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queermediastudies · 3 years

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Carol, Romance and Lack of Inclusion

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A US trailer for the film.

Carol, a film based on the book The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith, starring Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett, came out in 2015 and attained great critical success. Nominated for 6 Oscars, 5 golden Globes, and 9 BAFTA film awards. It also won two awards in the Cannes film festival, best actress (Rooney Mara), and the Queer Palm award, due to its being “The first time a love story between two women was treated with the respect and significance of any other mainstream cinematic romance.” (IMDB). It is, refreshingly, explicitly queer, avoiding much of the LGBTQ+ audience’s need to undertake a “queer reading” (Doty, 1993) of yet another heterosexual film. The storyline, acting and production of this film are all extremely well done; however, it has several problematic factors such as its lack of LGBTQ+ cast members in its lead roles, lack of racially diverse casting, and marketing that hid the film’s queer storyline.

The movie tells the love story of two women living in the 1950s. Therese, played by Rooney Mara, is a department store clerk in New York City. While at work, she runs into a customer, Carol, played by Cate Blanchett, with whom she has an unexpected connection. The two women gradually begin a romantic relationship. Carol’s soon to be ex-husband, Harge (played by Kyle Chandler), complicates things by attempting to stop her contact with their daughter due to the “immorality” of her relationship with Therese. Unable to see her daughter, Carol takes Therese on a road trip, where they fall deeper in love. On their road trip, they discover that Harge has hired someone to follow them and collect evidence of Carol’s “immoral behavior.” After Harge’s discovery, Carol leaves Therese a letter with her best friend Abby (Played by Sarah Paulson) in which she ends their relationship. Heartbroken, Therese returns to New York and begins a new chapter of her life in which she embraces her lesbianism. After deciding that living a life free from Harge’s shaming of her sexuality is more important to her than having full custody of her daughter, Carol leaves him for good and calls Therese. The movie ends with their long, lingering eye contact across a restaurant, implying that they end up together.

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A silly (but informative) video that summarizes and comments on the movie.

This movie tells a beautiful, if complicated, love story between two women set in the 1950s. It does not fall for many of the storyline pitfalls that many other lesbian films do, such as an unhappy ending due to homophobia, or sex or love scenes directed for the male gaze. In fact, the film was intentionally directed as if seen through the eyes of 1950s underground female photographers.

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A Vanity Fair interview with Cate Blanchett in which she discusses the film’s directing style.

It is “unabashedly romantic” (Blanchett, 2016) and urges the audience to fall in love with Carol along with Therese. It also does not follow a rule of “gay and lesbian representation: no sexual interaction.” (Dow, 2001), but includes it in such a way that it contributes to the story without adding gratuity or oversexualization of either character. There is a great deal complexity to the two characters, and their love story is not the only thing happening in the film, which feels refreshing because “mainstream Hollywood films that deal with actual gay and lesbian lives and issues are extremely rare.” (Bernshoff and Griffin, 2004). They are not one-dimensional characters, they face outside pressures, such as Therese learning what she wants, not only in a partner, but in her professional life as she works to become a professional photographer. Carol’s struggle to separate from her husband is one of her character’s key driving factors, and it is complicated greatly by her social standing.

Therese’s character is relatively lower class, she works in a department store and her apartment is small and dingy. Carol on the other hand is an older, unhappily married woman whose family (or at least her husband’s family) is extremely well off. The social structures we see surrounding the two women are very different, and we see how they affect the two women in different ways. Although she works hard to make it in the world, Therese’s social circles are much more accepting of her queer identity, and it is almost as if there is nothing to lose for her. However, for Carol there is everything to lose. Her daughter, Rindy, is the light of her life, but when she leaves Harge for a woman, he punishes her by forcing her to keep away from their daughter. Throughout the movie we see Harge’s vicious and determined homophobia and its direct negative effects on Carol, but unlike in other films, it does not destroy her will to love who she wants.

Despite the movie’s overall beautiful representation of a romantic relationship, there are several issues with the film. The book it is based off of was written by a Queer woman and the storyline of the film is blatantly queer, however neither of the starring Actresses in the movie are queer. This is a missed opportunity in terms of the film’s casting, particularly for the film’s queer audience and for the queer actresses who likely auditioned and were denied one of their few opportunities to play a queer character in a mainstream movie. Both Blanchett and Mara are fantastic actresses, however, this does not take away the fact that queer women could have been cast into the film’s starring roles. There were queer actresses in the film, namely Sarah Paulson, playing Carol’s friend Abby, and Carrie Brownstein, who played a woman Therese flirts with at a party, but their roles were relatively minor. Based on this, it can easily be said that the movie’s production is “merely satisfying demands for inclusion without actually challenging the larger structural and systemic labor issues.” (Martin, 2018).

One of the film’s US promotional posters.

In addition to its lack of inclusion of queer cast members, this movie is overwhelmingly white. Very, very few people of color were cast in this film, and the only characters who were played by people of color were playing the roles of domestic staff. This film could easily have provided more opportunities for actors of color, but it chose not to. For a movie whose storyline and direction are so openly inclusive and somewhat groundbreaking, this lack of diversity in casting is disappointing. Both Carol and Therese were complex characters, but as with many other movies and tv shows about queer people they do not represent much intersectionality. They are both white, cisgender, able-bodied lesbian women, and the only aspect of identity that the film deals with is sexuality. Carol also avoids many of the issues of gender discrimination that were present in the 1950s that could easily have made its’ storyline and character development more nuanced. It can be seen as almost the opposite of the Oscar winning film Moonlight (2016), which is entirely made up of complex, intersectional characters. Despite its inclusivity to sexuality, it turns a blind eye to aspects of identity such as race and disability that likely play an important role in the lives of many of its viewers. As well as this, despite its’ openly queer trailer, the posters for the film deliberately displayed the two main characters as facing different directions and looking away from each other. This could have been an intentional choice to convince less accepting heterosexual moviegoers to watch the film, and it also implies that the film’s homosexual content should be hidden.

The first time I saw this film, I was 16, and just beginning to think about my sexuality as something other than straight. I voraciously consumed tv and movies about Lesbian and Bisexual women, hoping to find something I related to and felt included in. Carol, and its rich and beautifully stylized cinematography, was one of the few movies that made me feel heard and understood and felt like home to me.

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A scene where we see how Therese views Carol.

Unlike other movies I had seen, such as Blue is the Warmest Color, this movie made me feel like it was made for me. I was able to relate to the romance and feel like I wasn’t alone in feeling the way I did about, likely because I am able to relate to the two characters in the film, particularly Therese. Like most other movies about queer women, this movie is directed at young, white, able-bodied, cisgender, middle-class queer women, of which I am one. It did not challenge my identity or the way I saw the world. Despite its many obvious flaws, to me the most important aspect of this movie was how it displayed the growing relationship between Therese and Carol in a way that felt relatable and evoked deep feelings that made me relive the intense and beautiful experiences of first love.

References

Bernshoff, Harry and Griffin, Sean (2004). “Introduction,” in Queer Cinema: The Film Reader, 1-15.

Carol. (2020). Retrieved October 29, 2020, from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2402927/awards?ref_=tt_awd

Doty, Alexander. (1993) “There’s Something Queer Here” in Making Things Perfectly Queer, 1-16.

Dow, Bonnie (2001). “Ellen, Television, and the Politics of Gay and Lesbian Visibility.” Critical Studies in Media Communication 18(2), 123-140.

Martin, Alfred L. Jr (2018). “Pose(r): Ryan Murphy, Trans and Queer of Color Labor, and the Politics of Representation.” LA Review of Books.

#cateblanchett #lesbian film #queermedia #film analysis #carol #rooney mara

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softytom · 6 years

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money is the anthem of success - t.h [part 2]

part 1

summary: Being rich and having a gorgeous finance isn’t everything. Tom and his future bride-to-be need to discover what they truly mean to each other before their wedding

pairing: Tom Holland x female!reader

warnings: mentions of drugs and alcohol

word count: 1.8k

a/n: I have the worst cold ever, but I still managed to finish it, i decided that each chapter would be one present, and one flashback, that’s the main reason I wanted to turn in to a series. So here ya go, sorry is so short but hope you enjoy💓

*the whole chapter is a flashback, when is dated, means is flashback

London, 2:43pm. June, 2017

I looked around the garden, holding a glass of champagne waiting for my sister to show up. Happily, the weather matched my short white summer dress, with London weather you’ll never know you’ll get a blue cloudy day or a sunny warm one. It was my father’s birthday and all day he has managed to parade me around to his business partners and their sons.

My father has been trying to set me up since I turned 22 last year. It never ended well. The last guy I went on a date with was extremely dull, I ended up handing him 200 pounds so he would leave me alone and get himself an actual life. Frankly I didn’t care about marriage, but since I was expelled from Cambridge University, my father spent weeks giving me lectures and a marriage at my age would be do me good. I knew better than to complain about it, at least it will get me out his house.

“(y/n)” I heard my father call from inside the house. I drank the last of my champagne and placing it in a table on my way to him. Once I reached my father, I saw him standing with a man with dirty blonde hair in his mid 40’s and a guy next to him, who I assumed was his son. “This is Joseph Osterfield and his son, Harrison” I extended my hand greeting the older man first and then his son.

“Nice to meet you Henderson” I faked a smile at him “Harrison” he corrected me. “Don’t care” my smile grew bigger. His expression turned blank and his jaw clenched and he pulled his phone from his pocket. I saw waiter coming our way with a fresh tray of champagne, I moved my hand to grab one. “(y/n) behave” My father whispered into my ear. “The Osterfield are here in behalf of Holland Enterprise” he said louder, making sure they feel welcome here. “Well I’m sure if the Holland’s were here this party would be less tedious considering their oldest son is a wreck of a person” I commented. I saw Harrison about to speak back. “If you’ll excuse I just saw the mini burgers come out”

I walked away from them heading for the table. I lied about the mini burgers but needed an excuse to get out of there before my father started talking about wedding bells. My phone beeped letting me know I had a text. It was from my sister; her flight had been delayed until tomorrow. Fuck. I sighed and I grabbed the mini burgers tray and step outside, making my way to the pool.

I pulled out my phone again, texting my sister a ‘Can’t wait to see you’. My sister was the lucky one in the family, she had talent, unlike me. She managed to get into an art school in Chicago. I remember I begged her to take me with her but my father would have found a way to keep me here.

My sister had promised me one she graduated and moved from campus to a nice apartment in the city, she’ll come get me. Pathetic. I am a 23-year-old woman still depending on her older sister to come save her but anyone in my situation would ask for a miracle.

London, 11:51pm, June 2017

“I don’t care Harry” I said coldly to my younger brother. He was going about some girl he met at his college and I frankly didn’t care about it. I was looking through my phone and saw another headline about me. ‘Holland’s oldest son, loses it again’. Under it was a picture of me, with a bag a coke and next to some girl who’s name I can’t place. I wanted to throw my phone out of the window, if my mother read any of it, I’ll lose my head.

We were on our way to a party out of the city that Harrison won’t stop texting me about. ‘Mate please show up’ ‘It’s a fucking cock feast in here’ ‘The only girl is a bratty bitch’ ‘Show up and save me’. I would usually let Harrison on his own when it came to business parties. That’s why I had him, ‘my assistant’ but he told me it was a birthday party for (Y/F/N) (Y/L/N). I hoped on my car and brought Harry with me. If I got a chance to do business with him, half of Europe would belong to me.

“Are you sure this is the house?” Harry asked. I wanted to respond but once I got out of the car I was in a state of awe seeing the house in front of me. A mansion. A castle if we going to into big details. I grabbed Harry by the shoulder pushing him inside, he was also in admiring the enormous house in front of us.

I found Harrison trying to get waitress to go upstairs with him but she turned him down. I chuckled when the waitress said ‘sorry’ and walked away from him. I handed him my glass of champagne, I saw a look of relief on his face.

Harrison was telling me what he had found about (Y/F/N) businesses. His company was handed down to him when he turned 21 after his father died, they didn’t let him finish his studies in Oxford and he’s the smartest person in his company, there is a reason he owns half a Europe. Harrison kept telling me about how business with him would do me good, since everyone thinks I’m not serious enough about my company. I asked about him and Harrison told me had ditch his party to go to a meeting in Italy.

My concentration from Harrison’s voice faded when I looked out to pool. I moved closer to the glass door, staring at the girl in a white dress, stunning. She was completely stunning. She was walking around talking on the phone with someone. She smiled and I could have sworn a part my heart was about to beat of my chest. I snapped my fingers at Harrison so he would stop talking and pointed at the girl right in front of us.

“Who’s that?” I asked, Harrison looked what I was pointing to. A sigh of annoyance come out of him. “That’s (y/f/n) daughter. A bit of a bitch” I side eyed him before returning my eyes on her. I nodded. “Okay, wish me luck” I slid the glass door to the side, stepping outside. Making my way to her. She hasn’t notice, or pretended not to. She looked engaged to who she was talking.

I stood at the end of the pool, her back was facing me. I was waiting for her to turned around, or to come with a better idea for her to notice me. I took breath, my hands shaking. Why am I shaking? Why am I nervous? I never been nervous to talk to a girl before, to be fair I’m mostly drunk or stoned when I talk to one, but her, something about her is making my head dizzy.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then, bye” She hanged up the phone and finally turned around facing me. She jumped and let out a small scream. “Jesus, how long have you been there?” Her eyes her looking me up and down, fuck, now she thinks I’m a creepy stalker. “I just come out here for a smoke” I lied. I smiled at her, and putting my hands in my pockets, I couldn’t let her know I was nervous. “You’re not smoking though” She pointed out. I mentally punched myself “Forgot my pack, maybe was hoping you would have one” I walked closer to her, a soft smile formed in her lips. “I don’t smoke, you’re not in luck” She turned around walking to one of the tables surrounding the pool. “I do have mini burgers if you want” She pointed at them. Fucking adorable. She sat down, grabbing one for herself. “Was wondering if this party had any food” I sat down next to her grabbing one of the mini burgers.

London, 1:22am, June 2017

She was telling the story of how she got expelled from Cambridge University. A teacher had allegedly wronged and she grab a pound of coke and put it into his desk. It took a week for the board to found out it was all set up. Her faced didn’t show any regret and I was glad to know someone out there knows how to handle people who wronged them. A girl after my own heart.

“I been talking this whole time” She covered her mouth, which made me smile, I shook my head. “It’s fine, I’m not a big talker anyways” I said to her. She looks at the time and her eyes were on the inside of the house. The lights died down, and black curtains feel down, cover the whole view of the inside. “What’s going on?” I asked a bit worried. My best friend and brother were still in there. “My father has a way of entraining his partners, to keep them loyal, and honest, well to honest to him primarily.” She looked down at her feet, biting her lower lips. She looked so dazzling. “You go in now, if you want” “I’m not your dad’s business partner” I clarified, at least not yet. “And I’m having all the entrainment I would want, right here” I said. She looked down at the ground, and let out a small chuckle. “As fun this is. I have to pick up my sister at the airport in a few hours and need to get my beauty sleep” You’re already a beauty. She got up from her chair, grabbing the empty tray and her phone. I got up as quickly as I could, making sure I didn’t leave empty handed. “Maybe we can do this some other time?” I said nervously. I hated this feeling. She looked stunned by my question but she nodded anyways. “Friday, after I’m off work. I come pick you up.” I stated. She smiled at me.

“Don’t count your blessing yet Holland” she said in a treacherous voice and walked inside the house. I ran my fingers through my hair, letting my head rest in the back of the chair. I was going to make her mine, but I already was hers.

tag list; @let-me-luve-you @spoodermain @petersunderroos @anytimebitches @andreuskystuff @hollandroos @jademmmmmm @marvelouslyme96 @dr-tardis-who @panicatttckiss @peterspanish @aussie-mantle (if you want to be tagged, just go to my inbox or replay. If i forgot someone please let me know)

#tom holland #tom holland x reader #tom holland x you #tom holland imagine #tom holland fanfiction #mine: fics*#MITAOS*#i'll add a gif later my wifi is acting up SO BAD

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infotainmentplus-blog · 6 years

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Fast image capture shows why single cameras are here to stay Single camera smartphones are becoming an increasingly rare sight, as Samsung and others adopt dual-camera technology in more devices. Huawei’s P20 Pro even offers three (count ’em!) cameras on the back for some seriously impressive tricks. The budget space is seeing dual-camera layouts as well, bringing bokeh trickery and portrait tomfoolery to ever cheaper phones. Despite all that, some of the most impressive photos are still coming from single camera devices, and it’s largely due to fast image capture techniques. What’s it all about? At its most basic level, fast image capture boils down to two parts. First, there’s the fast image capture itself: capturing several images in extremely quick succession. After that, there’s the processing of these images, which can produce a better final image or have an entirely different effect (more on that later). Editor's Pick What is 5G? 5G networking is anticipated as the next major evolution for mobile technology, empowering customers with even faster data connections, opening up avenues to new industrial applications, and even helping to build widely connected "smart-cities". Bu what … The processing uses these extra images to reduce noise and blur in the final picture. One common processing technique is called image or frame averaging, which has been cited for years as a method of improving image quality. According to photography resource Cambridge in Colour: “Image averaging works on the assumption that the noise in your image is truly random. This way, random fluctuations above and below actual image data will gradually even out as one averages more and more images.” Read more: What is aperture? Here’s why it’s important for smartphone cameras Combine fast image capture with the ability to conduct image averaging and general processing locally on the device in a speedy fashion and you have a wealth of possibilities. Google and Samsung carry the torch Google arguably popularised the set of techniques on its Nexus and Pixel phones, dubbing it HDR+. The firm uses HDR+ for greater dynamic range and better low-light snaps. “HDR+ allows you to take photos at low-light levels by rapidly shooting a burst of up to ten short exposures and averaging them into a single image,” said Google in a 2014 post on its Research blog. The technique has seen massive speed and quality gains since then, culminating in the Pixel and Pixel 2 phones being lauded for their HDR+ mode. In fact, Google is so confident in the feature’s speed and quality it chose to enable HDR+ by default on the Pixel 2. Samsung Samsung has also adopted fast image capture and its associated processing for its flagships, dubbing the feature “multi-frame image processing.” The technique was first used on the Galaxy S8, which snaps three images in quick succession. From here, the phone chooses the best shot as a foundation and uses the remaining two images to reduce blurriness. According to Samsung, this method results in more detailed, clearer shots, even in less ideal conditions. Combine fast image capture with brisk processing and you've got a recipe for excellent photos In both Samsung and Google’s cases, the latest phones capture images so quickly that you’d be mistaken for thinking it was taking a single snap. Samsung and Google have similar techniques, though the Korean firm captures fewer images in the process. But capturing a high number of images doesn’t necessarily produce the best results. “After a certain point, there will not be a noticeable difference in the noise reduction with additional frames averaged,” said North Star Imaging research and development fellow Brett Muehlhauser when discussing frame averaging on the company’s blog. Why this route? Smartphones will never go toe-to-toe with DSLR cameras on hardware alone. After all, a smartphone camera sensor is exponentially smaller than that of a hefty dedicated camera. Space is at a premium when you need a device that can fit in your pocket. Optical image stabilization isn’t perfect either, which means one long exposure shot will likely be extremely blurry without a tripod. Huawei’s AI-enabled stabilization feature seems extremely promising, but it’s the exception, rather than the rule. The good news is that you don’t need optical image stabilization or a gigantic, bulging sensor for several short exposure shots in quick succession, slapped together. That means budget phones may be able to grab this feature too. It doesn’t hurt that smartphones have plenty of power at their disposal, enabling on-device processing instead of manually editing on the computer. What can be done with fast image capture? HDR+ disabled (L) versus enabled. Taken with the Galaxy S8 and the ported Google Camera app. We’ve already mentioned better HDR (which gives us more detail in bright and dark areas) and improved low-light performance by reducing noise, but fast image capture and processing is capable of delivering a variety of neat results. Super HDR Vivo Probably the most recent innovation in this regard is Super HDR, by Chinese company Vivo. The feature differs from HDR+ by simply taking more images (up to 12 shots), this time at higher and lower exposures. We haven’t heard of any production phones with the tech just yet, and Vivo is also claiming it harnesses AI for the mode. “AI” is the new “cloud,” isn’t it? Ugh. Even if your phone doesn’t end up with this feature, you have fast image capture and nippier processors to thank for today’s super-smooth HDR modes. Better zoom Google Research HDR+ off (L) versus HDR+ on. As Samsung and Google alluded to earlier, fast image snapping is a boon for zoomed in shots as well. Traditional mobile cameras show a loss of detail and a ton of noise when you zoom in, but fast image capture techniques specifically target blur and noise, two notable enemies of digital zoom (aside from, you know, digital zoom). You’ll still want telephoto zoom (or even hybrid or oversampled zoom) if you can get it, but zoom with fast image capture is at least better than the standard digital zoom on older phones. Refocusing The ability to capture snaps in quick succession also enables another cool feature. Companies like Nokia, LG, Sony, and Samsung have offered refocus modes for years. The feature lets you change the focus after shooting an image by capturing a series of photos at different focus points. The Lumia Refocus app took between two and eight shots at a time, each weighing in at 5MP. To be fair, dual cameras are considered superior for this kind of trickery, with generally faster and more polished results. Single camera versions of the feature can still be fun. Now if only Instagram would let users upload these shots and let followers tinker with the focus. Rich Capture blogs.windows.com Probably the only reason you’d want a Lumia 950 (I still miss mine, to be fair) is its Rich Capture feature. It was one of the better examples of what’s possible with fast image capture. The Rich Capture option (available as a toggle in the camera app) essentially let users change the level of exposure, flash or HDR after taking a photo. It’s all context-sensitive, so low-light situations will let you tweak exposure, low-light shots with the flash will let you adjust the level of flash and general daytime snaps will let you tinker with HDR levels. According to the All About Windows Phone blog, the Rich Capture mode takes three images in 0.2 seconds, though former Microsoft camera lead Juha Alakarhu said, at least for flash images, the mode takes two snaps (one with flash and one without). From here, the phone uses its algorithmic smarts to craft effects. Object removal Samsung Gulf A quick-fire burst of photos is also ideal for erasing people or objects in the background. Who says your vacation photos need to have photo-bombers in them? The feature was arguably popularized by the Galaxy S4‘s Eraser Mode, which took a burst of five shots and let you wipe moving objects from the frame. It’s since been deprecated, but we’d imagine even better results with today’s faster processors and AI trickery. Samsung isn’t the only mobile brand to dip its toe in these waters. Google demoed an advanced object removal feature at I/O 2017. The function uses machine learning instead of an image burst and can even remove a chain link fence, perfectly revealing the subject behind it. Unfortunately, Google hasn’t launched this feature in a production phone just yet. Xiaomi is also set to implement this feature in MIUI 9, albeit as an option in the photo editor rather than as a dedicated, burst-driven mode. Action sequences If you’re an action sports fan, you’ve probably seen action shots in magazines or on Instagram, usually showcasing a skateboard or BMX trick. You know, the ones showing every stage of the trick in one photo. Samsung and Nokia brought the feature to prominence in 2013 and 2014, dubbing it Drama Shot and Smart Sequence respectively. It’s another example of rapid image capture, capturing a series of images and stacking them to reveal the full sequence. It’s not quite a feature you’d use every day, but it certainly made life easier for some, so you didn’t need to manually stack your images. Now, how about Samsung resurrecting this feature as a downloadable camera mode? Super high resolution photos Another rather interesting feature enabled by fast image capture is the ability to create super high resolution snaps out of several lower resolution shots. It’s not just a theory either, having been touted by the likes of Oppo and Asus. Editor's Pick These are the 5 best Indian smartphone brands Indian smartphone brands are losing ground to Chinese manufacturers in their home market — not a single one made the list of the five biggest players in Q3. Samsung is tied with Xiaomi for first … Oppo launched the feature on the Find 7 smartphone back in 2014. According to the feature description, Oppo’s mode “shoots six photos consecutively” and combines them for a 50MP photo. Nevertheless, the final results were somewhat mixed, although our own Joshua Vergara reckons they were indeed better than auto-mode shots from the phone. For what it’s worth, Oppo kept the feature in several subsequent models. Meanwhile, Asus’ ZenFone AR takes four 23MP pictures and merges them into one 92MP image. Reviews seem to gloss over this one, but it’s a cool figure on paper. Conclusion Fast image capture and associated processing techniques have enabled a variety of results over the years. Some of these are gimmicky for sure, but for every sports mode, we get better low-light snaps and richly detailed HDR shots. Google’s HDR+ feature and Vivo’s recently announced Super HDR mode show there’s still plenty of potential uses for brisk image capturing. We could even see older features resurrected and improved thanks to faster chipsets and machine learning tech. We could also see entirely new features — who knows. Whatever the case, it’s clear that single-camera smartphones still have some life left in them, even as dual-camera phones will undoubtedly benefit from the tech too. , via Android Authority http://bit.ly/2Fa10u8

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jpweb12 · 7 years

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The 9 Web Design Trends You Need to Be Aware of In 2017

The Web is a rapidly growing space. Year over year, we see new technologies and development techniques, which allow much more freedom and creativity in terms of designing interfaces and interactions. In this space that has become more competitive than ever, the designers continue to keep up with the technology and expand the design trends, in their persistence to provide remarkable and modern websites.

In the same time, the communication between companies and their customers has also evolved, redefining the way the people interact with another as well as with brands. As a result, every ambitious business owner strives to provide a great user experience to his website visitors. Therefore, we need to look into the future and know the latest design trends that allow us to be one step ahead of the competition.

Speaking about trends, we should keep in our minds that all they are influenced by different industries, such as art, fashion, media, technologies and cultures. Moreover, this is a never-ending process, as long as they don’t emerge sudden and disappear to nowhere, but it takes some time to peak, change their forms, eventually become overused and replaced by other trends.

Below is a list of web design trends you should be aware and keep in mind for 2017. Some of them are new; others have gained their popularity or became popular during the last years.

1. Colors

Choosing color is extremely important for website design, because they influence positively or negatively the visitor’s emotions, feelings, thoughts and perceptions and ultimately influence the conversion rate.

Pantone 2017 color of the year is Greenery. A refreshing and revitalizing shade, Greenery is symbolic for new beginnings and it is also emblematic of the pursuit of personal passions and vitality. According to Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute, “Greenery bursts forth in 2017 to provide us with the reassurance we yearn for amid a tumultuous social and political environment. Satisfying our growing desire to rejuvenate and revitalize, Greenery symbolizes the reconnection we seek with nature, one another and a larger purpose”.

Well, I don’t expect (and I wouldn’t want) to see all the new launched websites in 2017 to be green.☺ But I’m sure it will inspire many people who will design or redesign their websites.

If you are looking for some inspiration color combinations, you can visit the Color of 2017 Pantone page, to see their pairing colors recommendations.

Due to the popularity of Google’s Material Design, the colors and color combinations recommended in those design guidelines are likely to become more popular in 2017. The colors are bright and bold and they will be always a trend, because the vibrant colors are a design element that stands the test of time.

On the other hand, duotone was the hottest design trend in 2016 and I would expect to see it becoming more popular this year.

Sites such as Spotify, Adison Partners, Doers or The Art of Travel have made great use of duotone within their websites design.

Adisson Partners

Spotify

Doers

The Art of Travel

2. Bold, creative typography

Because in the online world our focus should be on content, more and more website designers use creative typography just as big and bold as the statement itself.

Nurture Digital

As you see in the screenshots listed above, in terms of “big” and “bold”, it’s not about the size and weight of the font, but rather about dedicating significant space to a simple, yet all-encompassing statement about the product or service.

LittleLines

This trend is not new, but 2017 is likely to continue to push of boundaries of what designers will do with the type and we’ll expect so see not just more space on the screen, but also more creative typeface as we were used to see on the web.

3. Authentic photography

In the last years, we’ve all heard about delivering trust. But this is not just about the copy we publish on the website, but also about imagery we use. The time of general stock photos is gone. If we talk about products, we want to see them in action. We want to see them in a natural light, integrated in the environment they are supposed to be used. And as much details as we can. We want to imagine ourselves using the products. If we are talking about services, we want to see the real people who use them. Therefore, more and more companies, from the largest to the smallest brands, are opting for authenticity when it comes to photos used for their websites. If the content is the king, the photos are its queen.

4. Retro modern style

Whether it is pixel art, vintage typography or 80s or 90s inspired imagery, retro look with a modern twist has been a trend for few years and has become more and more popular in a variety of web design contexts. Regardless if it’s about online shops, portfolios, corporate website or blogs, when apply “old-style” elements to their work, the designers produce creative and appealing designs that make their websites stand out and look really different.

For example, Black Market has opted for a vintage look combined with modern modular layout, getting that rustic appeal, which works very well with what the company offers.

Black Market

Sweet Magnolia Gelato has gone for a retro look, but also has used some eye-catching animations. This combination gives the site a sleek modern feel, while it is still keeping an older style charm and is helping the business owners telling their story.

Sweet Magnolia Gelato

5. Modular design

Modular design isn’t new, but it has gained popularity in the last few years, because It provides a better organization and structure appearance of the web page and it looks nice and clean on any screen size. Even if modular design has attracted the designers’ interest since 2011, and could be considered pretty “old”, I would expect it to continue in 2017, especially for heavy content based websites.

Build in Amsterdam have created a very nice modular design website, which has helped them to define clearly each content element.

Build in Amsterdam

6. Mobile-first design

There no news that the use of mobile platforms and handheld services has increased so dramatically in the last few years, that mobile-first is no longer a feature. It’s vital. Additionally, Google favors mobile-friendly websites and rank them much higher in the search results. Therefore, not just major brands, but also the small companies, have already adopted this, in order to offer a better user experience and avoid losing potential customers. It’s true that just designing a responsive website, the people will not engage and it will not lead to a higher conversion rate. But not having a mobile ready website leaves you missing all the action. In addition, be ready to follow age-responsive design, which allows adapting to a specific age competency of the user.

7. Explainer videos

Product explainer videos and video background have increased in popularity in the last few years and continue to grow, as long as they are an alternative to reading a lot of content the user may not read. More and more videos appear to make the website content much valuable, add some dynamic to the website static imagery and catch the eye of your visitors in a more efficient way. In fact, a recent report from Google predicts that 74% of all web traffic in 2017 will come from video. So, the websites will feature more full-screen glossy videos, as long as three-quarters of all web traffic will be generated through video content.

8. Advanced animation and GIFs

Rich, clever and advanced video animation is another great way to make your website to stand out from your competition. It seems to be a never-ending trend in the web design game, because of what you can accomplish through their simplicity. If it’s used properly, the animations grab the visitors’ attention, enhance the users interaction and turn the web page into a great and outstanding one. Therefore, I’m expecting to see more animation and GIFs in 2017, and not just from the major brands.

9. Virtual reality

VR finally went mainstream in 2016, as numerous gaming headsets have been released and 360 video has increased in search interest. It’s really interesting to see how virtual reality’s popularity grows, as the medium and matter are closer to what we know. The UI challenges with VR are both more complex and easier to understand than conversational interfaces, so I expect the designers are going to think of interesting ways to incorporate 360 video into websites during 2017. If you aren’t already aware, Google’s VR View is a JavaScript API that easily allows you to add 360 video experiences to your own website.

You can view this interactive, 360 web VR experience, which was created for the new Blair Witch movie on mobile, using a VR headset for your mobile.

Blair Witch

Bottom line:

As a successful business owner or a website designer, you need to keep up with all the latest web design trends if you want to succeed in this virtual market. But you don’t need to use all of them. In fact, before using any of these trendy elements, you should put into your target audience’s shoes and then start working with trends. Because all these hot web design elements have only the mission to add some engagement and real value to your business presence online and make it stand out from competitors.

Read More at The 9 Web Design Trends You Need to Be Aware of In 2017

from IT Feed https://webdesignledger.com/9-web-design-trends-need-aware-2017/

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