Design Trends in 2018
Our team here at ZUM has done some digging, to find out what aesthetics are in style this year. If you are interested in the future of design trends for 2018, keep reading!
1. Bright Color
Vibrant colors continue to splash onto the screen. This year will be another year of bold, saturated colors. We’re seeing intense contrasting colors favored over muted color palettes.
2. Color Transitions
The use of gradients or color transitions are still key players in backgrounds, illustrations, and filters over photography. A trend that 2018 is building upon from last year is the use of duotone. Multiple light sources, channel splitting, and double exposure are creating bold imagery. Drab lighting is out, consumers favor images that pop!
3. Typography
Typography is expanding its traditional role. It’s no longer simply used to add content, but now takes the stage as a powerful design element. Type continues to take the spotlight with more personality. We expect to see more detailed, unique, hand-drawn, bold, and responsive type in the year to come.
4. Movement
Shortened attention spans and the massive volume of media available to us today have influenced more brands to use movement to gain the attention of their target audience. This year we anticipate that there will be more animations, videos, and cinemagraphs. Animations will add visual interest and will certainly enhance user experience.
5. Illustration
Photography will always be a strong asset in design, but there is a rising trend toward unique illustrations that add personality. We are bound to see brands embrace hand-drawn or imperfect illustrations this year. Good illustration enhances the message and stands out from the crowd. It can create consistency, which is why many companies are choosing to create their own iconography and illustration guidelines.
We predict that this will be an exciting year for design. I hope these design observations have been enlightening and that you will catch sight of some of these trends in play.