One of the most important early design decisions you will make is what kind of background will carry a project. Should it be a single color, colorless, use trendy elements such as geometric shapes, gradients, or wood grain patterns? Or would a solid background design can help make a project shine?
Staying on trend with background design styles is important as well. A trendy background choice shows that a website design is modern and the content is new. A modern visual framework can even signal a user that you are thinking about their needs and making the most of the tools that will make their experience better.
So how do you do it? Here’s a look at background design trends and styles, with a few great options to try.
Three-Dimensional Feel
Three-dimensional and tactile backgrounds draw users in because they look and feel like something real. Users can almost dive into the design and be part of what they are seeing on the screen, and there’s a strong visual appeal to that.
The modern 3D background trend is more than just shadows and shapes for depth. They also include animation and texture that enhance the realistic vibe.
The key to making a 3D background work is it has to be believable, meaning the effect replicates reality, or it has to be so far-fetched that it is obviously imaginary. There’s a delicate line there that takes practice to do exceptionally well.
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Abstract 3D Background
Layered Elements
Background and foreground elements no longer have to be completely separated on the screen. The merging of background pieces with other parts of the design can create amazing depth, contribute to a three-dimensional effect (as featured above), and help users feel like part of the design.
This background trend is an extension of merging illustration and reality in imagery that we saw trending in 2020 and 2021. Now the trend seems to be more focused on geometric shapes and color with image layers to create this depth effect in a way that’s less cartoonish.
Bright color choices can help propel these designs forward with extra elements of visual interest with shadows or other depth-building techniques.
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Background Abstract Landing Page
Liquid Backgrounds
Liquid backgrounds are increasingly popular because they are just so visually interesting.
You might find them in one of two ways:
- As a subtle liquid image behind other elements
- As a flowing animation in the background
Both concepts are neat to look at and even in a still liquid background, it evokes feelings of motion. The waterlike feel of a liquid animation or background often has a somewhat calming effect as well because of the natural flow on the screen.
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Liquid Backgrounds
Photos with an Overlay
Background images never seem to get old and designers are playing with different ways to add contrast to images with overlays and effects that bring the whole scene together.
Overlays are interesting because there are so many different ways to do it, from full-color screens to partial overlays to adding color and other design elements on top of images.
The real key to making a photo overlay background work is using enough color to make foreground elements highly visible without hiding too much of the background image.
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Epic Photo Overlays
Thick Transparencies
In stark contrast, the trend above is using thick color transparency over an image or video. While this effect creates a lot of contrast, it almost renders the background image unreadable.
And that’s what the designer is trying to accomplish with this look. It works best in instances where artwork isn’t strong and primarily serves to provide additional texture so that the background isn’t just a solid color block.
Take care with images or videos used behind thick transparency. They shouldn’t be so interesting that people try to understand them. These images should fade into the background with ease.
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APPO 3.0
Watercolors
Watercolor backgrounds are a new take on illustrations and scenes in website design. This trend includes anything that has a bit of a hand-painted texture to it.
What’s nice about watercolors – and likely what makes them popular – is that the style has a certain softness to it that some harsher background options lack. Watercolor also has an authentic feel that communicates the uniqueness of the content you are about to explore.
Finally, watercolor styles emanate a bit of whimsy. This concept seems to be a design feeling that more projects are trying to replicate right now.
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Watercolor Backgrounds with Modern Shapes
Full Screen Video
Video has been a go-to background design element for a couple of years, but it’s being reinvented somewhat with this trend: full-screen background video.
Responsive shapes are allowing designers to scale video to fill the landing screen. Like the example above, this trend focuses on the video with minimal effects and elements surrounding it.
The almost cinematic experience draws users in and can be highly engaging with the right video clip. To make the most of this background design trend, look for a video that has a lot of movement and action.
Options To Try
Envato Elements has a solid collection of stock video – more than 500,000 clips – if you need to jumpstart a video background and don’t have anything to work with.
Text in the Background
You might not think about text as a background element, but it can be.
Powerful typefaces with big words can carry the background with image elements surrounding them or even encroaching into the space.
This might be one of the trickiest background trends to pull off because you need to maintain a balance between lettering, images, and responsiveness all while maintaining readability.
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Subtle Textures
Subtle textures in the background can add depth and dimension to a project.
There are all kinds of texture patterns to try, but the dominant trend seems to be specks (most commonly white) over a solid color.
This style of texture provides a rough element to the background and adds a feeling that the design isn’t overly polished. The best part of this trend might be that it works with practically anything and you can even partner it with other background trends. (The example above uses video and texture.)
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Hover Animation
Who said background images have to be static?
Perfectly placed hover actions add the right amount of movement to otherwise static backgrounds. This technique works with photos, illustrations, and even patterns or textures.
The trick is that it adds an unexpected element of delight to the user experience. Until the hover action presents itself, users don’t even know it is there.
To make the most of this background trend, create a subtle bit of motion. In the example above, the image has a little bounce when activated.
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Layered, Scene Illustrations
Another background trend that’s evolving is the use of illustrations. While designers have used illustrations in the background for quite some time, these illustrations are more elaborate with layered scenes and even some animation.
An illustration can be attention-grabbing and memorable. The thing that’s difficult about an illustration is that these background designs can be rather busy, and you’ll have to carefully plan the placement and style of other elements.
The use of the illustration in the example above is almost perfect. With an off-center placement and hints of animation, it complements the text and the rest of the design well.
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Color Block Layers
Color blocking has been a design trend that transcends disciplines. You’ll find it in fashion, home décor, and website design.
What’s great about this style for design backgrounds is that it can be bright, and with layering, visually interesting. It works with a variety of color palettes – which can be great for brands – and doesn’t create a background that’s overly complex or difficult to achieve.
Use a color-blocked layer with a bright or light background and then add a second “background” in another color. You can see this in the portfolio website example above with a white background and then individual elements in blue boxes.
Flat Color
One of the parts of flat design that have never really gone away is the colors of the style. These colors are coming back around as background colors.
Not only is the style to use bolder hues for the background, but to use them flatly. No gradients, no variation, just a solid color background in a single hue.
These backgrounds often have realistic layers on top and sometimes a border or another background behind them to create depth. (You can see this full effect from the example above with white edging around a beige background with an image on top.)
Geometric Shapes
Circles, polygons, and other geometric elements are a big part of background design in 2021.
The shapes can be reminiscent of childhood or just a fun alternative to all the flat, single-color backgrounds that had been previously trending. For a modern flair on geometry, stick to a monotone color palette and use elements with a lot of contrast to make the most of the background.
These background styles can be somewhat flashy, such as the example above, or include a muted color palette with subtle geometric undertones.
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Linear Shadow Backgrounds
Line Patterns
From subtle curves to bold strokes, line patterns are growing in popularity as a background design element.
What makes lines work is that they mean something. The best line patterns help draw the user into the design and lead the eye to other visual elements, such as the custom line pattern in the example above.
Line patterns can be large or tiny, and both can be effective depending on the goals of your project.
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Engraved Vector Patterns
Gradients
If you are at all like me, then you are one of those designers that truly has a love affair with gradients. (I can’t get enough of them.)
This trend is so flexible with background gradients that are only color, background gradients that overlay an image or video, or even animated background gradients that change color or seem to float across the design.
With so many options, it’s almost certain that you can find a workable solution that works with your color palette and design scheme.
Bubbles and Blobs
While bubbles and blobs might resemble geometric shapes, they are often different in that many of these elements include some motion and the shapes are rather imperfect.
This trend tends to work in two ways as a background element:
- As an actual background with bubble or blob-shaped elements that are there only for visual interest or to add a little color to the overall design.
- As a “foreground” background element, such as the example above. Bubbles and blobs are often moving shapes that float up through the design to create a more layered effect but are “background elements” because they serve no functional role other than to help grab user attention.
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Vintage Bubble Backgrounds
Wood Grain
Woodgrain backgrounds are popular when it comes to product photography and scene-style designs.
Both work well with this element because the wood grain background provides a natural setting that isn’t flat. It’s interesting, but not overwhelming. It provides an interesting location to help bring focus to the thing sitting in the background.
To make the most of wood grain styles, try to match the coloring of wood to foreground elements and look for planks that are wide or thin based on foreground elements as well. Try to avoid elements that fall into the “cracks” between planks.
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Wooden Backgrounds
White and Gray
Light-colored – white and gray – backgrounds are a trend that continues to hang on. Mostly derived from the minimalism trend, these backgrounds are simple and easy on the user. They provide ample space and contrast for other elements on the screen.
Most white and gray backgrounds have some element of texture, such as a pale gradient, use of shadows to create separation with foreground elements, or some sort of overall pattern or texture.
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Showcase Backgrounds
Conclusion
Change up an old design with a new background. Something as simple as changing the look of the design canvas can refresh a project.
Look for something with a touch of trendiness to add a more modern touch to your design. Plus, all of the “one to try” options above are ready to download and use.
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