Maybe it’s just me. Maybe it’s because I’ve spent the last four years sitting next to graphic design, watching them work, collaborating on projects, marveling at the beauty of what they make. I am jealous of their talents. Writing is not a visual medium. You cannot hang your latest blog post on the wall or post an impactful, flashy photo of it on Instagram. For anyone to get any joy out of your work, they have to sit down and read it. And odds are, they’re just going to glance at the headline or, at best, skim.
In my experience as a graphic designer, one of the most exciting parts of my work is exploring new visual trends. The beauty lies in the constant change of graphic design styles returning from the past and mixing with today’s movements. They add new perspectives which is always inspiring. I picked out 5 hot and largely used trends to showcase. My intention is to introduce their visual identity and show how easily they can be recreated and used in your projects. I’ll prove it by creating and adding simple examples of every trend at the end of the article. 1. Ancient Sculptures in 3D There is an increased use of ancient 3D sculptures or their motifs in posters, web design and representative graphic material. Consider this trend if you want to emphasize contrasts, creativity, authenticity, intellectual concepts or just intend to draw attention. Ancient sculptures in contemporary minimal and clean style backgrounds can look unexpected, but they match very well.
2. Organic Shapes Filled With Funky Gradients Photos and illustrations are used in visual designs very often. The use of organic shapes filled with vibrant colour gradients could be an alternative route to a new and more engaging design experience. What’s more, they are also huge time-savers and super easy to create! Apply this effect for either biological designs or to express something intellectual, intangible or innovative…or if you want to create a new screensaver!
3. Duotone Or as I call it — the “create it in a minute effect”. You simply fill a photo or illustration with two contrasting colours, for example, red and blue, adding vibrant richness to the design. This technique was used long ago in printing when CMYK colours were too expensive, but you wanted go beyond monotone. Duotone was the opportunity. And now this effect prospers at its peak. It is widely used by Spotify, in cinema posters etc. Usually I use the gradient map adjustment layer in Photoshop to create this effect. If you want to achieve the best result — use a monotone colour background.
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