Like music, silly dance moves, or spinny things to fidget with, certain aesthetics are prevalent in design at any point in time. And to hang with the cool crew, a designer needs to not only know what’s styles are being hyped but be on top and ahead of them (extra points for fanning the flames of the next big trend into existence while you’re at it). The direction towards which design trends gravitate and the speed at which this evolution happens provides a sense of how fast time is passing. Designers are at a point where they are abandoning the clean, minimalist aesthetic and ditching the surgical gloves so that they can get a little messy. 2k17 is an exciting time to be alive, and the fun’s only starting.
Here are the design trends we’ve seen going strong all year and will probably be seen for a while. So hop on the bandwagon if you haven’t already and get experimenting with the top graphic trends of 2017.
As an additional bonus, we’ve included examples of the stellar artwork presented at Indianama 2017 recently, alongside artwork from artists on IndieFolio.
1. Modern Retro
In the last century, through television, attempts to aggressively drive consumerism gave birth to a rich vein of design. Designers have been tapping into this old school cool – to originate a progressive style that combines the chunky shapes and effervescent colours of old with functional design principles of today. Also called ‘Retro Nouveau’ (noo-voh), this trend is not limited to any single style and can be put together in a number of ways. Be it bold colour schemes, 8-bit graphics, elaborate typography or trippy geometric patterns, the modern retro trend is all about experimentation.
From Album Art Redesign – GUNS N’ ROSES by Ketki Jadhav
Neither does retro nouveau have to be constricted to art styles from the American ‘50s. Desi designers can explore what vintage means to Indian audiences.
From BATHING ELEPHANTS by Rohan Wadke
From Book Cover: My Name is Radha by Tara Upadhyay
From Madras Highcourt – Illustration by Chandran Ravanan
2. Cinemagraphs
While a gif of Barney Stinson sent over DM is a great way to seal your savagery in the history books after roasting your friend – cinemagraphs are a different breed; they transcend the prevalent reputation of the gif as being a medium only appropriate for cheap laughs. Cinemagraphs have the ability to make statements more poignant than “habuuuuurn” or “catch me outside how bout dat”. The combination of motion and stillness, seamlessly looped to create an endless scene, has a certain hypnotic quality to it.While gifs are already being used routinely in blogs to deliver humour, cinemagraphs are a novel format that allows the exploration of more sombre themes. This is why it can prove to be a valuable tool in your arsenal. It has the potential for much originality and creative implementation.
From Cinemagraphs by Parth Damani
From Cinemagraphs by Bosco Pereira
3. Colour Transitions
While solid coloured elements in design have been the way to go for a while now, people have been more keen to give the gradient another shot after Instagram pulled off its logo change. As is the trend in any evolving ecosystem, styles and methods that become the norm are ditched for a breath of fresh air that is the exact opposite, until that too becomes stale and a synthesis of both approaches is adopted. We take the best of both worlds and turn the dial however much we want towards either extreme to reach our desired outcome.
Such is the case with colour transitions. The new applications of the gradient in graphic design also involves the use of flat elements to create a balanced package. Combinations of contrasting, vibrant colours can be used to achieve a look that is modern but also exciting in ways that grab the viewers attention in a minimalist design era.
From GRADIENTS – An Experiment by Muhammed Sajid
From Mind. Body. Soul: Brand Identity for a Yoga Genius by Shreya Shah
From Letter “o” Redesign by Sunny Soni
From Jhakaas! by Anukriti Arora
4. Geometric Design
This is perhaps the only trend that has been on the “This Year’s Top Design Trends” ever since the listicle was born. Geometric Design has never gone out of style, we take inspiration from polygons and crisp edges, and the satisfying symmetry of the mathematical world, turning them into exciting implementations every year.
From Emerge Website by Mansi Majithia
One iteration of geometric design that has been trending since last year is low poly design – which obtains its name from the many polygonal facets that combine to produce a 3D image. This style is based on the aesthetic that early 3d video games and animation rocked when limited technical capabilities meant that we had to ‘settle’ for jagged characters.
What we get in low poly design is a beautiful amalgamation of 3d and 2d illustration that can be futuristic, innocent, stark, and immensely satisfying to look at. This is a design trend that is here to stay.
From Dire Wolf by Anukriti Arora
5. Material Design & Flat 2.0
Before this turns into another comparison of apples and androids, let us just introduce the radical (possibly healthier?!) viewpoint of looking at these iconic styles for what they are: great avenues for creative exploration. Over the years, Flat Design has evolved alongside Google’s Material Design concept to produce a clean yet intuitive visual framework for web design and app design. Unlike the flat designs of old, Flat 2.0 takes cues from Material Design and incorporates the use of layers, muted colours and even shadows and highlights (although not in excess) allowing the designer to explore more appealing compositions. Skeuomorphism is still out of the window though. Although, like gradients earlier, we are arriving at a stylistic synthesis of flat and 3D.
From Assam Tourism – Rebranding Concept by Alakesh Baishya
From Mi App by Amit Rajput
It’s never too late to start incorporating these design trends into your work. All of the trends we’ve mentioned here are facing towards the future, and will only branch off and be developed further. The combination of these trending styles can lead to more original work. If you need more inspiration, be sure to check out the wealth of work put on display by artists at IndieFolio. We’ve also done articles in the past on logo design ideas and recent logo redesigns, which further feature these design principles and might provide you more insight on the evolution that design is undergoing right now.
This blog can be addictive. We know you must be craving more so here’s more:
This article was written by Mickey Thibault. If you want to contact him for feedback, send him an e-mail.
