Similar to the fashion industry, websites and graphic designs regularly update their look to reflect changes in trends and consumer taste. ‘Flat’ designs, drop shadows and mixed typography are all past trends that have been widely adopted and are still used today. 2018 will be a year of modernising these past graphic design trends and ensuring they remain fresh and add contemporary flair to your designs. Below are four trends to look out for in 2018 and incorporate into your designs.
Responsive logos
With the rise of mobile browsing and a magnitude of different sized devices on offer, designers had to develop graphics and website designs that would dynamically scale to be viewable on any screen size – this became known as ‘response design’. Now an industry standard, responsive design will further develop in 2018 to include responsive logos. The trend centres around the idea of a brand’s logo scaling up or down in size and content depending on the screen it is being viewed on. Designer Joe Harrison created the below example of what responsive logos could look like and how they might display at different sizes.
Examples from Joe Harrison‘s “Responsive Logos”.
Duotones
As the name implies, duotones are two-toned images that have recently found new life in the digital space. Traditionally created through a printing process where one halftone is printed on top of another a contrasting colour, duotones can now be created using imaging software or even image filters commonly found on social networking apps such as Instagram. The trend has been made popular by the music streaming service Spotify who has been using duotone images within their app and websites. The use of bold colours on beautiful designs is predicted to be one of the hottest trends of 2018.
Examples of Spotify’s use of duotone and a product packaging design by :: scott ::
Palettes and patterns inspired by the 80’s and 90’s
The bright colours and electric hues of the 80’s and 90’s continue to gain popularity and will become a prevalent design trend in 2018. As designers move away from ultra-flat designs, geometric and abstract patterns inspired by the era will make their way into mainstream media. As people who grew up in the 80’s and 90’s become more influential as target audiences and brand ambassadors, this trend helps to reach out to them and evoke both excitement and nostalgia.
(Left) Write Sketch &’s funky throwback print. (Right) Nordic.design’s clean and fun site.
Movement: animations and GIFs
You may not have heard about microanimations, but chances are you’ve definitely seen them. They’re the small animations that play when you perform a task on a website or app such as liking a post on Facebook, receiving a notification or signing in to a website. Microanimations are used to communicate with users and help them to perform tasks. They also give the impression that the user is manipulating an interface which can add to the user experience.
(Left) Microanimation for Google. Via Adam Grabowski (Right) Contact Sync’s animations. Via Ramotion.
GIFs will continue to dominate larger animations in 2018 due to their simplicity, applicability and their appeal to audiences. You can add interest to your ads, emails and website by including GIFs that can be shared or that provide valuable information in a short burst. It’s not only GIFs that will grow in popularity this year, but cinemagraphs are also making a comeback. Cinemagraphs are essentially still photos with a small portion moving on a loop – such as a tree swaying in the wind while the rest of the image is perfectly still. They create intriguing and surreal images that will be sure to capture the attention of your audience. Given they can also be shared as animated GIFs, expect to see more of them on websites and social media platforms in 2018.
Cinemagraph via Reddit