The birth of new trends in web design is an organic process rather than an instant moment.
This article was written by Annette DuBois and originally published by California Business Journal.
For a web design innovation to come true, many stars need to align. It takes visionary and talented web designers, a supportive yet competitive environment, and thought-leading businesses as clients, among other factors.
Not many places in the world offer thriving circumstances for the advent of new website design trends, but among those that do, the state of California certainly stands out.
In this article, we will discuss why and how the Golden State influences the world’s leading web design trends, and why you should entrust your next digital project to a California web design agency.
California Is the Home of The World’s Leading Web Design Agencies
The Golden State web design industry boasts cutthroat competition—like no other place in the US does. Why so?
Well, California is home to the highest number of web design service-providing businesses in the United States.
According to 2023 data, with 33,283 registered website design businesses, California tops the list, donning nearly the sum of its runner-ups: Texas (18,792 businesses) and Virginia (14,707 businesses).
But it’s not just about quantity. California web design businesses provide outstanding quality, as client testimonials and ratings confirm.
Namely, on two leading B2B research and review platforms, DesignRush and Clutch, California-based companies take up a significant portion of the top rankings in the web design industry. Digital Silk, Bop Design, Tiny Frog Technologies, and Clay are only some of the CA-based website design agencies donning top ratings globally.
California Offers Top-Notch Web Design Education Globally
Web design tendencies emerge in places where creative, experienced, and innovative design professionals work in unison, openly share and discuss ideas, and integrate data-driven novelties into their design creations.
Of course, there are exceptional web design courses—offered in design schools and on online platforms alike—that bring forth excellent design professionals. However, several weeks of course attendance can rarely top years of dedicated, comprehensive, and scientific study of website design.
And in California, future design students can attend the world’s best colleges for UI/UX and web design.
Berkeley, colleges in Los Angeles, San Diego, Irvine, Santa Barbara, and Davis, as well as the University of Southern California, are among the top 100 best design schools globally—and, let’s not forget, Stanford University, which tops the global list.
Thus, the Golden State naturally attracts design prodigies, and with top-level study programs, California’s design college graduates are bound to be thought leaders and innovators of the web design industry.
California Has Varied Web Design Clientele
According to 2022 data, 99.8%—just over 4 million—of California businesses were small businesses.
CA offers rich diversity in terms of small business industries, ranging from professional and IT services, transportation, finance, real estate, healthcare, retail, and arts, to mining, agriculture, manufacturing, oil and gas, fishing/hunting, and forestry, to name a few.
Moreover, there’s significant diversity in California’s small business ownership. Per data, women own over 40% of firms, and around half of CA small businesses are run by Hispanics or other racial minorities.
But why does all this matter?
Well, a diverse pool of clients means unique visual styles to create for each of their wants and needs. Different industries, end-customers, cultural backgrounds, etc., allow California web designers to explore various design approaches and trends in their web projects.
California Is All About Art & Culture
California is synonymous with all things forward-looking and creative. The Golden State is one of the world’s capitals for arts and culture, home to some of the most renowned theaters and museums, street art, and visual, musical, and dance arts.
Los Angeles is the United States’ art capital, and of course, home to the world’s largest moviemaking machinery—Hollywood.
Creatives across the globe come to LA aspiring to fulfill their dreams, whether it’s film, music, photography, performing arts, or web design.
Originality and ingenuity are present in every corner of California, so it’s only natural that creative innovations come to be exactly here, in a place where being unique and standing out can make your dreams come true.
To Wrap Up
California is the hub of well-educated, creative web designers, diverse clients who seek a one-of-a-kind online presence for their businesses, and a myriad of global top-level web design agencies.
Thus, it shouldn’t surprise that California exerts a massive influence on the global website design scene and that many of the leading design trends originate from some California-based web agencies.
So, if your next web project requires skilled and talented design professionals, opting for a California website design agency is your surefire choice.
Research your options, and transparently discuss your business needs, and you will definitely find a perfect match in some of CA’s digital agencies.
