Inspiration comes from many places. Reflecting on the past year to see how design can be improved for the future is a glimpse of how inspiration can be sparked.

When we speak about design trends – trends matter because it showcases our culture at specific times: what we love and gravitate towards in that period of time. It highlights what we crave artistically as a society and how we interact with each other through specific channels.

Isometric Design

Designers are taking “old-school” two dimensional designs and elevating them to appear 3D. What is amazing about this design tactic is that small worlds are created that seem very real, with a warm sense that pulls the viewer in, more so than a flat design ever could.

Where we can see this being used the most is in tech companies, showcasing new technology. However, that does not limit the use of this design skill from being utilized in your companies’ marketing if telling the right message to your audience.

Open Compositions and Illustrations

Custom designs provide a great way for your company to stand out. While there has been a push for framed and centric designs in the past, designs are moving to use to entire space and leave them open for the viewer to think that they are only seeing part of the whole design.

With open composition, white space is a forgotten aspect of design and elements may seem randomly placed on the page, but that is far from the truth. Designers hope the viewer think there is an entire world off the page and what they see was specifically placed for that creative.

As strong and dynamic as the open composition is, it is also can be complemented by the use of custom illustrations. This is a fun, very creative way to stand apart in your logo or specific marketing elements of your brand. There has been a move toward a more delicate touch to illustrations, with use of natural elements, hoping to embody and evoke a warm, homey feel from the consumer.

Colors and Gradients

Vibrant color palettes are breathing air throughout 2019. This encompasses gradient backgrounds to image overlays to animations and infographics.

One way to really see that bright colors are for 2019 is Pantone’s color of the year: Living Coral. Pantone states that this color is to remind to nurture a positive attitude and playfulness.

The addition to gradients in the color palette can be a useful and purposeful design element to break up text or to build highlights around specific content, especially in a duotone design. The biggest shift from 2018, is not the use of gradients itself, but that they are in bright colors and becoming a main design focus area.

Vintage Flare

Although the above trends can lead to more of a modern design feel to executed creative, the use of Art Deco and Mid-Century Modern design elements can add components to a logo or advertisement where clean lines that are usually associated with a modern look.

The use of the Art Deco design elements are seeming to pop up more in the use of logo development. The typography becomes a main focal point of these incorporations with their thinner and lengthier options that are prominent to this era.

This era is also known for its opulence and ornate design. These elements include highly decorative, intricate lines and symmetry are being highlighted with metallic that make you feel you landed right in the middle of a Gatsby party.

The use of Mid-Century Modern can be seen highly in custom illustrations and combine it with a vintage bright color palette that would represent the style in great light.

Both of these design trends are a dramatic turn from the rustic/farmhouse look and feel that has been widely popular for the last couple years.

Fun with Fonts

In order to make most designs work, there must be a way to convey the message through more than just imagery. The way words are shown in the design should be well thought through if the typography is adhering to brand guidelines while matching the look and feel of the creative.

For 2019, bold fonts are in the forefront. They convey strength and innovation, with the added benefit that they are easy to read on all platforms (print, web, and mobile view). This can be seen in the Art Deco style with heavily separated letters and clean lines for legibility.

One font that seems to be making a prominent stance is the serif fonts. These are decorative and adds a tapered element to the beginning and/or end of each letter’s stem. This can help designers with any horizontal or vertical planes needed to be added in their design pieces.

Custom design can make your brand stand apart and will be crucial in 2019. Designers will look towards serif fonts for inspiration to create your company’s custom logo mark, as designers feel the serif font has a sense of quirkiness and bursting with personality.

Next Steps

2019 is promising to be a year of fun and exciting design changes that hopes to push the envelope.

When determining your branding and marketing efforts for your campaigns, contact Colleen Eakins Design to set up a consultation to learn how we can best support you.