Design Takeaways: design trends

This article about current design trends is part of our Design Takeaways series that provides tips for designers and aspiring designers. Many of these trends incorporate aspects of design that we cover in other articles, such as colour, typography and motion graphics. You can find the other postshere.

Design trends matter because they offer inspiration for designers, but they also become recognisable to audiences and influence how they perceive a brand’s identity and engage with different visuals. Understanding what styles and elements are trending can help designers continue developing fresh artwork that appeals to audiences.

In his book Steal Like an Artist Austin Kleon highlights the fact that all art borrows from or is influenced by other art in some way. So even “new” design trends inevitably have throw-backs and references to things that we have seen before; albeit with a new twist. The cyclical nature of trends is something we see in fashion, decor and, of course, graphic design.

Two of the main remixed trends we’re seeing in 2024 are grunge and 1970s folk-style artworks.

Link to this headingGrunge

Grunge is a raw, edgy and rough aesthetic that emerged out of punk culture in the 90s. Now, it’s making its way back into all sorts of graphics. The grunge trend incorporates high contrast elements with pops of bright, often neon, colours.

Most grunge-style graphics have raw edges and distressed textures that represent embracing imperfection. The handwriting-type fonts that are associated with this style also subconsciously reflect authenticity, which aligns with this.

Grunge is linked to the neo brutalism influences that are also coming through in design trends. Neo brutalism includes bold, stark elements, bright colors and oversized, graphic typography.

Link to this headingGroovy, baby

Another trend that leans heavily on past influences is folk-style graphic design reminiscent of the 70s. This style relies strongly on nostalgia and often includes pastel color palettes, florals, stripes, checks and other groovy patterns.

The influence of folk style ontypographyresults in bubble shapes, with an emphasis on curved edges and chunky fonts that can carry a strong complementary border colour.

Link to this headingExperiential design

As technology advances, designers are also finding new ways to integrate graphic design into tactile and multi-dimensional experiences for audiences. These types of immersive experiences use technology to bring physical expression to 2D graphic design creations.

Link to this headingAnimation

The rapid development of online tools, AI and an endless appetite for content from digital audiences is also encouraging designers to incorporate animation or movement into images that would otherwise have been still, such as logos, illustrations and web elements. User-friendly tools have also made animation more accessible than ever before for designers. For more on motion graphics, check out our Design Takeaways article about ithere.

Link to this headingTips when designing with trends in mind

Although trends do tend to dominate in certain visual spaces, designers should also bring their own artist interpretation to their designs. Here are some tips for designing with current trends in mind:

• Use the trend as an inspiration, not a set template. You don’t have to follow all of the conventions in a particular trend – adding your own flavour will make it unique.
• Think about the brand you’re designing for. If you’re designing a graphic for a bank, for example, the folk-style 70s influence won’t work.
• Adapt for your audience. Think about the target market for your design. If it’s a local audience, add local flavours and elements that will be recognisable in their context.
• Experiment. Trends offer a fun space to ‘play’. Whether it’s experimenting with creating animations of your existing designs, or honing your skills by trying to recreate something you found inspiring, use the stylistic elements to spark new ideas.

Link to this headingResources

Here are a few resources that explore other current design trends:

• Here are a few resources that explore other current design trends:Watch it here.
• Adobe Express on graphic design trends for 2024.
• Insta accounts that share design-related information:
  • @frann.studio