You will certainly have heard of the very rapid innovation that the world of the Web has undergone in recent years: day after day, the speed of interconnection, entertainment and business opportunities, the amount of personal and non-personal data, privacy laws and, ultimately, the needs of users increase. And it is precisely from users' needs that Web3 was born.
Web 3.0 is characterised by the third generation Internet, in which websites and apps are able to process information in an intelligent, human-like way. New technologies such as machine learning (ML), Big Data and decentralised ledger technology (DTL) enable the IT world to take a big step into the future, paving the way for new digital markets, services and products.
Now, users and machines are able to interact with each other and with data, through artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR) tools.
The world of the web has evolved rapidly over the years, and has brought with it changes in many different areas: design is one of them. Indeed, Web 3.0 design is set to innovate the landscape of design and artistic development in a whole new way. With the invention of the metaverse, design finds new spaces to expand its techniques and improve its offerings. Quoting the director of a major Web3 agency, Christopher Baker: "the new web projects we are commissioned to produce are considerably more considered in terms of the interactive animated and 3D technology used".
The transformation of Web Design
Over the years, Web Design has undergone numerous changes that have led it to be as innovative and futuristic as we know it today. Web design was born out of the need for websites to attract the widest possible portion of the desired consumer target group. Initially, however, only a few sites had the economic possibility and ability to innovate their design.
In the first era of the Web, characterised by a type of design that we now call Design 1.0, the first graphic elements were introduced on sites, with the aim of standardising and ordering the content of web pages.
The addition of layouts and grids, in fact, gave sites the necessary and sufficient elements to be usable and comprehensible; among the various 'shortcomings' of Web design 1.0 we find:
- dynamic elements;
- clear intrusive elements (buttons, pop-ups, etc.);
- original colours and graphics;
- mobile (mobile) version of the sites.
Through the evolution of the Internet and the spread of mobile phones came further changes.
In the second transition, from Web Design 1.0 to 2.0, it was finally possible to display dynamic, interactive, properly organized design graphics and elements on desktops as well as on mobile devices. And it is precisely thanks to the advent of the social media characteristic of the Web2.0 era (Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, etc.) that the evolution of design has accelerated so markedly. A large amount of data on user preferences has given the Web giants the opportunity to create graphics increasingly in line with market demands. Users, in turn, have helped expand the culture of web design, creating new markets and jobs (user experience, web designer, webmaster, etc.).
Then, in 2016, applications such as Pinterest, Bahance and Dribble were born, which revolutionised the world of Web Design once and for all: they function as incubators for design ideas and projects and, as such, give anyone the opportunity to become a content creator (example of web 3.0 graphic). This begs the question: how does Web design 2.0 differ from Web design 3.0? What exactly does Web design 3.0 consist of?
Design features of Web 3.0
The main protagonists of Web Design are precisely the web designers, i.e. the creators of graphic elements and innovative ideas that revolutionise this sector day after day.
The goal of web designers is to always be informed about the latest trends and seek total differentiation, creating new and unique content; to do this, graphic designers rely on a variety of sources, such as:
- Web design YouTube, Intagram and Tik Tok channels;
- Influencer web designers (Instagram, Twitter, Tik Tok);
- Copyright-free image databases (Unsplash; Pinterest);
Apart from the powerful resources a Web designer can draw on, there are some basic guidelines that cannot be missed in Web Design 3.0. Firstly, the removal of grid constraints, the use of modern layouts composed of images and graphics that are not necessarily structured and geometric, gamification and the use of trendy colours. One example is the CSS grid, a special type of layout that allows the use of every imaginable combination, as long as they are rectangular. The CSS grid has become increasingly popular in recent years, being a two-dimensional design type.
Another fundamental aspect is so-called user-centred design. The latter places the user at the centre of communication and adapts the design to his or her needs, trying to personalise the web experience as much as possible.
How much does a web designer earn
As mentioned above, the job of a web designer is essential to bring new ideas and innovations into the design world. A web designer can be placed in different work contexts: within an agency (he/she will deal with different clients); within a company (he/she will deal with websites and corporate graphics) and as a freelancer (he/she has a free choice of projects to work on). As far as remuneration is concerned, the salary of a web designer varies depending on the level of experience.
In Italy, on average, the salary of a web designer is 1.500 euro net per month, but it starts from a minimum salary of 1.100 euro net per month, which can even reach 2,300 euro net. It is interesting to see that, working as a freelancer, it is possible to earn even more than EUR 2.000 per month. To reach this threshold, however, you need to obtain many contracts (data: data collected by PXR Italy through web scraping).
The greatest difficulty freelancers face at the beginning of their career is the lack of clients. With the passing of years and the various experiences accumulated, the role of a freelance web designer grows stronger, reaching a broader and more loyal target group and more lucrative salaries.
In conclusions
The web design industry is certainly very competitive, but it has also been growing steadily in recent years. It is essential that the web designer always finds new ways to innovate and to capture people's attention in order to achieve thriving business returns.
Today the world is in the hands of the new generations: will they recognise the potential of Web Design 3.0 or will its innovation stop there?
If you are interested in the world of the Web, read our article Web 3.0: what it is and how it works.
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