I found 2009 to be an inspiring year for web design. We seemed to break away a bit from that whole Web 2.0 thing and start thinking outside the overly glossy box. But, that doesn’t mean that we didn’t see some very strong trends this past year.

What is a trend? I’m not going to quote the dictionary. I’m going to just tell you my interpretation. Once a design style starts to seep into usages beyond it’s original purpose, it has become a trend. For example, a wood background on a camping website makes sense. When the local bank is using a wood background on their website, it has become a trend. An illustrated mascot on an illustrator’s site makes sense. Now that everybody with a face has an illustrated version of themselves on their website, it is a trend.

So, what were the biggest trends of 2009? Here are my top 10 (in no particular order):

1. Grunge

I think this one is fairly obvious. Dirty textures, torn photos, and worn type ruled the web in 2009. I think we all took to the texture and interest of this trend because it was so far from the squeaky clean glossy buttons we had been looking at for years prior.

What’s next for Grunge? As much as I love a well-done grunge-inspired website, I have a feeling it’s time is almost up. I’m sure that there will be plenty of latecomers taking on the grunge look for themselves, but most innovative designers have moved onto something else. When something hits as hard as this trend, it spreads fast, and disappears almost as quickly.

2. Collage/Texture

Collage was EVERYWHERE in 2009! Some sites have been extremely creative in their use of collage (I think that WebDesigner Wall was a big inspiration to many designers), but others of us have fallen into the collage pit-of-shame. If your website or twitter background includes a photo (most likely Polaroid), paper-clip or thumbtack, and coffee stain (with no other creative elements), please try again. I know it was awesome the first time you saw it — but now it’s the official twitter background of the “Social Media Expert,” and its creative time has passed.

What’s next for Collage/Texture? I don’t think collage is going anywhere. I think we’ll still see a lot of it, but I have faith that we’re going to progress past the Polaroids and continue to find innovative ways to build on this trend.

3. Big Headlines

Oh, yes, I’m on board with the big headline trend — as you can see by the large headlines on Creative Opera. Again, I feel this trend is in response to the tiny fonts that have been in vogue in the past. Remember those flash sites with the teeny-tiny text? Well, no longer! “The bigger, the better” seemed to be the theme of 2009.

What’s next for Big Headlines? I don’t see big headlines going anywhere. I think they will continue to be a strong trend in 2010. In fact, toward the end of 2009, headlines seem to be growing — not shrinking — so say it large!

4. Introductions

Hello! My name is Manda and I make websites. Apparently I am not alone. There are people all over the internet introducing themselves. I’d like to blame the talented Jason Reed for this. His website was so well marketed and so well designed, that designers all over started introducing themselves on their homepages. This trend is so strong, that even portfolio templates are including the hello line.

What’s next for Introductions? I think we’re going to continue to see introductions. Let’s face it, it’s a great idea to tell your audience upfront what you and your site are all about. But, I do think we’re going to break away from the standard “Hello, my name is blank and I blank,” and start to see some more creative interactions (as demonstrated on the Kidd81 site below).

5. Nature/Wood

I’m a nature girl. I grew up on a farm, and still prefer to walk through the grass in my bare feet. In 2009, I didn’t have to look far to find nature. There were trees and grass and blue skies everywhere online. It doesn’t matter if the company manufactures sock puppets or sells office furniture — a wood background and grassy hills work for everyone. So it seems anyway.

What’s next for nature-inspired web design? I think there will be plenty of nature in design in 2010, but I think that the wood trend will die down a bit. It is a wonderful answer for some sites (check out the Outlaw Design Blog), but it just doesn’t have the same pop on a banking site.

6. One-page Scrolling Sites

One-page sites exploded online in 2009. Moving horizontally or vertically, scrolling sites gave an added element of animation to website navigation. Check out some of my favorite scrolling one-page sites here.

What’s next for one-page websites? I think that this trend is going to continue to grow in 2010 – with more and more people taking advantage of the ease and simplicity of a one-page website. I believe we will even begin to see more non-scrolling one-page sites. With everyone building profiles across the social network, why waste time with web pages when you can just provide links to your Facebook, Twitter, and FlickR pages?

7. Exaggerated Grids

Grids were hot in 2010. Balance and symmetry were everywhere – exaggerated by perfectly aligned elements in table-like form. And why not? It’s a great way to visually organize large amounts of content.

What’s next for exaggerated grid layouts? I think we’ll continue to see grid layouts in websites that must provide a lot of content in a small area (CSS showcase sites, for example) however, I think that the trend for most new sites in 2010 will be toward more organic – less structured layouts.

8. Content Sliders

This may be the most overused and abused trend of 2009. It’s hard to even find a site that isn’t using this technique on their homepage. I totally get it — it’s an attractive, attention-grabbing way to showcase lots of information and images in a small space. But, I’m already bored with it and can’t wait to see how this trend evolves.

What’s next for content sliders? I don’t think we’ll see this trend die out in 2010. I am crossing my fingers, though, that we’ll see some real variation this year in both the design and functionality of these sliders. Already, there has been a lot of improvement. I’m afraid, though, that we’ll probably still be seeing the basic numbered 4-screen slider on corporate sites for many years to come.

9. Illustration and Paint

In another fabulously successful backlash against Web 2.0 design, illustrated and painted web elements were all the rage in 2009. Maybe it’s because I started my design training in print – and still love the look of raw pencil on paper – but I love these colorful, sketchy, arty sites. Check out some of my favorite illustration websites from 2009.

What’s next for Illustration and Paint? I think we’ll continue to see this trend in 2010 – although because sites like these can be so time-consuming and costly to create (so much original artwork!), we may see less of this in corporate sites, and continue to see it mainly in our own design circles.

10. The Official Layout of 2009

It seems to me that if you created wireframe drawings of all of the websites created in 2009, a gigantic percentage of them would use what I am calling “The Official Layout of 2009” A large rectangular graphic at the top of the page (often a content slider!), with three or four sub-categories beneath. This layout has been tweaked here and there, but the concept is still the same. This is one category where I didn’t have to search long for examples. The hardest part was deciding which of the hundreds I found to include. I tried to include interesting designs — despite the common structure.

What’s next for the official layout? This trend has already started trickling down. The template designers have used it. The copy-cats have copied it. People have created their first websites using it. I hope it’s almost over – we need an official layout of 2010!

SO WHAT’S COMING IN 2010? WHAT TRENDS AM I PREDICTING FOR THIS YEAR?

Find out in part 2:
Web Design Trends: Predictions for 2010

I’d love to hear from you! What do you think was the biggest trend of 2009? Is is going to stick in 2010?