In the December 2017 issue of the Joomla Community Magazine my original article "10 Web Designs of 2018" focused on new and upcoming trends in design. As 2018 quickly moves by, I thought this would be a good time to share some of the latest emerging trends.

1. Colorful Illustrations

Illustrations are not a newcomer to web design, in fact, it goes back to the very start of the internet with clip art! The current trend is focused on bold colored illustration scenes or colored wireframe illustrations.

2. Shapes and Gooey Elements

Another trend following the colorful illustrations is background shapes and gooey or blob shaped elements. These elements are used in the background and foreground giving a flat/minimal design depth and style.

3. Watercolor Designs

Watercolor designs are gaining popularity as both photo elements and design elements. Using watercolor design elements add subtle color to the minimal design style.

4. Creative Separators

Separating areas of a website has become more creative. Using different colors or angles have been the norm for years, but now we see more shapes than traditional angles.

5. Animated Mockups

Animated elements and actions have been with us over the past few years, but the latest trend comes in the form of gifs. Animated mockups are a great way to showcase your brand and app designs in dynamic surroundings. They are designed with PSD files, that can be exported as animated GIF files.