In January we published our 2026 web and design trends report. Eight months of real projects later, here is a check-in on how those calls are holding up. The visual predictions largely landed, and the most interesting development is how one tension we flagged has resolved itself.
How is typography changing in 2026?
Type moved from the hero to the whole page. In January we noted expressive typography showing up in web heroes. It has since become the primary structural element: viewport-scaled headlines that stretch edge to edge, variable fonts that shift weight as you scroll, editorial layouts built around words rather than stock photography. Part of that is practical, because text loads faster than imagery. If you are collecting best university website redesign examples 2026 for a stakeholder deck, this is the shift you will notice first.
Layouts loosened up
Fluid, organic shapes came back as expected, and the twelve-column grid kept softening. The addition since January is bento-style modular blocks, which group content the way people actually scan a page instead of forcing one long vertical scroll. They let you surface a clear next step without shouting, which is why we suggest considering them in nonprofit web design services work.
Did design get louder or quieter this year?
Both! In January we called two seemingly opposite directions: a newfound gentleness of soft gradients and earth tones, and a maximalist revival of rich color and excess. Eight months on, they have split by audience rather than competing. Saturated palettes and neon gradients went to youth-facing and DTC food brand website design work, where personality beats polish. Warmth, open space, and earth tones went to institutional and mission-driven brand design, where trust matters more than energy. One caution either way: saturation and contrast are not the same thing, and accessible website design for universities and nonprofits still means checking ratios before falling in love with a palette.
What is neo-brutalism doing now?
Adding texture. The raw geometry and unfinished typefaces we flagged in January are still here, now paired with simulated physical surfaces: grain, paper, halftone, visible seams. This is where two of our predictions converged, since the liquid-glass and real-world material cues we described turned out to be the same instinct as flaws-as-features. If AI-generated layouts look frictionless, friction starts reading as craft. It translates well from screen to print, which is why we are seeing it in work at CPG packaging design company level and in food and beverage brand refresh projects.
Motion got more purposeful
We predicted that interactive experiences putting the user in control would beat passive 3D spectacle. That is roughly what happened. Scroll-triggered animation and micro-interactions are everywhere now, but the uses that stuck confirm an action or clarify hierarchy rather than simply perform. Respecting reduced-motion preferences is part of doing this well, and it remains one of the clearest routes to improving user experience on college websites without touching a word of content.
We are excited to see what the rest of the year brings! You can see how some of these ideas played out in our recent work.
Recent work
