Web Design trends to watch out for in 2015

Javascript is about to be updated, hopefully in June. This will be the first update to the de facto website client side language in 6 years. Among the great new features are arrow functions. These are interesting and very useful as they gain the scope of the environment they’re defined in. Without fat arrow functions every function defines a “this" value. What it all really means is less headaches and hopefully more rapid development! Another feature is the introduction of Classes. Finally! Obviously support is limited but we’ll be making use of it just as soon as the Browser vendors allow it.

 

I know CSS3 is just out the door but there’s also some very exciting stuff to watch out for in CSS4 (if watching out for new features in a stylesheet language is your thing).  Selectors are going to get a lot more powerful with has(), not() and matches(). At it’s most basic we can now say something like a:has(img) to style any link on a site that contains an image. Another selector that will make web design much easier is in column selectors for tables. We can now style elements that are grouped vertically. Told you it was exciting!

 

APIs are changing the way we transform data into something meaningful. Open data is on the rise but we need to keep pushing for data and content to be made freely available. Responsive design will continue to evolve throughout the year and I think we will start to see much more vibrant designs making use of bright colours as a response to Androids latest OS and Material design philosophy. Another new technology that will probably change the world of web design is 3D. Still early days but we are keeping a close eye on Oculus, Hololens and the other devices that are still in development by the big tech manufacturers. Once they crack it 3D will be the next major evolution in interfacing with computers, touch screen technology is becoming so last decade.