For all the joy and merriment, the end-of-year holiday season brings, it sure is a time of year that fosters contemplation. For some, it’s the time to look back on the year that’s almost gone. The time to take stock of the good and the bad.
The time to wrap it up with a neat little bow and place it on the shelf with all the other things we left in the past. The same shelf where old graphic design trends go before they become deliciously retro.
For others, however, the end of each year is the time to prepare for the next one. It’s all about hitting the ground running and understanding the currents that will propel us forward in the next year. For graphic design, that current goes through cables. It’s visually represented by series of ones and zeros.
Graphic Design Trends in 2018
Responsive Logos
2018 in graphic design will be a year heavily influenced by digital technologies and the trends they impose. A great example is a responsive design. It’s a web design approach that enables a website to be viewed on devices with different screen sizes without losing any functionality or visual appeal.
The same idea of responsiveness can be implemented in graphic design, as well. Responsive logos are one such implementation. Taking a logo and stripping it down to its most basic and memorable form is more than a way to save space without sacrificing recognizability.
It’s also a clear signal of keeping with the times. A decluttered, minimal version of a logo will look modern, streamlined, and rid of unnecessary elements. This makes it perfect for the digital environment and mobile devices.
Vivid, Popping Colors
The online world is full of visual clutter. Just a quick look at any social media feed will show an unimaginable amount of content being published daily. The competition for the already short attention span of the audience is tough. Brands, big publisher, and micro-publishers are all using the same space to go after the same audience.
In an environment like that, graphic design can be used to grab attention. One of the top graphic design trends in 2018 will be using brighter colours. We’ve already seen brands like YouTube unleash and unmute their colours to achieve better visibility.
Of course, oversaturating a screen with bright, bold colours is not a good idea. Using them to strategically draw the eye would be much better. So, we can expect more designers to make bolder colour choices.
Double and Duo
Double exposure is one of those graphic design techniques that are able to produce solid results with little effort. It’s also a technique that’s not new. We’ve been seeing double exposure images for years. In 2018, however, double exposure is expected to become a vital graphic design trend, especially when coupled with other design techniques.
Techniques like, for example, duotone. Duotone is a technique traditionally used in printing. However, it has been adopted and adapted to the digital world. Now, it’s possible to easily create images with contrasting colours easily with digital tools.
Duotones have been one of Spotify’s main design choices. In 2018, they will be increasingly used for double exposure images. And, when combined with the bold colour choices that will be popular, they’ll make for some interesting and striking images.
Color Transitions, FKA Color Gradients
Color gradients have been one of the hottest graphic design trends for years. However, sometimes during the second half of the previous decade, we decided that gradients aren’t “in” anymore. The world moved on into a new era of flatter graphic design. Gradients were left behind.
But now, they’re staging a comeback. They are also called colour transitions now, and they’re a part of a new design paradigm called semi-flat design. We’re already seeing these colour transitions pop up on websites of trendy businesses. It seems only natural that those who follow their lead will go back to colour transitions next year.
Creative Typography
2018 will be a big and interesting year for typography. The motto will be “unique and noticeable.” And we’re seeing trends like this already starting to develop.
One of the things we’ll see more of in typography is variety. The reign of sans-serif fonts is nearing an end. Serif fonts were one of the casualties of the need to synchronize style across different media, many of which didn’t properly support serif fonts.
Now, the tides are starting to turn. We can expect to see more serif fonts in 2018. We can also expect to see them used together with sans-serif fonts.
There will also be an increase of non-standard creative solutions in typography next year. Hand-drawn fonts will be used more. Cropped type is a trend from 2017 that will stay strong in 2018. Lettering written with brushes and taking centre stage in images is something we’ll see more.
Authentic Design
So far, we’ve seen that 2018 in graphic design will be about standing out. It will be about being more visible and appealing than the competition. Using standardized solutions to achieve that visibility will not be enough.
Authenticity and custom solutions will be a top graphic design trend in 2018. It will be a trend that permeates all the other trends we’ve already mentioned.
The animation will be used to create custom designs. Hand-drawn graphics will be a major trend, as well. Unexpected style crossings will be used more. Distorted and ruined effects will also be prominent.
In 2017, we’ve seen a lot of minimalistic graphic design. Flat design, muted tones, everything seemed to be understated. The graphic design trends for 2018 will take us in the opposite direction. We’ll see boldness.
We’ll see colours again. We’ll see interesting custom designs. We’ll see combinations that were never made before. We’ll see everything on the screen try to jump at us and grab our attention.
