As the saying goes “everything old is new again”, this year is the year of refreshing past graphic design trends and swerving away from the flat design scene of current years. Simplification and minimalism will stay, but you can expect to see some old favorites make a comeback with updated, modern looks.

Whether you are planning to use these trends to move in the opposite direction or be inspired, this article can help improve your design choices this year.

Responsive Logos

It has been a decade since responsive design started to modernize the web, and since then it has become a norm in the industry. The fast growth of mobile browsing (and an endless array of screen sizes and devices) has led to critical usability problems for conventional websites. Developers and designers started experimenting with numerous ways of making designs adapt to the user’s device as a one-website-fits-all kind of solution. This established the basis for what would come to be known as “responsive design”.

The idea of changing logos to meet the user demands has greatly remained unachievable, but not anymore. Corporations have been redesigning their logos into something simplified and modern versions over the last couple of years and responsive logo design is the next logical step in satisfying the present-day demands.

Multiple Brand Color Schemes

Conventionally, companies have a few colors that they use throughout all their design and branding work. This helps people identify their brand easily, on social media and other places on the internet. However, in 2018, companies are looking to rebrand themselves with an array of color schemes. Spotify started doing this a couple of years back, followed by Dropbox and eBay, among other companies.

GIFs and Animations

You may be hearing plenty about microinteractions recently, but what exactly are they and why should you use them? To put it simply, microinteractions are tiny animations used to communicate with customers and help them carry out tasks. They are a UX best practice, and probably one of the most popular UX trends. They are everywhere and although you may not be aware of them consciously, every time you receive a notification on Facebook or swipe left on Tinder, you are actually engaging with microinteractions. They are specifically valuable in making customers feel like they are controlling an interface by giving responses regarding their actions. Paying attention to the fine details can take your design efforts to the whole new level.

Modern Still Life

The use of high-end, modern and styled still life was everywhere. Works that use flat colors with simple shapes and objects were pretty trendy in the past, especially in luxury and fashion market, and is expected to flourish in the upcoming years.

Bold Colors

Bold colors are the most common driving force behind every design trend. Sticking to the conventional corporate blue palette is not going to cut it this year. Neutral colors and minimalism are on their way.

 

Connect with our graphic design team today to see ways we can help with your branding and more