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Reaching Millennials - Mobile Marketing Trends You Need To Know To via Smashing Magazine 

Reaching Millennials - Mobile Marketing Trends You Need To Know To via Smashing Magazine  | Must Design | Scoop.it

Mobile Marketing Tips
This is a MUST READ post if you're a marketer trying to understand how mobile is changing...well everything. Shorter, sharper, and seamless is our quick summary. Shorter and more VIDEO-centric because who reads anymore. 

Sharper because the phone is flatter, less able to share nuance and variations. Simplify, simplify and simplify some more is a good way to think about "mobile first" re-design. 

Finally, the opening point about how mobile and LIFE merge for millennials is worth reading several times. A life that isn't on a millennials smartphone has no validation. It simply doesn't exist. 

Martin (Marty) Smith's insight:

The key to reaching millennials and everyone else these days is that smooth, beautiful device in your hand. Smartphones rule and here are a few mobile trends you need to know. 

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Web Design Trends 2015 [Infographic]

Web Design Trends 2015 [Infographic] | Must Design | Scoop.it
Explore the top web designing trends for 2015. The infographic discusses the top 6 predictions that are set to rule the web designing world in 2015.
Martin (Marty) Smith's insight:

Liked and agreed with all 6 of these 2015 Web Design Trends when I read the post without the infogfpahic. Infographic helps and I bet wil get more shares :). M

malek's curator insight, December 8, 2014 11:24 AM

I like“Card” design, no, it\s not new, but I find it a good tool for designers working on responsive websites. Cards are a great way to keep things modular

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Clean & Simple Website Design Trends In 2014

Clean & Simple Website Design Trends In 2014 | Must Design | Scoop.it
Like the World Wide Web itself, the world of website design is constantly in flux as technologies change and design standards evolve. What worked in 2013 may

Martin (Marty) Smith's insight:

Worth revisiting some of these web design trends. What is the engine behind these trends? Social / Mobile web. Like the "winners" and "losers" organization here.

Carlos Polaino Jiménez's curator insight, July 29, 2014 2:59 PM

En el momento en que me lo estoy planteando

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RETHINK Web Design: Unusual Web Navigations Inspire | AWWWARDS

RETHINK Web Design: Unusual Web Navigations Inspire | AWWWARDS | Must Design | Scoop.it
Beautiful Unusual Navigation Designs for Inspiration. Selection of Awwwards websites with a strong presence of unusual navigation. An effective navigation design is crucial for a website
Martin (Marty) Smith's insight:

Navigation feels old and moldy. There are few things MORE critical than navigation. We've moved from left nav sitting firmly in the "golden triangle" to horizontal top navigation.

Neither of these options inspire and both are feeling long in the tooth and stupid. The social / mobile web requires a RETHINK about navigation. Can we find ways to make very page a homepage?

Can navigation be more relevant and less middle of the road boring? Here are some navigation examples from AWWWARDS.com that don't solve the problem...yet. But the dialogue helps begin the process of reducing our dependency on static, boring, "has-been" ideas like left or horizontal nav.

Are you as surprised that navigation hasn't been on the "top changes" list for web design in 2014? Has to be on our 2015 list because every current option is BAD and getting worse.

BOUTELOUP Jean-Paul's curator insight, June 27, 2014 2:21 AM

Merci ! il est bon de repenser aussi le webdesign pour une nouvelle expérience utilisateur

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15 Best CSS3 Websites Inspire Consistent With 2014 Design Trends - via AWWards

15 Best CSS3 Websites Inspire Consistent With 2014 Design Trends - via AWWards | Must Design | Scoop.it
Fantastic CSS3 Website Designs for Inspiration. Selection of Awwwards winning CSS3 websites. CSS3 is a powerful tool for web designers to enhance the appearance of a website.
Martin (Marty) Smith's insight:

Strong first few pages of examples here. My favs include 

Cat Magnet for actually telling a fish story (nice large CTA too). 
Design Council - love the flat, few colors with red as accent. 

True - don't like blocking the face, but works here. 

Stealable Ideas ae consistent with 2014 design trends:

* Big heros (tells a better story).

* Limit color palette. 
* Flatten out the design so it looks good on mobile too.
* Large Call-to-actions (DECLARE what you want your customers to do).

That last bullet, using a clear CTA, seems to be the hardest one to sell designers who feel to DECLARE is to shout. I disagree. I view DECLARATION in this context as helping by MAPPING and POINTING.

No one wants their TIME wasted and when you point them in the right direction with a large, high contrast CTA you've created a helpful hint. Subtle, when you have seconds, seems an unsupportable luxury. When DON'T we want to be CLEAR and help our visitors know how to journey along our paths?

A: NEVER :). M  

 

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Hot, Flat, Colorful: 33 Examples of Ultra-Hot Flat Web Design Trend

Hot, Flat, Colorful: 33 Examples of Ultra-Hot Flat Web Design Trend | Must Design | Scoop.it
Currently, one of the biggest trends in the web design industry is the flat design style. In case you are not yet familiar with the term, flat design is essentially design without the drop shadows, gradients, and textures that have been common in web design for some time. Flat design uses solid colors and often typography figures prominently into the design. In this post we'll showcase 33 excellent examples of the flat web design trend. Hopefully they can provide some inspiration that can be put to use in your own work. Buffalo
Martin (Marty) Smith's insight:

Mobile is the secret driver of many of 2014's hottest web design trends. One of the hottest is flattening out web design. Small screens can't handle shading and three dimensionality as well as bigger screens, so flat is one of the HOTTEST web design trends as these 33 examples share. .

Alaina Duty's curator insight, September 25, 2015 1:45 PM

Here are some great examples of some bold, attention-grabbing color combinations incorporated in flat design.

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Flattening Out Web Design In 2014: 23 Examples Inspire | Inspiration

Flattening Out Web Design In 2014: 23 Examples Inspire | Inspiration | Must Design | Scoop.it
Flat design is a concept that was pretty popular a couple years ago and it's back with full strength this year, causing some interesting buzz around the so
Martin (Marty) Smith's insight:

Mobile is changing web design in many ways. One way is we are flattening out design. Flat designs look better on mobile so they are now winning across the web as these 23 examples show. My fav is William Leeks.

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Forbes Sees Big Fonts, FLAT, Mobile, Responsive, Continuous Scrolling For Website Design In 2014

Forbes Sees Big Fonts, FLAT, Mobile, Responsive,  Continuous Scrolling For Website Design In 2014 | Must Design | Scoop.it
It's been about five years since the last redesign of my website, Hitched. A lot has changed since then, most particularly the rise of mobile.
Martin (Marty) Smith's insight:

Don't disagree with any of these 2014 web design trends highlighted by Forbes. 

Lori Wilk's curator insight, December 26, 2013 10:21 PM

The pace of change seems to have gotten even faster over the last year.

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Web Design Trends 2015 & Hot To Keep Your Website Current

Web Design Trends 2015 & Hot To Keep Your Website Current | Must Design | Scoop.it

Now it’s time to analyze the web designs that have emerged this year, and place predictions for the possible trends that lie ahead for 2015.

Marty Note
Promise to create a mashup of all web design trends postings to identify common consensus and outliers.

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Future Of Web Design: End Of Boxes & Borders via @HaikuDeck

Future Of Web Design: End Of Boxes & Borders via @HaikuDeck | Must Design | Scoop.it

Web Design
Cha Cha Changes are ahead for web design. Our social / mobile / connected world is blowing up our wireframes. and that's a good thing.

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70 Stunning Responsive Sites Inspire #responsive #webdesign

70 Stunning Responsive Sites Inspire #responsive #webdesign | Must Design | Scoop.it
Mobify is a mobile e-commerce optimization platform used by leading online retailers to deliver exceptional responsive shopping experiences.

Martin (Marty) Smith's insight:

Attending Search Exchange in Charlotte and MOBILE seems to be the dominant theme so here are 70 examples of responsive web design. On a laptop or desktop and want to see "responsive" design? Shrink your window and watch as the content adjusts to tablet and then phone size.

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Hot Web Design Trends for 2014 | Script Tutorials

Hot Web Design Trends for 2014 | Script Tutorials | Must Design | Scoop.it

2014 Web Design Trends - Marty Note
Not a secret we are seeing flatter more responsive design in 2014, but I liked the format of the way Script Tutorials explained each trend with examples and wireframes.

2 of these ideas, Video Backgrounds and Interactive Infographics could be huge. Video backgrounds was a new idea to me even halfway through the year.


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Your 2014 Website Can't Be Too RICH, THIN or FLAT - 40 Web Design Examples

Your 2014 Website Can't Be Too RICH, THIN or FLAT - 40 Web Design Examples | Must Design | Scoop.it
Flat web design has been a huge topic in the web, even Apple is adopting flat web design style and you need to make sure you upgrade your site too!
Martin (Marty) Smith's insight:

Why so FLAT?
Mobile is the single word answer to why most websites are flattening out their designs. As phones outnumber desktops one of the manifestations of "mobile first" is we are adopting designs that look better on our phones and pads - FLAT designs.

Amazing how quickly this worm turned, but you won't have trouble finding hundreds of examples of great flat website design like these 40. My favorite is http://madebyfibb.com/ for its cascading windows feel and images that engage and point at CTAs.

Marty

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10 Reasons Visual Content Dominates 2014 - The Wishpond Blog

10 Reasons Visual Content Dominates 2014 - The Wishpond Blog | Must Design | Scoop.it

10 Reasons Visual Content will Dominate 2014 What marketing strategies will we focus on in 2014? What will we leave behind? This article takes a look at the rise of visual content - and why 2014 will dominate in 2014:

1. 90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual. Visuals are processed 60,000X faster in the brain than text.

2. Videos on landing pages increase average page conversion rates by 86%.

3. Visual content is social-media-ready and social-media-friendly. It’s easily sharable and easily palatable.

4. Businesses who market with infographics grow in traffic an average of 12% more than those who don’t.

5. Posts with visuals receive 94% more page visits and engagement than those without.

6. 60% of consumers are more likely to click on a business whose images appear in search results.

7. Clear, detailed images carry more weight than product information or customer ratings say 67% of consumers.

8. Visuals show your products without telling people about them. This allows viewers to make their own decisions without feeling pressure from your business.

9. Visuals express ideas quickly - in a snapshot. This breaks through the overwhelming clutter of online content.

10. Visuals are becoming easier and easier to create as photo editing tools become more accessible

 

Martin (Marty) Smith's insight:

I can think of a few more reasons visual marketing will dominate in 2014 including:

* Visuals are cross-cultural and global (don't have to speak english to understand visuals)..

* Mobile LOVES visuals and everything is going mobile 

* Visual marketing is more viral, more "shareable". 
*  Visual marketing is more fun. 

Wow, this post is  sparking a lot of great conversations including one on G+ about images and real estate thanks to Janis Bourgeuta: https://plus.google.com/102639884404823294558/posts/LhoaHP8ChnJ 


And this comment from Monida on Scoop.it:

Grat Monica S Mcfeeters Comment:

This is one of the best reasons for art education. A visually or media illiterate citizen or consumer is very apt to be manipulated or make unwise choices.

From Wikipedia:

 Visual literacy includes in addition the ability to understand visual forms of communication such as body language, pictures, maps, and video.Evolving definitions of literacy often include all the symbol systems relevant to a particular community. Literacy encompasses a complex set of abilities to understand and use the dominant symbol systems of a culture for personal and community development. In a technological society, the concept of literacy is expanding to include the media and electronic text, in addition to reading and writing.

 

Lynn Pineda's curator insight, March 14, 2014 11:25 PM

All I can say, is thank goodness for Visuals in content!  I've always been a visual person being a visual learner. Information is easier to retain and comprehend when visuals are employed as it pulls you in.


The article's statistics further supports the importance of visuals. I love visuals!

mjboyce's curator insight, March 15, 2014 1:17 PM

see?

Carlos Bisbal's curator insight, March 16, 2014 10:15 AM

10 Razones por las que los contenidos visuales dominarán el 2014

 

¿En qué estrategias de marketing nos vamos a centrar en el 2014? ¿Qué vamos a dejar atrás?

 

Este artículo echa un vistazo al ascenso del contenido visual y por qué 2014 será el año de los elementos visuales.

.

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25 Examples of Flat Design Inspire | Vandelay Design

25 Examples of Flat Design Inspire | Vandelay Design | Must Design | Scoop.it

It almost seems that this year flat designs have taken over the world of graphic design by force, but especially in the arena of mobile apps with the first industry-shaking flat design being for the iPhone5. Reality is that flat design has been around longer than the emergence of the iPhone5, but of course it was Apple that helped to bring such cross-industry awareness to the design style. 

Martin (Marty) Smith's insight:

I was wrestling with why we are suddenly awash in "flat design". My first thought was flat design is more lean, easier to figure out where to go and what do do. Nope.

Flat design is upon us because of mobile as this excellent post and 25 examples shares flat transfers beautifully between desktop and mobile. Flat is the new black, so wear it well and find inspiration in these 25 examples.

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Web design trends for 2014 | Infographic + @ScentTrail Trend Predictions

Web design trends for 2014 | Infographic + @ScentTrail Trend Predictions | Must Design | Scoop.it

What do we predict will be the web design trends in 2014? Here is an infographic with our predictions

Marty Note
Here are my thoughts on web design in 2014.

1. Code Free = Disagree, not in 2014, I have tried Webydo and it is as hard to master as code so why bother, until there is a tool that is EASIER than code we will continue to code.

2. More CMS based site - Agree and this is another way of saying more blogs acting like websites. Good idea to read my Websites vs. Blog post on Curatti.com earlier in the week to know how to keep the things that matter from a "website" as your blog fills both shoes: Websites vs. Blogs Which One Is Better and Why http://curatti.com/websites-vs-blogs/ .

3. Single Page Sites - Disagree - I GUESS you could have a robust enough social presence that a single page site would be fine, but you give up a lot and you are asking a single page to accomplish a lot. Google doesn't rank websites they rank web pages, so pagespread (# of pages in Google) can help build traffic via SEO (that is left of it anyway).

A single page website is only viable for strong mobile or social players and somewhere there has to be an engine generating NEW out into the world. If you use a single page, push NEW out and then wipe it clean that is simply CRAZY with the way traffic is parsed and how we gain authority today. Oprah could have a single page site, how an average website could achieve all that is needed with a single page is beyond me.

4. Interactive Infographics - Agree with this one. The Infographic has legs, or should say the idea of visualizing content has legs. The infographic is an expression of a larger movement - our desire to understand things FAST.

Other 2014 Web Design Trends I see include:

* Lean Design - This movement plays off of #4 and the strength of the marketing visualization movement. Creating more understanding faster is a trending trend.

* Social Net Tapestry - Website designs MUST be social and agnostic about social nets. Including Facebook, Twitter, GPlus, YouTube, Scoop.it, StumbleUpon and 10 more I can't think of right now in ways that make sharing easy, rewarding and not overwhelming is a trend no one has figured out all that well yet, but we will begin to see novel ideas that build on the social media  "widget" idea in 2014 (only much better let's hope).

* Content Curation - we must build websites in 2014 that are focused on KEY CONVERSATIONS and become agnostic about where those conversations happen. Own the conversation, own the traffic.


Curating content INTO a website (or blog) is an important trend no one has quite figured out yet either. Start with traditional ORM (Online Reputation Management) tools. Use ORM to crack some APIs so when something relevant happens to your company, brands or products out there in social media's north forty you

  1. Know about it.
  2. Filter it into your content by having ways (filters) to attach curated content into existing themes. 
  3. Gamify contributors so reward is generous, immediate and competitive.


* Appification of Everything - the Mobile Revolution is not about the phone. It is about redesigning our THINKING about how information creates interaction, engagement and conversion (so a small thing lol). Thinking of everything we do online as an app we will be improving is a very "Mobile First" way to think. Those who understand the "Appification" of everything will win BIG as the rest of the world catches up in 2014.

* Gamification - If your website design doesn't find ways to profile, reward and share (curate) content from contributors you will fall hopelessly behind in 2014. The social web is here, despite few understanding the breadth of that that means, and websites need to promote an ever increasing amount of User Generated Content (UGC). Best way to do that is by using game theory to create web design.

 

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