Here’s an article I recently wrote for Noble. (It’s not published just yet, but here we go…)

2012 was a year full of infographics, HTML5, and Facebook Apps. As we storm into 2013, there are a lot
of exciting new trends on the verge of breaking out this year. Here’s my list of what 2013 may focus in
on:

  • Responsive Design becomes the Norm
    Whether on a phone, tablet, desktop or even television – websites have become smart enough to deliver an experience that’s best suited for the person’s screen. If you’re on a phone, you’ll see a simplistic view of the website, perhaps only showing the main navigation buttons. If you’re on your desktop, you’ll see an interactive home page. In the past, this required a person to manage multiple sites – mobile site, website, etc. But then, responsive design came along to simplify the web world – one webpage, multiple layouts.
    Example: Check out www.clearairchallenge.com and change the width of the browser.
  • Social Sign-On replaces Forms
    According to MediaBistro, 77% of people would rather signup on a website using their Facebook/Twitter credentials rather than registering through a standard form. Forms are tedious, and the social sign-on alleviates that. From the marketing side, you also have a better chance with Social Sign-on to receive the person’s primary email to talk with them directly. This is a win for your customers, as well as responsible marketers.
    Example: Registration for www.skype.com
  • Dynamic Infographics replace Graphics with Information
    Infographics have taken the world by storm over the past two years. People like complex data simplified into a digestible format. Well, the next step for these graphics is just on the horizon. Infographics will evolve from static graphics into dynamic designs where people can dive deeper into the information. This becomes more of an interactive educational experience, and people can get the level of information they need.
    Example: To get a peek of things to come, go to: http://www.onlineschools.org/state-of-the-internet/soti.html
  • Web Apps get noticed
    Apple, Android, Windows – With the handful of mobile environments, application generally have to be developed within multiple languages. This drives up costs for cross-platform apps, which isn’t a cost-effective solution.
    Web Apps offer another route.
    A Web app is a step up from a mobile site, but doesn’t offer some of the complex functionality of a native app. The Web App uses HTML5/CSS3, so it is built with the leading edge technology within a browser, but feels more like a native app. The win is that it can render across all browsers within the mobile world. In 2013, companies will begin looking at designing their own Web apps to help keeps costs low, appeal to larger audiences, while creating an engaging experience via a mobile device.
    For seeing the capability of Web App examples, look at these two:
    Magazine: www.Asidemag.com | Visualization: www.deviceact.com/flare/
  • Parallax Scrolling gets rolling
    Parallax scrolling offers an engaging way to tell a fun and interactive story on the web. Instead of the traditional click-through navigation style, people scroll through the site (horizontally or vertically) to receive information, in a way, chapter by chapter. While scrolling, the design’s environment changes with graphic elements flying in and out of the screen, within different layers, until you get to the final messaging. Personally, I think this trend will start gaining steam in 2013, but will mature in 2014 with more examples being shown.
    Example: Check out the story of James Bond Cars: http://www.evanshalshaw.com/bondcars/index.html

BONUS:
What will be the most overused marketing term that will symbolize 2013…
Over the past few years, we’ve seen some amazing words, come and go. We still have the power of engagement; we’ve seen resurgence of synergy and ecosystems. And we’ve unfortunately had to move on from the 2.0 suffix; client’s cringe when they hear Flash; and digital philosophers have stopped talking about the semantic web.

However, this year, I predict that responsive will be the term that everyone will overuse or use inappropriately in 2013. What do you think it will be?