Design Trends 2024

Staying up to date on trends can be challenging at times. Trends are ever fluid and sometimes 2 trends from the past merge and form a new trend for the present, like “modern natural”. Having knowledge of trends is important as it can help a brand stand out and be relevant.

Early on in my career, I really became aware of how trends play into design when I was working designing photo booths. Every few months we, the design staff, would take a field trip to the mall and visit stores where our target market frequented to see what trends were current. What was our target market buying? Did it have a taco design, were they leggings with cat illustrations, etc? After, we’d discuss what each of us saw and design graphics inspired by some of the common themes we discovered. Having this experience allowed me to look at the world around me with more intent and better observation. Now when I go out I notice the style of packaging, store signage, posters, apparel more, just to name a few. But it can also be challenging to see all the trends happening or to project them. This is where I turn to the internet to do a little more research. I recently came across a bunch of articles covering the topic but the one I really liked was by Jukebox Print, where they dive into 24 graphic design trends for 2024. After reading this article, I wanted to share my thoughts on the 5 that I liked the best.

Bold Minimalism
A style where “less is more” and it gets to the point. There’s no room for anything extra as everything serves a purpose and the overall design is simplified, yet strategic. In general, when I think of “minimalism”, sometimes my first thought is a black background with white text or vice versa. It’s a design that feels “classic”, as in, it never goes out of style. But while “bold minimalism” can still only be black and white it often incorporates vibrant colors paired with bold fonts to create a high contrasting image. To me, adding strong color, coupled with bold fonts and an uncluttered design is what makes this trend engaging.

Pixels
I love seeing how the pixel trend is making its way back because it’s taking on all different forms. It’s not just the retro video game pixel style, instead it has a modern flare as these little squares are being used to create uniquely cropped photos and fun patterns. When we think of pixels, we think of a bunch of tiny little squares, but now they are being scaled to larger sizes and sometimes there’s just a few pixels in a design to offer an accent element instead of a whole bunch.

Doodles
Let’s jump in a time machine back to when you were in school. There you are sitting in class listening to your teacher talk about something that may not be particularly interesting to you. You start doodling shapes and characters in the margins of your notebook to help you focus, at least that’s the reason you told yourself. Today, doodles have jumped off your notebook page and onto product advertising accompanying you as you walk down the street, on your favorite websites and more. I enjoy seeing these hand drawn illustrations because they provide a sense of fun, spontaneity, and personality.

Stickers
Who doesn’t love stickers? We put them on our cars, laptop cases and in recent years that have turned digital as we put them on our social media posts. Stickers can be fun, or make a statement. They are a great way to personalize and showcase a part of who you are. In graphic design specifically, stickers are being used to add an enhancement to the overall look or message by adding a smiley face, to call out a feature or even a doodle character.

Collages
The design trend is probably the least I’ve seen in person but I love what it looks like. Collages remind me of cutting up old magazines for projects when I was younger. I think it’s really cool how this physical activity of cutting and pasting has made its way into the digital world. This trend is creative and offers a strong sense of emotion due to how the elements are cut and then layered, unfolding a story before your eyes when you look at the pieces.  

In Conclusion 
I hope you enjoyed learning about some of the 2024 design trends along with my thoughts on them. And I get it, sometimes it’s tough staying up to date on trends because they are always changing. But when you get a chance to learn about them, they can be really beneficial and make your design relevant and stand out. 

If you have any questions on design trends or need help with a design project, don’t hesitate to reach out via social media @amcreativedesign15 or my website. 

Looking to read more about trends, below is a link to the original article I read that inspired this blog post. https://www.jukeboxprint.com/blog/24-of-the-biggest-graphic-design-trends-for-2024

Happy creating! 
~Ann Marie  🙂