Top 5 Graphic design trends the marketing and graphic design team think will be big this year.
With so many brands and businesses having to adapt in the past year, things are ever-changing, and it has become hard for people to take risks with the creative side of their business or organisations.
In the context of this changing world, we think that people will feel more nostalgic this year and identify more with past trends and classics from the past, that have previously performed well. 2021 is the year that brands incorporate a range of design techniques using colours, fonts, and imagery.
Trend 1 – Typography
Our first trend is the use of Typography, most designs are focused on user engagement rather than readability to create an impact. The use of typography can also feature unusual shapes, animation and other techniques designed for creating attention. This popular rebrand for SFSymphony encapsulates the use of typography perfectly, their rebrand shows how impactful typography can be, highlighting a stylish, sleek look. Typography is an exciting way to help you make a bold statement in 2021! Check out the case study from Collins here SFSmyphony rebrand – we particularly like how the logo was designed to react to sound.
Trend 2 – Bold Colour
The use of bright colour was one of the biggest trends for 2020 and is still as impactful in 2021. Vivid colour palettes have been known to do well in website projects, print, product, and packaging design. Bold and bright colours help businesses and organisations make a statement! We predict bright colours will continue to pop this year. We love this example by girlswhocode , they have utilised the range of colour in their 2018 annual report and website. The use of warm and bright tones create an uplifting effect that is visually refreshing.
Trend 3 – Retro / Pop art
A lot of people resonate with nostalgic past times. We can see grainy colours, heavy inking and action lines making a comeback this year. Dot shading is another technique associated with this standout pop art trend, a simple approach that creates a significant impact. It combines a minimalist touch. with bright colour, creating a sense of drama and attention. Plus, pop art is a fun way to help your business or organisation stand out, from social media campaigns to business cards.
Trend 4 – Authentic Imagery
The use of photographs is a great way of getting users to connect with your website. Although stock imagery is great it’s not personal, seeing photographs of the team you are going to work with helps to build a trust factor with your potential customers. It sets up a relationship with them on a personal level and evokes emotion, making them feel engaged with the content in front of them. Here is an example, captured through the design of our own Brace website giving an authentic look that conveys daily action and movement in an office, it shows real life and does not look staged.
Trend 5 – Gradients
Gradients will continue to be popular again this year, used in photos, video overlays, backgrounds, print, social media campaigns and the list goes on. They can be bold with bright colours or even subtle with soft colours, depending on the message you wish to convey to your customers. . They can help you stand out from the crowd without differing from your brand colours and guidelines. Another fitting example is by datalands.co; which display the use of gradients in their website background. It incorporates pastel variations with a pop of yellow, with text layered on top. It’s an effective way to increase user engagement as the design carries you through to the rest of the page making you focus on more areas at once, encouraging the customer to continue looking.
There you have it, Brace Creative Agency’s top graphic design trends for 2021. If you think your brand could do with a little revamp this year. Contact our Graphic design experts today!
