TECHNICAL ADVANCEMENT IN WEB DESIGN

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Research design

According to Blomkvist and Hallin (2015), using interviews as a research method helps in discovering new dimensions and developing a deeper understanding of a phenomenon. One of the most common methods used in qualitative social science research is to gather empirics via qualitative interviews. Blomkvist and Hallin (2015) describe how this method makes it possible to learn more about how individuals reason in different research questions. Interviews of an open nature allows for unexpected discoveries. The study aims to find the reason behind the rise of two web design trends and their implications on web design history. Conducting interviews with practitioners who have worked in the field since the early days of the web will provide valuable insights that have been gained first-hand. The second research question “[2] What implications can the emergence of these trends have on the aesthetic evolution of web design?” has an element of prediction and is believed to be best answered by the long-time experience of web design practitioners, who have seen and partaken in the evolution of web design and its visual trends. Qualitative interviews will allow these experts to elaborate on their experiences, views and predictions.
Blomkvist and Hallin (2015) describe how a qualitative interview can be unstructured or semi-structured. In the unstructured interview there is only an overarching topic, and what is supposed to be found out is undecided in the beginning. Semi-structured interviews are organized around several themes or question areas that are determined in advance. They still allow for flexibility and many of the questions are decided upon or even created during the course of the interview. Since the research questions are formulated and a number of topics are already found as being of interest to the study, but there are yet dimensions to be explored, semi-structured interviews is deemed the most suitable choice of method.

Approach

The study has been carried out using an inductive approach. According to Blomkvist and Hallin (2015) this means conducting an empirical study based on an identified problem and using theory to develop a better understanding of the findings. With an inductive approach, the empirical material determines which theory is of interest and hence, it is possible that the empirical findings lead to a different theoretical framework.
Nunnally and Farkas (2016) state that quantitative research produces consistent and generally agreed upon results. They describe that while it is very informative, it does not reveal why things happen, nor share information that isn’t specifically requested.

Method and implementation

Nunnally and Farkas (2016) also describe qualitative research and state that it is used for studying something that is subjective and difficult to measure in precise units. The study focuses on trends, something that is to a great extent subjective and difficult to measure. It also aims to predict shifts in web design, something that is best supported by the experience and opinions of experts. Nunnally and Farkas (2016) describe how qualitative research is suitable for finding the “why” behind a phenomenon. This research method best matches the purpose of the study, which is to find the reason behind the emergence of two trends and their potential implications. Because of this, the inductive approach has been combined with a qualitative method.
To be able to formulate relevant interview questions, literature studies were initiated first. Existing theories on the subject, together with an understanding of web design history, provided a basis from which more in-depth questions could be asked. Furthermore, as the interviews were to be of a semi-structured nature, and thereby allow for some further elaboration and discussion, a certain level of insight beforehand was deemed beneficial. While examining existing literature, questions relevant for the interviews arose. Because of this, interview questions were formulated parallel to conducting the literature study and were refined as it progressed. From the empirical data some new themes and theories surfaced that were deemed relevant to the study. In accordance with the inductive approach, the theoretical framework has been expanded after conducting the semi-structured interviews to provide a deeper understanding into the relevant themes. This is the case with several of the topics, such as that of 1990s trends and nostalgia, which was mentioned by respondents. The same is true for mentions of reactions towards commercialism, and early social media profile customisation, which were made by respondents.

Data collection

The data in this study was gathered through semi-structured interviews. These provided empirical data that has been compared to the theories derived from the literature studies, and, in turn affected further studies.

Interview design

The purpose of the semi-structured interviews is to provide insight into how web design professionals view and reason around the subjects of the study. These subjects are “Trends in web design”, “brutalism and antidesign” and “Web design history” and are based on the research questions. The interview questions have been designed to generate data which will aid in answering the research questions of the study.
The first subject is “Trends in web design”. Studying the factors that contribute to the emergence, use and popularity of web design trends in general will provide insight into the specific trends brutalism and antidesign. This includes what drives trends and which ones tend to last. The questions within this subject cover the following topics:
• How to view and work with web design trends
• What drives web design trends forward
• What makes a trend last

1 Introduction 
1.1 BACKGROUND
1.2 PROBLEM DESCRIPTION
1.3 PURPOSE AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1.4 DELIMITATIONS.
1.5 OUTLINE
2 Method and implementation
2.1 CONNECTION BETWEEN RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND METHOD
2.2 RESEARCH DESIGN
2.3 APPROACH 0
2.4 DATA COLLECTION
2.5 DATA ANALYSIS
2.6 RELIABILITY
3 Theoretical background 
3.1 CONNECTION BETWEEN RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND THEORY
3.2 BRUTALISM AND ANTIDESIGN
3.3 TECHNICAL ADVANCEMENT IN WEB DESIGN
3.4 VISUAL EVOLUTION IN WEB DESIGN
3.5 PRODUCT DESIGN HISTORY
3.6 DESIGN TRENDS
4 Empirics 
4.1 TRENDS IN WEB DESIGN
4.2 BRUTALISM AND ANTIDESIGN
4.3 WEB DESIGN HISTORY
5 Findings and analysis
5.1 TRENDS IN WEB DESIGN
5.2 BRUTALISM AND ANTIDESIGN
5.3 WEB DESIGN HISTORY
6 Discussion and conclusions
6.1 DISCUSSION OF METHOD
6.2 DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
6.4 IMPLICATIONS
6.5 FURTHER RESEARCH
7 References 
8 Search terms 
9 Appendices

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The rise of brutalism and antidesign