In this article, we’re going to take a look at what the graphic design trends of 2023 will be. You’ll see that some of the trends which are popular right now could be making a comeback in the not too distant future.
From this new year, the graphic design trends 2023 are undoubtedly the most anticipated by creatives. Do you want to communicate in a more visual way and dazzle with disruptive ideas? Take note! ✍️ We show you an assortment of styles and techniques that you can apply in your designs.
In this renewed list that we have prepared for you, you will discover the most popular graphic trends that will continue to impact the coming year. Typography, color gradients, icons, 3D design and illustration of geometric shapes are some of the elements that will dominate the graphic design trends 2023 and that you cannot ignore.
We know that the field of design is quite wide, so we also share the best advertising design trends in 2023. Also, if you want your headlines or logos to be durable over time, we recommend you review the 30 vintage fonts that your customers will like.
We are sure that these latest design trends will help you expand the limits of your imagination and translate them into your ideas. Are you ready to meet them?
- Graphic design trends 2023
- Illustration trends and styles
- Trend colors 2023
- Advertising design trends 2023
- Grunge trend in advertising design
- Most popular graphic design techniques
- Emoji design: icons don’t go out of style
1. Graphic design trends 2023
What will the world of design bring in 2023? The latest research from Coastal Creative mentions that chaotic designs will be imposed next year.Will we say goodbye to harmony and readability? Well it seems that 2023 will be about chaos and confrontations (in the design of course)
Take a look at the top trends that will set the tone in graphic design for the coming year. 😎
Maximalism, the 2023 design trend that opposes minimalism
This trend, which was born as an opposite response to minimalism, mixes explosive colors with retro and futuristic designs. If order is not your thing, maximalism is the style that will fit your preferences.
Instead of incorporating symmetrical and conventional colors, maximalism uses eccentric and daring colors to achieve a feeling of “organized chaos”, without being tied to any rigid scheme. And you, which team are you from? Maximalism or minimalism? 🤔
Technodystopia, the design trend that prevails in the pandemic
The apocalyptic theme has been imposed with force this 2020 after the arrival of the coronavirus. And it is that, without a doubt, the mystical and chaotic reflects the new normal in which we live: viruses, gas masks, androids, etc. And 2023 will be no exception.
Surrealism: Fantastic as a Design Trend 2023
This type of perspective is an optical illusion that sometimes ‘tricks’ the human eye, as it is created by different sizes and planes. Many people believe that these surreal images have been manipulated in an Adobe program, such as Photoshop, Illustrator or others, but, no.
This is a human visual perception technique; And with the arrival of graphic design trends in 2023 it will adapt to bright colors, generating a fantastic sensation that will attract attention. Let’s keep up with more graphic design trends 2023.
Minimalism – one of the hottest design trends
In recent years, minimalist and flat designs have been seen that little by little have attracted the attention of the digital world. “Less is more,” recite a familiar phrase. In this type of design heavy elements are eliminated for the view, so that the content has more presence. This is how Brian Dixon, Creative Director at Grady Britton, puts it:
“In line with the ongoing pursuit of transparency and honesty in marketing, the design will continue to eliminate additional style and embellishment, and move towards a much simpler and more direct presentation.”
For example, the Nike sneaker brand has mastered the art of combining color and creativity while ditching some unnecessary elements to deliver eye-catching images. Thus, in his designs to demonstrate complexity and opacity in fine lines, without breaking the fundamental principles of modern minimalism.
The look of virtual reality
When this new visual tool was unveiled, it was only thought that it would be for the physical world, but with the passing of time this ‘exclusivity’ was left behind, opening the way to the graphic world.
Its wide-panorama, curved backdrops add a sense of depth to designs. What invites the user to see beyond the obvious. Many designers are experimenting with augmented virtual reality and large technology companies, such as Microsoft and Facebook, are investing a lot of money in the development of related products, in order to generate more positive changes in the world of design.
The Power of Collage: Among Rising Design Trends
As children we used to paste many photos and images to create a collage of our own preference. We did it for play or to entertain ourselves, but by 2023 this spontaneously created compendium of images will serve as inspiration for your designs. Many artists are mixing elements that clearly do not belong to the same universe, such as illustrations and photographs.
This is one of the design trends that does not look for a perfect and uniform finish. The collage technique manipulates and intervenes the elements, generating torn images, with angular edges and white outlines. The effect is to divide the line between contrast and harmony. The union of these disparate elements are projected in a kind of unique beauty.
Digital animation design
Although it sounds repetitive, animation is one of the most effective and powerful ways to bring a brand or character to life. It is about giving a feeling of movement to graphics, drawings or images. The new updates of the digital animation programs will bring new proposals for 2023.
They are a considerably relevant trend in graphic design, as it is not only very popular in the entertainment industry, it is also related to the design of functional web pages. This plays an essential role for the user to understand how the platform system works and guide them towards a better experience.
The ‘Old School’: among the most popular design trends
The publicity stunts of yesteryear, to capture consumer attention, have been mostly effective. Today, graphic designers are drawing inspiration from ideas and styles from a diverse spectrum. In fact, more design projects now feature colorful blobs, freestyle squiggles, organic textures, and amazing brush strokes.
This change of mind has professionally unearthed the imperfect or crude side of art. As a result, designers are slowly emerging from the cocoon of rigid grid-based elements into a new world of asymmetric approaches. An example is the so-called retro Synthwave, a trend that emerged in the 80s with Hollywood films and that has recently “revived” with the success of the Stranger Things series, set in the eighties.
Fonts for Graphic design 2023
Typefaces have played a fairly important role in trends this year. For example, some beverage and fashion brands have opted for this resource that we already saw since 2019.
The outlines in the texts appeared to stay, with kinetic typography being one of the main enhancers. We can see this graphic design trend 2023 in projects such as Dia Studio , which uses this type of typography and the repetition of words.
Remember that the use of these typographic resources will give versatility and balance to your compositions. Do you dare to use them?
More geometric shapes in the design
The trends in graphic design in 2023 will continue to bet on geometric shapes instead of abstract figures.
The flat trend and the minimalist era have evolved. Added to this is the asymmetry that has revolutionized the UI (User Interface) world. The result has brought with it a new way of looking at basic shapes and colors in designs. The symmetrical and asymmetrical shapes of the colors have been reborn and are part of the new trend. We can see its use reflected in branding , for example.
2. Trends and styles of illustration
Illustration with 3D models: among the new trends
3D modeling is everywhere and has established itself as one of the 2020 illustration styles. Although 3D modeling is associated with the world of animation, other artistic techniques have seen the representation of three-dimensional objects as a source of inspiration for their creations. This is the case with some illustrators who have taken the principles of 3D modeling to give a sense of volume and movement to their illustrations.
Web illustration
It is one of the fastest growing styles of illustration in recent years , and it will continue to grow in 2023. It is about the illustrations of characters, cliparts, icons and other elements that a website needs to be functional and intuitive. Hence it is also known as an illustration for UI (User Interface).
In fact, character illustration has had a huge impact on user interface design. These visual representations that, in many cases, pretend to be the users themselves, allow customers to interact on the webs or applications in a simpler and more friendly way.
In 2023, the illustration of characters for web and apps will continue to maintain the basic and stylized shapes and the presence of few (or no) details in the faces. As for colors, there is a predominance of cold colors, such as blue, green or purple.
Remember that the objective of these little humans is not to distract or overwhelm the user, but to facilitate their navigation on the web. There are even platforms like Freepik that allow you to configure and animate (to your liking) these types of illustrations.
Illustration of asymmetric bodies
Despite being aware that bodies are diverse, we have become accustomed (since childhood) to seeing illustrations of muscular and stylized characters. Heroes and heroines with voluptuous or perfect bodies, right?
Fortunately, that is changing, thanks to one of the illustration styles that this 2023 reminds us that bodies have different shapes. “And what happens if we illustrate bodies as they are?” Some artists wondered.
Thus, the illustration of non-normative bodies (outside the norm or the established) works under the concept of asymmetry. In other words, it is the illustration of bodies that is close to who we really are . Cool right?
Digital illustration with traditional look
It is one of the illustration styles in trend this 2023. This is mainly because it emulates the characteristics of traditional illustration. That is, the artist uses drawing programs or applications that offer brushes and tools that allow him to give a traditional finish to his illustrations.
It is well known that drawing and design software, such as Photoshop or Procreate, have a wide variety of brushes with pencil, watercolor, marker, etc. effect. Who says the traditional look has gone out of style in illustrations?
After all, entering the world of digital illustration does not mean you have to forget about traditional illustration concepts. This style of illustration is a great option if you want to make the most of the digital resource offer.
3. Trend colors 2023
What will be the main colors of 2023? Pantone Color Institute has revealed some of the 2023 trend colors that you cannot miss, and yes or yes you should use them in your projects.
We start with Classic Blue, a timeless, solid, elegant and simple color; Amber Glow, a color that helps us express ourselves creatively; Samba, a red tone that conveys good energy; Sandstone, earthly color that transports us to nature and the outdoors. This color guide will help you choose your color palette in all areas of design.
Not sure how to create a color palette? Calm down! Check this note and find out what the trick is.
Color gradients
The color gradient (also known as ‘ombré’) is a trend that has been used in recent years, and will continue to set the tone for 2023. The use of different colors causes a great impact on users, and has been a source of inspiration for many designers.
The gradient, well worn, transmits a modern and “millennial” touch to the brands that use it. Such is the case of the famous social network, Instagram, which in its latest logo has fused colors to reflect how “vibrant and diverse” its platform is.
This trend has also been used by Apple, for the launch of its Apple Card, reflecting a modern card with brighter colors, leaving behind the unitary color palette (which is very common in physical credit or debit cards)
4. Advertising design trends 2023
Typography is an essential part of advertising design, and this 2023 the protagonists will still be the lettering fonts. This type of font made by hand or inspired by traditional writing has gained popularity due to its personalization and human character.
Some brands prefer the closeness that these fonts convey. And if before they were used as a decorative element, today they have a greater presence in posters, advertisements and advertising windows. Robust, colorful or stylized fonts, which also evoke a retro and nostalgic style. It is one of the advertising design trends 2023 that remains in the middle.
Double exposure
This trend consists of merging two images that can give you different forms of creative advertising photography: reflections, silhouettes or compositions with infinite possibilities.
Movies and series have used this resource to convey the theme of a dystopian world. This 2023 ad design trend will put a twist on your posters.
7. Grunge trend in advertising design
The trend of the nineties is characterized by bright colors and the diversity of musical genres. The grunge style, influenced by punk and graffiti cultures, broke the rules of design and the “status quo” to experiment with a new disruptive form of advertising.
This trend is back stronger than ever in 2023. The return of street art to graphic design is a reality.
6. Most popular graphic design techniques
With so many changes that have taken place in 2020, we know that, like every design professional, it is important that you update yourself with the most powerful graphic design techniques.
We leave you some that you can do in the software of your preference:
✅Overlap: This technique consists of superimposing several drawings, giving more dynamism and a sense of depth to your projects.
✅ Foreshortening: When designing characters in comics, comics or graphic novels, this technique will help you have different perspectives and give it more realism. Enhance the illustrations of your favorite characters in Photoshop with these FREE brushes.
✅ Smudge: Do you want to give your design a blurry look? Well, this technique is for you. All you have to do is use different thicknesses of brushes, until you find the desired effect.
7. Emoji design: icons don’t go out of style 😊
Icons are a powerful tool for visual communication, and emojis have become the favorites. And it is that, not only can they be used in social networks to generate interaction, because also in design they allow creating a reaction and transmitting moods.
With a simple emoji, you can communicate meaning in less space than words. So give your design a twist and involve them creatively, without losing the essence of your message.
Try the emoji design why not?
Now that you know the graphic design trends that await us for 2023, it’s time to translate your ideas into Photoshop, Illustrator or the software of your choice. How about starting with the Photoshop online course from scratch that Crehana has for you?
See you in the next article!
