Top 10 Design Trends for 2023

I love how the start of each new year brings fresh ideas and inspiration for all of our creative projects. This year’s design trends are brimming with new takes on old styles, new ways to use cutting-edge digital tools, and new approaches to colour, shape, texture and more.

If you’re ready to join me – and get in on that new-year energy and inspiration – these top-10 design trends are for you.

?1. New year, new colour??

Let’s start with the va-va-voom Pantone Colour of the Year, Viva Magenta. According to Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Colour Institute, Viva Magenta “is a playfully disruptive colour that bridges the gap between the physical and digital worlds.” For over 40 years,?Pantone?has been the go-to colour matching system for not only the design industry, but also paint, textile and plastic manufacturers. Suffice it to say, they know colour – and this year’s selection is a whole vibe.?

2. Geometric shapes are back?

Did they ever leave? Simple shapes inspired by the Bauhaus style continue to gain popularity because of the trend toward simplicity. These shapes feel comfortable and friendly, as many associate this style with childhood and the first shapes they learned. These shapes are easy to work with and inject a thread of continuity when used throughout a multi-page piece. Or as seen above a quick and clever way to add interest to a still shot that would work in photo’s and videos.?

?3. AI isn't done shaking things up??

Have you played around with?OpenAI’s DALL-E 2?yet? Since its public release, the AI-powered image generator has impacted the design world in a huge way, causing us to re-evaluate our attitudes toward copyright and human creativity. Whatever your feelings toward the tech, it’s clear this trend is here to stay. And with notable brands like?Microsoft?and?Notion?releasing their own design tools featuring built-in DALL-E integrations, you can bet we’ll only see more AI art in the year ahead.?

4. Design goes 3D?

Ready to take your creativity to a new dimension? Tools like Cinema 4D and even the latest updates from Adobe are making it possible to dip our toes into the world of three-dimensional artwork. 3D art can turn a simple phrase or tagline into a rich visual experience. So get creative and start thinking outside the 2D box!??

5. New ways to illustrate brand personality?

Branded illustrations aren’t just for big brands like Dropbox and Mailchimp anymore. The style is gaining popularity among smaller brands as well. When done right, branded illustration is so original and unique that it can quickly become synonymous with brands themselves – even when separated from the logo. Google, for example, leverages the eye-catching power of this design style in its famous Google Doodles.

6. Visualizing stories through complex compositions?

Storytelling is at the heart of graphic design. And when the story we’re telling is complex, illustration is an effective way to pack a lot of punch. Complex compositions show the power of illustration to roll several “scenes” or layers into one. One character might be?examining a brain, analyzing how the brain reacts to virtual reality, measuring gambling habits in an aging population or assessing mental health in our world today?– all in the same composition.

While these designs are dense, they keep the viewer’s eye moving and represent the multifaceted nature of our world . The scenes lend themselves to landscape orientations, making them a favourite on website headers or as featured images for articles and blogs.

7. Marketing in motion?Developments in ad technology have made it easier than ever to create and display high-quality, moving images for both indoor and outdoor advertising. You may have noticed the many small, animated graphics vying for your attention these days – on websites, at bus stops, outside malls or randomly placed in city squares. Brands don’t need million-dollar budgets anymore to show their brand in motion. By adding movement, they’re creating new layers of depth and turning audiences’ heads.

8. Taking design to the max?

In recent years, the pandemic inspired many of us to declutter and embrace minimalism – and that philosophy was evident in design trends too. Well, this year, we’re headed in the complete opposite direction. (Sorry, Marie Kondo!) As a design style, maximalism is all about rejecting the common rules of graphic design that you should keep it simple. While traditional design yells, “less is more,” maximalism cries, “more is more!” With the use of bold colour combinations, layered images, prominent typography and repeating motifs, this style can’t help but grab your attention.

One notable aspect of maximalism for this year, shown in the images below, is the use of variable fonts, along with typography that switches between condensed and expanded styles to maximize the use of space.

9. Risoprint reimagined?

Risograph is a printing technique developed in the mid-80s by Riso Kagaku Corporation in Japan. In 2023, risograph printing is making a bold – and reimagined – return for digital, abstract graphics. Notice how its grainy textures add depth and noise to minimalist shapes? When depicting real characters, risograph textures and colours are combined with exaggerated caricatures and simplified features, transforming the familiar into the unfamiliar. Talk about a unique, sophisticated way to make your audience do a double take.

10. Abstract gradients continue to evolve?Gradients, or colour transitions, have been on trend for a while now – and yet, somehow, they manage to keep designers on our toes each year. Gradients in 2023 are no exception: this time, they’re expressed in abstract shapes and diffuse blurs. Owing to their soft colours, gradients are naturally calming, and the fluidity of abstract gradients bolsters this effect.

Take a look at these product packaging examples to see how the oblong, organic forms create a feeling of weightlessness, in harmony with their effervescent colouring. The noisy edges add a touch of realism, almost like windswept, multicoloured sand. Considering gradients don’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon, there’s also comfort in their reliable presence.?

Fresh ideas for a fresh year

There you have it – the 10 design trends that will be making waves in 2023. Did anything catch your eye? Follow?@uwaterloocs?for more inspiration!

See original article for sources.