The Applecado Blog
Wrapping up the end of the year and heading into 2026, web agencies have a chance to get sentimental, thoughtful, and start getting curious about current and evolving design trends.
Design doesn’t stand still, and nor does technology — it evolves, sometimes revisited with a fresh element. We’ve put our heads together in the sake of research and as a result, here are some of our anticipated trends in web design for 2026.
The elephant in the room (or studio): AI. Certainly being used in web design, content creation, web development tools, and all manner of AI-powered tools and it’s likely to be more heavily used in 2026.
We don’t need to go on and on, but it brings us onto collectively setting ourselves apart…
As AI becomes more established in design, content pipelines, and automation, we expect to see a push for originality. Designers will use AI as as starting point rather than the outcome itself, a tool for exploration rather than a generator and this may mean human expression and intention will matter more.
We’ve noticed a human element to some of the recent web designs we reviewed, perhaps as an effort to convey authenticity or a gentle rejection of AI in design. Several designs we studied have impactful photography of real people – not stock or generic, not staged groups – but close up, real textures, eyes, hands, wrinkles, movement… emotion.
We can’t help but feel designers have used these images to reach out, make a connection with audiences to share something relatable.
Another distinction from AI’s neatness and polish is seeing more asymmetry in web design. Layouts becoming less fixed, or grid-perfect, and more playful and visually distinct.
Asymmetry in design allows us to draw the audience’s eye intentionally, to create or break the rhythm to reading, and to allows us to break away from a “template”.
Similarly, we’re also seeing the more split-screen layouts and bold, high-contrast colour blocking. This approach is great for both comparisons and juxtaposition.
Speaking of making a human connection, we see retro-nostalgia emerging or re-emerging maybe. Designers are taking inspiration from early web aesthetics, mixed media, art and culture.
We are seeing more grainy textures, retro typography, 90’s graphics or video-game look and feel, as well as photo collage-style layering to generate interest.
I’m sure this gets added to the list every year, but it seems relevant every year. Perhaps, as people spend less time reading, or as we feel we need to make our point more concisely; Big, bold, impactful typography that draws attention becomes even more of a statement.
Product photography has always been extremely valuable, and we’re seeing more websites adding interactive 3D images or video to showcase products more effectively.
We’re seeing websites using rotating product imagery, product video to give context, and design-wise, we’re seeing layered illustrations and considered use of parallax to provide a feeling of depth.
We often believe less is more, preferring micro-interactions or micro-animations over throwing the kitchen sink at your design or user-interface elements. Subtle, high-quality polish on essential elements seems to be a trend we’re seeing to guide attention or action, or to share some brand personality.
Consider the fit with your project, brand, and your audience.
Adopting a design trend is only useful if it provides something more, whether that’s in clarity, or usability, or in communication. If it causes any friction or adds a hurdle, it won’t do any favours.
Design styles should enhance your brand, not detract or dilute it. The best designs don’t just look current but they are purposeful.
Let us know what you think about our predictions for 2026 web design trends, or if you’ve got a project you could use our help with – contact us.
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