- New trends come and go every year, and for this year there were a lot of design trends predicted
- Did these predictions come true and what were they?
- We go over all the graphic design trends that we’ve seen in 2021 and why they were so popular
The beautiful thing about graphic design is that every year, just like clockwork, the trends reset. The designs that have dominated the year and the trends that have been talked about on every news network start disappearing and we see people start talking about the trends for the new year approaching. 2020 was no different, as we watched design trends that had dominated the year slowly disappear and people slowly start talking about what the future held for the design industry. There were some pretty crazy predictions for 2021 as we emerged from the worldwide pandemic, but with the year close to only a few months left in it we’ve seen which trend predictions followed through.
Although the year isn’t finished yet, it isn’t too early to start talking about which trends rose above it and dominated this year and those that did not. In this article, we take a look at all the graphic design trends that we’ve seen in 2021 and how they’ve affected the design community.
Graphic Design Trends We’ve Seen In 2021
Designing Something For Good
Last year with the Black Lives Matter movement we saw the design industry take a turn to not only creating designs for entertainment and marketing purposes, but graphic designers were also creating designs for something good. For causes beyond what they were used to and that took a stand on something. After the year we had and between the protests and the pandemic, it was predicted that this year designers would be designing for something good. As expected, this year we saw many designs that were for something good. This was one of the design trends that were predicted and ended up being incredibly popular.
More Minimalistic Then Before
It’s no lie that minimalism has taken over the design industry these past few years, but this year it was predicted to be taken to a new level. Even more, minimalism was expected to be incorporated into designs this year and we excepted to see designs simplified. Just as we thought, the new decade was kicked off with minimalism and 2021 saw an abundance of minimalist designs. Graphic designers were quick to strip away any of the fluff and embellishment that’s usually used and instead designs have been kept simple and clean this year.
Incorporating Nature
This one has been surprisingly satisfying when brought to life through artwork. Perhaps it’s the amount of time that was spent outdoors during the height of boredom when in isolation last year or maybe it’s that people are finally starting to see our earth for the beauty it is, but we’re here for it. The new appreciation for nature has had graphic designers creating stunning designs this year that have incorporated natural elements into them. Not all designs directly reflect nature, but brush strokes and handprint techniques, it is subtly incorporated into many designs.
Retro Designs
A new decade, what seems to be happier times behind us, and us leaving behind so much familiarity; no wonder people have felt particularly nostalgic this year towards the past. Right now when we reflect on the past they seem like good times that are miles away and even the best of us can’t help but look back on them with envy. This year retro designs were at an all-time high with palettes and fonts being used that we haven’t seen in a while. A lot of trends from the past have come back around stronger than before. If you’re browsing through designs from this year and some seem a little too familiar, this is why.
Motion Graphics
In a world where technology is always advancing and with attention spans only getting shorter moving content was at an all-time high this year. Businesses have started using motion graphics to grab the attention of their customers and they’re finding talented creatives to do the work for them. Video content and short clips are now being used for entertainment as well, with people paying more attention to video content than they do still graphics. We expect to see even more of this in the future!
Summing It Up
This year has been filled with a lot of actions and they were many predictions made of what we would see from the design community after last year. People had a lot of thoughts on what the fresh new year would bring for the design community and so far we’ve seen most predictions come true. Above we talked about what these trends were and why they were so popular this year!
