This article about current design trends is part of our Design Takeaways series that provides tips for designers and aspiring designers. Many of these trends incorporate aspects of design that we cover in other articles, such as colour, typography and motion graphics. You can find the other posts here.
Design trends matter because they offer inspiration for designers, but they also become recognisable to audiences and influence how they perceive a brand’s identity and engage with different visuals. Understanding what styles and elements are trending can help designers continue developing fresh artwork that appeals to audiences.
In his book Steal Like an Artist Austin Kleon highlights the fact that all art borrows from or is influenced by other art in some way. So even “new” design trends inevitably have throw-backs and references to things that we have seen before; albeit with a new twist. The cyclical nature of trends is something we see in fashion, decor and, of course, graphic design.
Two of the main remixed trends we’re seeing in 2024 are grunge and 1970s folk-style artworks.
