Staying on the cutting edge of graphic design means spotting those trends early and using them to produce contemporary, original work. And later, when everyone is doing the same thing, you’ll probably want to do something else.
Here are a few styles we’ll be seeing more of in 2014 — let’s get up to speed.
1. Super-Geometric
Incredibly beautiful poster for Tame Impala by Liam Brazier. Just imagine having a website theme like this.
Incredible detail, but straight lines everywhere. If origami was graphic design technique, this would be it.
Don’t be fooled by apparent simplicity though — the level of skill and attention required to produce this kind of work is not for the faint-hearted. That’s probably why this design style is trending, similar to the Handiwork example below.
2. Handiwork
Wonderfully detailed work of Justin Helton at Status Serigraph. This design trend is slowly but surely gaining traction.
Craftsmanship is coming through the big doors. Detailed, 19th century style illustrations are your best bet, but high-fidelity illustration of any kind will get you serious attention. After decades of photography-driven design, serious drawings are in high demand again — and rightfully so.
3. Technical
Whatever your specialty is, the fine work of James Provost will be an amazing source of inspiration.
Once reserved for boring instruction manuals, the beautiful art of technical illustration finally made its way into mainstream design with introduction of infographics. No need to explain the reasons — its clarity, simplicity and precision perfectly resonate with our chronic busyness and lack of time.
Obviously, you don’t have to learn the fine points of technical illustration. Clean lines and thoughtful use of color will take you a long way.
4. Pragmatic
USA Today is a very good example of design pragmatism — every design decision on this site has been made for purely practical reasons. Notice how color and icons are used sparingly and only when necessary to suggest an action or draw attention.
A growing trend in digital design is pure pragmatism, or keeping things as simple and practical as possible. This is a combination of grid-based layout, minimalist design approach and clever use of color that makes websites and mobile apps easy to use and navigate.
5. Retro-graphics
New Records, Old Covers is a great design project by Rodrigo Maia, which merges contemporary artists with nostalgic design of old jazz album covers.
They say every design style comes back in fashion every now and then, and it seems this is a great time to revive graphic work from 70’s and 80’s. Back then, design approach was pretty modest due to technical reasons, but that fits perfectly with our sudden taste for simplicity and minimalism.
All in all, design work inspired by the times of arcade games and hit tunes will make big impact this year.
Conclusion
As always, there are two parallel tracks in design trends this year — the vintage one and the contemporary one.
The vintage track is about detailed line drawings and illustrations, as well as retro graphics from 70’s and 80’s. The contemporary track balances with super geometric style, pragmatism and design inspired by technical illustrations.
No comments:
Post a Comment