Design Trends of 2023
In an era where creativity knows no bounds, the landscape of design is constantly shifting! Read on to discover some of our favourite design trends of this year so far…
1. Kinetic Typography
Kinetic type offers a modern, engaging, and versatile way to communicate and present information. By animating typography, brands can express extra emotion and create their own ‘rhythm’ too. The NRK Visual Identity (watch the D&AD Video here) is a prime example of this in use. They created a fluid type face for their logo so that it can expand and contract into different spaces. This creates a form of typography that can be used both online and in print to make unique patterns and combinations. This trend will likely be here to stay as more people begin to experiment with ways to bring motion into their visuals, as it is known to be far more engaging in a fast-paced and short-attention world.
2. Candy-coloured Palettes
These palettes just POP. This trend is characterised by the use of pastel colours, neon hues, and bold, bright shades, often inspired by sweets and confectionary. It’s fun, inviting and playful, which is why it’s coming into popularity. Brands like Birdwingo can be seen using such colour palettes to bring some life and excitement into otherwise ‘dull’ subjects (in this case, investment).
3. Themes of Nostalgia
Nostalgic design allows us to step back in time, reliving moments and aesthetics that hold a special place in our hearts. It offers a refreshing escape from the complexities of our modern world. There are a wide variety of brands returning to their roots such as Pepsi, Burger King & Eurostar. This move reflects a broader cultural shift toward embracing nostalgia as a marketing strategy, tapping into the emotional resonance. It is common for designs to come full circle eventually, but it certainly seems like now is the time to look back and enhance previously used branding.
4. Eco-conscious Designs
It’s no surprise that the world is becoming more and more conscious about how we can protect our planet. Design plays a big part in this as brands are beginning to create packaging and styling that is eco-conscious, yet still practical. Smarties are a fantastic example of a brand that has turned to 100% paper packaging that can be recycled. With this, they could have just kept their original style. However, they went the extra mile to include the actual paper in the design and even add a slogan about recycling. It’s likely other Nestlé products will begin to do the same but Smarties certainly set the trend here!
5. The Evolution of AI
No one can deny that AI is simply a part of the Tech-lead world now. Even with its limitations, it’s impossible to say that it can’t create beautiful and detailed imagery. The tools become more powerful by the day and can be used to produce highly detailed, colourful and complicated illustrations. It is creating a blurred boundary between the real and the imaginary. This is another trend that is likely to carry on for years to come, and it will become even harder to tell the difference…
6. Complex Compositions
Visual storytelling is getting both more literal and more abstract through the use of complex compositions. Typically focused on illustrations, these compositions contain several “scenes” rolled into one. The combination of multiple characters and scenarios creates the possibility to unravel the story behind your brand, or the product you are selling. Wired Health have used this style to convey multiple components of health care for a set of visuals for an online event they hosted. It’s common to see works like this on large billboards, tube station adverts or any other big surfaces that have the space to include all the detail and not lose any of the story.
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