What’s popular in 2024?
18 April 2024
*created by canva ai*
In today’s society, the trend cycle is like a fast food assembly line; fast paced and messy. The trend cycle is moving faster and faster the farther we go into the 21st century, it is almost a part of our culture to have trends come and go. This is evident in fashion, body image, and is even more noticeable in the graphic design/creative world. From different style typefaces to avoiding sharp corners, graphic design trends are all over the place for 2024.
Based on 2023 research and trend casting, an Adobe article titled, “Graphic design trends for 2024”, discusses the several trends to look out for in 2024. According to Adobe, the first trend of 2024 to watch out for is 3D type and bubble text, “3D type, particularly in the form of ‘bubble text’ is sure to be a trend we’ll be seeing a lot more of in 2024. As a way to make designs feel playful and joyful, bubble text has been slowly creeping into more and more designs for the past few years and even more so when combined with 3D animation.” A real life example of the use of 3D text is a Kalahari Resorts ad created by FOREAL featuring 3D text made to look like the resort name is made from a waterslide.
“From different style typefaces to avoiding sharp corners, graphic design trends are all over the place for 2024. ”
Another trend forecasted by Adobe, which is a personal favorite of mine, is color clashing. According to Adobe, “Color clashing is nothing new when it comes to graphic design. And yet, as more brands adapt to meet AA WCAG Web Content Accessibility Guidelines for color contrast, we are expecting to see more clashing and contrasting colors on our screens in 2024 with some bold, vibrant, and unique color palettes.” The popular clothing store, Urban Outfitters, utilizes color clashing to their advantage. Several of their social media advertisements and online store features different color clashing elements.
The last trend that is forecasted for 2024 according to Adobe is curve smoothing. Adobe mentions that there is a real trend of avoiding sharp corners, “Will 2024 be the year of the squircle (a shape that isn’t totally a circle, not totally a square)? Our reports point to ‘yes’. Curve smoothing has been on the rise for a while, but particularly over the last year as a way to literally smooth out those harsh edges and create some friendlier looking displays…” I can actually attest to this trend being accurate! Throughout my work over 2023, I have noticed that I have participated in the smooth edges trend. It is cool to see myself engaging in a trend without even realizing it! On almost every popular social media app, there are rounded edges featured on all elements. In the graphic design world, there are not many sharp corners left.
Discussing graphic design trends for 2024 has me thinking about what could be the next “it” design or element. Is it going to be a color that everyone is lusting for? A typeface? I cannot wait to find out.
Hi there! I’m Lauren Melville.
I love to delve deep into the world of graphic design, exploring areas like branding, typography, and advertising campaign strategies.