to look at it from the cost-and-benefit perspective.

Anyhow, customization also translates to adaptability and scalability which means changing the features of new business and technical requirements easily in the future when new technologies and tools came up. So for now, you can include only the most important features and incorporate other important features when the budget allows for it.

With this, your goal should be customizing the website at a cost that your present budget can accommodate. Your main goal should be setting a realistic budget. Customized websites can go as high as $5,000. Why skimp, right? After all, it is your website – the core of your online presence.

Achieving the brand personality that you want is impossible with a template! Why would you even consider using templates when customized web designs are very budget-friendly?

The post How Important Are Custom Web Designs appeared first on Internet Marketing Reach.