Hot 2022 Web Visual Design Trends: Gradients

As time passes, visual design trends can cycle. After years of being relegated to the sidelines in favor of modern, monochromatic design, gradients are finally back. In 2022, we expect them to have their full coming-out party and become a common element in web design. In fact, we are now seeing variation in what gradients look like and how they’re used. This is a sure sign that this element is on the way up.

Visual Design Trends: Gradients with Texture

One of the ways designers are refining the use of gradients is by adding textures over gradients to enhance their look. The effect varies based on the gradient or texture used. The texture frequently makes the gradient appear rougher or imitates a real-world object like print or analog film. This makes the gradient appear more like a natural object translated to the digital realm. Textured gradients are more common as background elements but sometimes are used to fill a foreground object.

Complex Gradients

In the past, gradients often had just two or three colors. Increasingly, we’re seeing four, six, or more colors in gradients used in websites. Animation has also become a common feature of gradient design and can be user-interactive or static and repeating. Either way, animated, complex gradients are eye-catching and futuristic feeling, whether you use them as a primary background or as an element within an object.

How to Use Gradients in Your Website

In the past, using gradients as a background was a big design “no-no,” but we’re increasingly seeing them used in just that capacity today. It can be hard to ensure sufficient contrast between a gradient and content in front of it on the page, especially if the gradient is complex or dynamic. Low contrast presents a problem when trying to meet web accessibility standards, as contrast is a key element in the readability of text. Visual design trends will fluctuate. Still, gradients are worth exploring, as long as you stick to the core principles of web design. 

More gradient examples: Webflow’s No Code Conference, Richard Sancho