Trends for 2018 (1st in a series)

As we start a new year, our team has been researching trends that will influence and impact the creative, advertising and marketing space in 2018. In the coming weeks, we'll introduce these trends in a series of blog posts.

In the first post of this series, we're looking at trends in "design and graphics".

Trends in Design & Graphics

In the era of digital art, graphic design trends can evaporate as quickly as they emerged. What has been modern for the past few years may look entirely outdated in 2018. While some trends have stood the test of time, others have vanished in the blink of an eye only to make room for new, more modern looks. So let’s take a look at what some are saying will be the hottest graphic design trends in 2018.

The “Glitch” Effect

The corrupted image, i.e. the glitch effect, has been one of the most popular trends in the digital world lately. Apparently, what was once annoying for the viewer has now been turned into a truly wanted effect. Obviously, horror movie fans have been familiar with this one for ages.

The “Ruined” Effect

As far as we can tell, contemporary graphic designers have been obsessed with the “art of destroying”. Everything that includes splashing, scratching, ripping off, breaking or any other form of ruining the aesthetics of a composition is considered modern for 2018.

“Color Channels” Effects

Playing with color channels has been widely popular among designers. The technique allows designers to create great illusional effects. A holograph, a hallucination, a distorted reality... all of these are highly influential on the viewer which makes “color channels” one of the top graphic design trends in 2018. The holographic design trend, which has been a huge hit for several years, is now falling behind in comparison with the other futuristic trends. While it’s still glamorous and mesmerizing, we’ll see less of holographic designs in 2018.

Double Exposure

Double exposure has been a thing for several years now. Despite the fact that some designers have put this technique aside for a while, we definitely see a rise of double exposure designs which amaze the viewer. Variations include "Double Exposure Duotone” and "Double Light”.

Cropped Typography

Cropped typography was a hot trend for 2017 and is still hot for 2018. The art of erasing parts of the letters while still keeping their readability requires a lot of creativity and professionalism. The effect is 100% worth the effort.

Negative Space Designs

We named negative space a positive trend not because negative and positive attract each other in physics, but because in graphic aesthetics negative space techniques evoke quite positive emotions. In its nature negative space is an “empty” space in the design which forms a certain distinctive shape. The technique is one of the most popular ones lately and it still holds the leading positions.

Colorful 3D Substance

Bright colors plus a 3D composition is an absolute winning combo for 2018. With so many graphic design trends fighting for the leading positions in 2018, bright colors are certainly on the top of the charts. And how can they not be when all clients say is “Make it pop!” And yes, bright colors can certainly make a design pop. In our opinion this will be one of the strongest graphic design trends for 2018. 

Metallic Elements

As an addition to bright colors, metallic elements enter the world of graphic design to create the “Wow” effect. Often combined with other hot trends such as 3D compositions and creative typography, this trend brings the effect of a real-life composition.

Color Transitions & Gradients

When Instagram changed its logo back in 2016 into a colorful gradient, nobody thought this trend was going to become so huge. It was just the beginning of its rise. Despite the fact that many weren’t sure about this design technique, we are seeing more and more of these colorful gradients.

Stay tuned for the next in this series, appearing on our blog soon!