2024 Design Trends: How Your Business Stays Current
https://www.jukeboxprint.com/blog/24-of-the-biggest-graphic-design-trends-for-2024
https://www.creativeboom.com/features/biggest-trends-in-graphic-design-for-2024/
https://looka.com/blog/graphic-design-trends/
https://www.svgator.com/blog/graphic-design-trends-prediction/
https://www.creativebloq.com/features/graphic-design-trends-2024
https://graphicmama.com/blog/graphic-design-trends-2024/
As we stand on the shoulders of design giants before us, let’s start off 2024 with a dose of inspiration from both the old and the new. The current state of design is exploding in multiple directions, and there’s no one way to sum up the eclectic tapestry that is 2024 design trends. From responsible design and vintage minimalism to 3D creations and the ongoing debate about AI-generated art, explore with us how designers are navigating this creative landscape while maintaining a human touch.
‘Modern Natural’ Design
Responsible Design: Natural Packaging
In response to ecoconsciousness, brands have continued to invest in sustainable packaging, leaning more heavily into natural design aesthetics as well. This approach resonates with conscious consumers, aligning brand values with customer ethics. The use of recycled materials, biodegradable packaging, and minimalistic design not only reduces environmental impact but also conveys eco-responsibility.
Vintage Minimalism / Nostalgic Retro
Vintage minimalism blends classic and modern design elements, creating a style that evokes nostalgia while remaining contemporary. It uses retro colors, fonts, and images in a clean, minimalist way. This style is popular because it brings a sense of comfort and familiarity, appealing to a wide range of audiences. Brands can use this trend to establish a timeless appeal that resonates across generations.
Mixed Media
Playful Hand-Drawn Illustrations and Cartoon Doodles
It’s back to art school time! With the advent of Canva, those cookie-cutter, ready-made designs are the new drab. Moreover, anyone can afford a glossy stock photo, but it takes real artistry to put out a half-baked, whimsical illustration. The playfulness of hand-drawn illustrations can be particularly effective in branding, providing a friendly and approachable image.
Collaging / Design with Photography
We are in the golden age of photography, after all. Professional photos are just an iPhone photo and a minor touch-up away from your professional design. Just look at how Apple markets just that with its “Shot on iPhone” campaign. Integrating statement-worthy photography in or around your design elements instantly remediates our association with tired stock photos and elevates them into something more artistic. Combine the use of ‘stickers’, geometry, and textures for a true mixed-media piece in 2024.
Maximalism and Anti-Design
Though not always mutually exclusive, these rule-breaking styles challenge conventional aesthetics by turning heads. With maximalism, you are saying “More is more.” In a minimalist world, this can be an excellent way to stand out.
With anti-design, or “raw” styles, designers are breaking the rules, appealing to creative industries, concert-goers, and those looking for an experimental edge.
Continued Design Trends
Texture, Gradients, and Geometry
Make your design go from flat, to “What’s that?” Incorporating texture in your design plays on the senses, elevating pixels on a phone screen to something that can be felt; giving your images feelings of soft, gritty, smokey, glassy, etc…
Gradients haven’t gone dull on us yet. The ever-beautiful weaving in and out of color that gradients provide has become not just a trend but a tool in many designer’s arsenals.
We are sure to see the use of geometry in progress in 2024 as well, whether it’s illustrative, 3D, or abstract, we predict geometry will bring structure to design in new and exciting ways this year.
Fancy Printing
It’s 2024. Let’s see what you can do! Print is far from dead, but many are zombies to flat, lifeless print. Fancy printing techniques such as foiling, embossing, and spot UV coatings are redefining the experience of print media. These methods bring a sense of luxury and sophistication to business cards, invitations, packaging, and more. The emphasis is on craftsmanship and quality, showcasing the value of tangible design in an age of digital saturation.
Check out 1-Stop Design Shop’s new business cards below…
We pulled out all the stops to show our customers what’s possible with fancy printing techniques like raised lettering and spot UV!
Design that Jumps off the Page (or Screen)
Motion
Brands don’t need a million-dollar budget to make their images move anymore. Today’s tools make it more accessible than ever to make typography and design move and dance. We are now constantly seeing new ways designers are bringing motion into their design, and it will continue to be an area for uncharted discoveries in 2024.
3D / Adobe “Inflate” / Surrealism
3D design isn’t just for masters of Blender with supercharged computers anymore. Adobe, in response to the rise of 3D, created a new tool called Inflate that balloons 2D designs into stand-out objects in 3D space. We’re sure to see more and more of these designs jump off the page as the tools become more accessible and the processing power for 3D design tools becomes less of a hurdle.
Of Course, AI-Generated Art and Design
AI Art
Open AI’s ChatGPT language model and Dall E image generator have ceaselessly impressed since the start of the AI revolution. Although there is a limit to AI art’s practicality, there is virtually no limit to the creativity it can inspire!
Backlash Against AI: The Human Touch
As AI-generated art becomes increasingly prevalent, a renewed appreciation for the human touch is emerging. With widespread access to AI tools, the novelty of impeccably detailed, endless AI landscapes is becoming a dime a dozen. As some may overly rely on these tools, opting for quick, AI-generated art, they risk losing the unique brand identity and intentional design that only human creativity can offer. The distinctive perspectives and creativity that human artists contribute to their work are truly irreplaceable, underscoring the true value of the human touch in both art and design.
1-Stop Design Shop
Since our beginnings 30 years ago, we’ve been committed to staying current with design trends to give businesses the best of today’s technology in design. We also know better than to jump on a trend to Nowhereville. We balance the new with the tried and true to deliver designs that resonate with audiences and build trust. Check out our portfolio here and feel free to contact us for any of your design or rebrand needs here!
