2016
Web Design
Trend Report

Design Components

Symbols are becoming a design standard

In April 2016, Sketch re-introduced Symbols to save designers more time.

• Sketch files saw 7.6x growth of Symbols usage
• Even Adobe Xd and Affinity Designer have introduced Symbols to keep up the pace

Design Revisions

It's easier and faster to iterate designs in Sketch

It seems that once again the lightweight workflow is winning over the robustness of Photoshop.

• Sketch designs are revised and edited 4.5 times before coding
• Photoshop designs change only 2 times before code implementation

Design File Size

Minimal design saves your disk space

The average PSD file size has dropped by 3 times. With fewer smart objects, bitmaps and effects, files get smaller and easier to share.

• 2015: average Photoshop file size was 24.37 MB
• 2016: average Photoshop file size dropped to 8.62 MB

Fonts

Roboto became the most popular font on the web

Roboto, a Google Material Design font, has been leading among Photoshop and Sketch designs.

• It is the most popular Sketch font for the past two years
• In 2016 it dethroned OpenSans as the most popular Photoshop font
• It appeared in 24% of Sketch designs and 19% of PS designs

Color Trends

Sketch designs got lighter and PSDs darker

Photoshop files have become less white and more grey, while Sketch saw a dramatic increase of white color and decrease of shades of grey.

• 2015: white color appeared in 33% of Sketch and 46% of PSD designs
• 2016: white color appeared in 56% of Sketch and 24% of PSD designs

Blending Modes

34% growth of blending modes in Sketch designs

Photoshop designers have been keeping low number of blending modes, while Sketch designers have been surprisingly using them much more in 2016.

• ~4.5 blend modes still appear in an average PSD
• The amount of blending modes in Sketch has increased from 4.7 to 7.14 in 2016

Layer Effects

55% of all design layer effects had disappeared

In 2016 layer effects dropped by more than a half in both Photoshop and Sketch designs. For example:

• In 2015, 40% of PSDs contained drop-shadow. In 2016 it's less than 20%.
• In 2015, 20% of Sketch files contained gradient fill. In 2016 it's 10%.
• Bevel-emboss appearance dropped by 42% 🎉

Corner Radius

Rounded shapes are still more popular than edgy ones

There have been some changes, but nothing really dramatic. While pointy shapes can look modern, rounded ones are still killing it.

• 87% of all PS shapes had rounded corner radius (in 2015 it was 92%)
• 84% of all Sketch shapes had rounded corner radius (same like the year before)