Influenced by the worlds of film, fashion, technology and many other industries tied to the audiovisual field or to design, the graphic design trends for 2017 will be closely bound up with them.
Graphic design trends ripple out from the colour palette we use when picking out a piece of clothing to the way we read the typefaces and concepts of a corporate identity, and the other way round. To set a trend in the world of graphic and audiovisual design, you need an evolving, synergistic process across every industry.
Long gone are gradients, bevels, borders and drop shadows; the gratuitous animations used in Flash’s golden age in the world of web design, which seemed to shine through sheer abundance and sometimes ended up looking like surplus fabric on a pair of jeans, much like those flares left behind.
Below we set out the trends that will shape graphic design work during 2017.
Flat Design is here to stay
By coincidence or by cause, alongside skinny jeans, «flat design» arrived years ago to stay, at least for a good long while. When we say «flat design» we could be talking about an evolution within it, and we could give it 2.0 as a surname.
If anything defines Flat Design it’s simplicity as its core idea and the intelligent use of elements. We strip away ornament and keep what’s essential.
The graphic design of a corporate brand will, as a general rule, follow the direction set in recent years. Big brands have been removing embossing and shadows from their corporate identity, concentrating more on elements with meaning and less on redundancy.
Within web design, as you’d expect, we’ll carry on with the flat design trend, but this is where we’ll see some evolution within it. With the arrival of CSS3, animation has been taking centre stage again for a while now (though a long way from the Macromedia Flash era); animation now has to be geared towards helping the user «read» the page. You don’t clutter, you don’t animate «just because» — you animate to help the user understand the interface better.
Patterns
Following a minimalist line and without becoming cluttered, patterns will be a big graphic design trend in 2017.
Playing with shapes that fit the established logo or corporate identity, patterns will be the stars.
Using floral motifs, or sticking to straighter lines, even working with polygons — using patterns will go a long way towards giving the graphic design material we create, such as a set of business cards, a genuinely contemporary and striking feel.
Greenery and the natural
The new pantone launched in September and christened Greenery will be, according to pantone, the colour of the moment throughout 2017. A very organic, romantic green, standing for nature, new beginnings, freshness and the environment.
Greenery symbolises the beauty of nature and, in a way or as a second reading, can be taken as a call for natural beauty with nothing added. An important draw for a society increasingly loaded with the artificial.
Drawing inspiration from nature and the elements it offers us will be essential when designing during 2017.
Using contrast
You can see it in current hairstyles, in the way people dress and in interior design.
Contrast between colours, typefaces, shapes and even materials will be one of the main tools giving our graphic design work a modern feel, and it will be a trend in 2017.
Space, space and more space
Not cluttering and giving the eye room to breathe will be another of the graphic design trends of 2017. Seeking an escape from a cramped, built-up, overcrowded society, the eye has for some time felt drawn to openness and open space.
If through our graphic design work we can give the eye a little freshness and room to breathe, it will be well received.
Breaking the rules
A graphic design trend for 2017, throughout the history of graphic design, and creativity’s number one pillar. Break the rules. Be aware they exist, but don’t cling to them as absolute truth.
Being creative can sometimes mean breaking the rules in specific situations; even forgetting current trends is a good recipe for making a wildly creative, timeless design.
Summary
- Flat design is still with us
- Using patterns
- Drawing on nature, with green as the colour of the year
- Using contrast for greater impact
- Not cluttering — treating space as another tool
- Break the rules: forget everything above. Happy 2017!
