Design informs 95% of first impressions.
With numbers like that, it’s essential your design game knocks it out of the park. Graphic design trends are a great way to stay relevant, modern, and fresh, and as 2019 gets properly underway, it’s time to brush up on this year’s design influences.
Here are the top trends in graphic design to watch this year.
Asymmetrical Design
2019 is the year designers break out of the box—or rather, the grid.
The grid system is a faithful standard for a reason. It helps graphic designers maintain balance, consistency, and alignment. But trusty as it is, breaking out of the grid can be an excellent way to make your design stand out from the crowd.
Asymmetrical layouts lend depth, interest, and a dynamic feeling to an otherwise straightforward design.
When designing for the web, it’s also a great way to incorporate dynamic scrolling into your page. Asymmetrical elements naturally draw the eye to the bottom of the page, encouraging users to see what’s beyond the bottom of their screen.
Rise of the Serif
Sans-serifs will still have their place in our 2019 designs, but the serif will be hogging the majority of the spotlight in the months to come. Big, chunky serifs that harken back to the days of cast-metal type will explode in popularity, ushering in an era that’s not afraid to be bold.
Particular emphasis will fall on custom serif types. In today’s busy age, brands have to work extra hard to stand out from the crowd. Custom types are a great way to individualize a design, and we’ll be seeing a shift toward custom serifs in everything from logo design to web design.
Authentic Imagery
Over 90% of the input our brains process is visual. Illustrations, icons, and photos are essential tools in every designer’s tool belt, but there is such a thing as the wrong imagery.
People today are incredibly savvy to the use of stock photos and graphics. Studies show that bad stock photos can actually drive people away. But even if you’re not actively turning people off your brand, using stock imagery is a great way to make your content blend into the background with the 10,000 other people who chose the same image.
The solution to this problem? Authentic photography and custom illustration. Illustrators will lead the charge on this trend, producing one-of-a-kind pieces that interest and engage.
No more “woman laughing alone with salad” in 2019. Photography will push toward the authentic and relevant. In other words, now’s the time to befriend your local photographer.
Colorful Minimalism
White space isn’t white anymore. 2019 will see the rise of colorful minimalism: pared back layouts with hyper-saturated color palettes.
The trend toward brighter, more evocative color and bigger type is likely to thank for this shift. As our use of color and type becomes bolder, minimalism shoulders its way through to add balance to our designs.
This is a trend particularly at home on the web: the digital medium an ideal canvas for displaying brighter, more saturated colors.
Stay on Top of These Graphic Design Trends
Graphic design trends may come and go, but isn’t that half the fun? Asymmetry, serifs, authentic imagery, and colorful minimalism are breaking us into 2019 with style, and they’re just the tip of the iceberg. Here’s to a year of bright, bold, authentic designs.
Need to drag your brand into 2019? Get in touch today and see how we can help you.
