Flat design is a newish term for both print design, web design and mobile operating system design. Flat web design refers to a design form that does away with busy-looking patterned textured backgrounds, drop shadows around lettering and boxed sections within a web site. Google was one of the first to overhaul their suite of web apps using flat web design principles and many other sites have now followed suit as well.
This type of appearance creates a very clean looking WordPress theme and html-based template. As the pixel density and image quality from LED LCD monitors, tablets and smartphones has increased, shadows and other techniques used partly to make details stand out on small displays or low resolution displays, are no longer needed. As a result, non-flat designs are slowly being dropped in styling decisions, in favor of simpler, cleaner looking, more colorful designs.
Beyond flat web design, operating system GUI designers from Microsoft with the Windows Phone to Apple with their upcoming iOS 7 which is rumored to be currently making the switch to a flatter appearance.
Flat design looks set only to grow over the coming months as more design clients catch on to the new look they see on web sites and in apps, and request it for their next web site redesign project.
You may also take a look at our past website collections;
- Gorgeous Examples of Parallax Scrolling in Web Navigation
- 30 Great Examples of Web Design Sketches
- 21 Beautiful Website Designs With Large Landscape Photos
MapBox
Works Medical
GidMotion
Tipos Libres
Touch For Diffusion
VK
Portably
Tequilla
Nicholas Jackson Design
Global Compact
Moddit
Blind Alterations
Cool Design Jobs
Flat UI Pro
Nineswiss
Kyle Thacker
Our Little Projects
Mustache
SoftwareMill
The Paint Drop
Tiny Big Studio
Appstronauts
Big Data Mornings
Involvio
Wistia
LayerVault
Oak
Coloured Lines
The Ecology Center
Etch
Lowdi
Fhoke
Fitbit
Who Wanna
SpellTower
Minimal Monkey
January Creative
Neue Yorke
Palace
Invoisse
Symbolset
Very-Make
Cool collection, thanks for posting this.
And thanks for commenting 🙂
Thanks for the inspiration!
You’re welcome William 🙂
#44 http://behzad.me 🙂
Thanks Behzad 🙂
Good collection. I think its a bit of a fad and almost has a print feel to it but the web offers so much more than that. When done well it does offer more depth with a crisp modern feel shown by January creative, Lowdi, Etch and tequilla other wise a bit too windows 8ish
Thanks for blogging us 🙂
Keep the good work !
I love flat web design and am an advocate of it’s creativity however it is really annoying to see design that reminds me of Windows 8. I really don’t like to be reminded of an operating system that does me know good but confuse me. For someone who has no clue as to how to use an operating system, I believe the feelings of confusing can be taken out on a simple website. Thanks!
It’s just nice to see blind alterations up there, ( I made it ). Thanks for the post!