Graphic Design Predictions for the Coming Year
Graphic Design is a forever shifting mass of trends and art styles that come and go as easily as the weather. As we look ahead to 2025, it important to keep an eye on the trends that have been popular this year, and how those trends might continue into 2025, and how they might adapt over time. That being said, let’s go over the top 5 popular graphic design trends of this year to help give you ideas for your next projects.
#5: Minimalist Gradients
Gradients made a comeback this year, offering added depth and sophistication to many designs without overwhelming entire compositions. Many times, gradients can inspire movement in a design to provide natural pathways for guiding a viewer’s eyes to the content you want them to see most. Additionally, when they are used effectively with minimalist design concepts, they are able to highlight key aspects of a composition to provide a clean and modern look, that can be very attractive. One should be careful however, not to apply a gradient too liberally if minimalism is the goal, as doing so could very likely overwhelm a minimalist composition and ruin the motif. Going forward, gradients could very likely become bolder and more dynamic should minimalism fall into decline in favor of designs that evoke more energy and that “pop” factor.
#4: Sustainability and Natural Themes
Sustainability and eco-friendly materials have gained some considerable momentum this year as the priority on environmental safety speeds up. This has garnered some attention from companies whose customers value these traits, and as such, has spurned on an increase in print materials like recycled paper business cards, and non-toxic inks, as well as zero waste printing methods. Demand for these products could keep growing as more customers begin aligning with companies that support environment conscious choices. As these products trend, so do color palettes that complement them nicely and resonate with growth and renewal.
#3: Maximalism and Complex Layouts
In contrast to our #5, at the other end of the spectrum we have seen a rise in Maximalism and Complexity to compositions, often including bold colors, intricate pattern work and an almost scrapbook feel. These designs lend to a sort of center stage, story telling mentality where the intent is be as loud as possible. Thus these designs have aligned well with event promotions, posters, and even packaging materials, to stand out in a crowd of potential competitors, whether it’s on a wall, or on a shelf. Looking forward, these trends are likely to continue as the desire to break from convention rises and a growing interest in standing out amongst your peers maintains its momentum. Especially among growing businesses and startups.
#2: Retro and Nostalgic Aesthetics
Nothing drives a good design more than connecting with a viewer’s emotions, and there’s nothing more powerful than nostalgia to stoke those emotions. Successful designers know this and have used nostalgia to connect companies and their customers together, whether it’s to get a message out there, or introduce a new product. Retro-inspired designs have largely been driving campaigns using 80s typography and 90s color palettes to connect with Gen X and Millennials to drive interest and garner attention from these demographics. Going forward, we might see some unique designs blending retro nostalgia with modern futurism to produce a sort of “neo-nostalgia” aesthetic, providing a unique twist on old favorites, as a sort way to shift focus from looking backward, to looking forward instead.
#1: Bold and Experimental Typography
Custom typography has taken center stage this year as brands explore ways to provide unique and memorable ways to communicate their identities to their customers. While custom typography has always been around, applications like ProCreate have certainly made exploring them much more accessible and intuitive to designers, due to its native platform on tablets. More importantly, higher accessibility means increased variety, as designers experiment with custom typography in all manner of projects, leading to a trend next year where the typography is the focus of a composition. I’m excited to see how this develops as well as the potential for a multitude of new typefaces that could get made as a result.
As we are shortly coming into December, it’s fascinating to look back and see how these trends have evolved over this year, and personally, I’m stoked to see how they all might develop as we move into next year. Personally, I’m a fan of minimalist design and I would love to see it combined with some slick custom typography to create some neo-futurism looks, as well as the opposite end of the spectrum with some maximalist neo-urban looks, for that cool Cyberpunk style and atmosphere. Can’t wait to see what’s in store for 2025.
