2018 is the year graphic designers finally take risks. One of the ways your design is going to be one-of-a-kind, eye catching and different from the standard designs. There is a variant of things competing for your audience’s attention right now. Such as Bitcoin. Politics. Cats. Food etc. That means that the standard designs you did to differentiate yourself from the rest in the past aren’t going to work this year.
Boring stock photos or minimalist graphics are no longer. 2018 calls for riskier colour schemes. Riskier GIFs, and even riskier designs. Without question, here are a few graphic design trends that stand out for 2018:
Multiple brand colour schemes:
Following the traditional ways, companies have few colours that they use across all their branding platforms in order for their audience to recognise them from other / competing companies.
However, as companies continue to grow, they will rebrand with a ton of unique and vibrant colour schemes that help them stand out, rather than sticking to one. In fact, companies rebranding with a variety of colour schemes is one of the trends that are making an impact in the design industry.
Colour gradients are making a comeback
Whenever colour transitions and gradients come up in a topic, I can’t help but remember the excruciating Word Art from Microsoft Word over the past 20ish years. As children back then, we assumed the best way to make our school projects look professional. We may have been on to something back then. This year, colour gradients will literally be everywhere, from websites to Twitter headers to presentations. It will be like the 90s never left us.
Better branded Social Media images
Readers are tired of seeing cheesy stock photos that you picked in two seconds. They want original, engaging images on their newsfeed. Readers and consumers use social media to distract themselves from what is happening in the reality of their life.
Majority of the time, they don’t want to continuously see a relevant stock photo that you a take few seconds to choose for the sake of having an image. That shows readers that the person who produced the content didn’t care enough about their work to find an impactful image. If the person who created the content doesn’t care, why should you?
Unconventional colours everywhere
Bold colour usage has been the driving force behind many design trends this year. Be ready to inject some more risky colours in your upcoming design projects.
That does not mean that you need to completely rethink your brand’s colour palette. Instead be ready to inject some more risky colours in your design projects.
Bold and handwritten fonts dominate
What makes you a good graphic designer? The world is moving away from flat, minimalist fonts. You can use bold and handwritten fonts to make your designs unique and eye-catching. Another trend that seems to be working for the deign world is to add some eye-catching features to your designs. Try moving away from the everyday boring fonts. Bold and handwritten fonts will stand out more against the simple fonts competitors are using.
More custom illustrations
Brands are looking for new ways to see themselves apart. They will keep moving away from cookie-cutter graphics, towards custom icons and illustrations. This idea has started to take form last year with the rise of hand-drawn illustrations and icons. This trend is another indication of designers rejecting the overly clean and somewhat boring design “rules” that dominated the past decade.
Better GIFs, fewer reactions
This year, your GIF usage needs to be taken to the next level. That means less corny reaction GIFs, and more custom branded GIFs, personally designed for your brand. GIFs are used daily to communicate within a conversation group of friends or co-workers. Most people would also recognise a GIF as the reaction or feelings ones we are all enjoy. But they can be used for so much more. For example, as infographics that add to your share or article in a meaningful way. One of the best examples of using GIFs in this manner comes from the sports world.
Cinemographs are gaining traction
After talking about GIFs, it’s time to talk about their more detailed cousins: Cinemographs. Cinemographs are the more refined cousins of GIFs, with a lot less movement. You can use them to add a classy touch to any of your design projects.
Cinemographs are basically GIFs or videos that have been completely frozen, except for a tiny area of subtle movement. I’m certain you have more experience with GIFs. But cinemographs are going to continue to gain ground in 2018. Cinemographs are less obtuse than a GIF or a video and can still be used in all parts of your marketing or design work.
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