Trends - Page 2

Trends / 14 Jan 2019

Brochure Design Ideas & Inspiration for 2019

Almost every designer has created a brochure at some point. And there’s a strong possibility you’ll be asked to design another! Whether it’s for a client or to promote your own business, there’s an art to designing a brochure.

And then there’s an added challenge: brochure design isn’t just for print anymore. Digital brochures are just as popular as the hard-copy versions. It’s quite common for clients to request a printed brochure with a digital shareable file of the same design.

Don’t sweat this design challenge though. We’ve put together some classic and modern tips so you can create a brochure design that looks great, and is easy to read.

Trends / 19 Dec 2018

Background Design Trends & Styles for 2019

One of the most important early design decisions you will make is what kind of background will carry a project. Should it be a single color, colorless, use trendy elements such as geometric shapes, gradients or wood grain patterns? Or would a solid background design can help make a project shine?

Staying on trend with background design styles is important as well. A trendy background choice shows that a website design is modern and the content is new. A modern visual framework can even signal a user that you are thinking about their needs and making the most of the tools that will make their experience better.

So how do you do it? Here’s a look at ten background design trends and styles for 2019, with a great option to try from each style.

Trends / 10 Dec 2018

Icon Design in 2019: The Key Trends

Icons might be one of the most important – and underrated – examples of design in your portfolio. Here’s a look at icon design in 2019, plus some great examples of inspiring icons and design work.

Icon elements are shown almost everywhere, but sometimes get produced as an afterthought. That shouldn’t be the case. A great icon design can be distinctive and add finesse and flair to a project.

Let’s take a look at what’s new, and what’s hot in icon design in 2019!

Trends / 5 Dec 2018

10 Typography Trends for 2019

Want to give your design a quick facelift? Using new and interesting typography trends might be the answer. Designers are opting for less elaborate typefaces and pairing them with bold color, cutouts, gradients, and even customizations to create lettering that stands out.

Changing typefaces or recreating an image or header in a trending style can give a design a fresh look without a full-scale overhaul. Not sure where to start? This list features eight of the biggest typography trends of the year with examples to use as inspiration for how to use them.

Here’s a look at the top typography trends for 2019.

Graphics / 1 Oct 2018

Design Trend: Using Watercolor Patterns in Web Design

Add a little art to your web design with the watercolor trend. Watercolor techniques are a popular design option because they are fun, easy to use and work with a variety of different types of content.

Watercolor styles can be used in a number of ways to emphasize your content. Whether you are considering a watercolor look for your website framework or just want to experiment with the style, we have a collection of ideas, examples, and resources to help you get started.

Trends / 19 Sep 2018

Split Screen Design: The Trend That Keeps Growing

Website design with a split-screen aesthetic is a trend that keeps evolving and growing. A split-screen design can be good for a number of reasons, including mobile compatibility and user-friendliness. Plus, many of these designs just look great!

Shifts in the trend show that there are so many different ways to create an effective split screen design that users will love. Consider this your introduction to split-screen design in the new and improved era!

Trends / 12 Sep 2018

Design Trend: Bubble & Blob Backgrounds

Have you noticed all the fluid, boundless shapes in design projects recently? The use of bubbles and blobs is trending. From simple circles to interconnecting loops, to full-screen blobs that move and shift, to simple “blobby” animations, this trend is popping up everywhere.

The nice thing is that while using bubbles and blobs is a trendy design element, there are so many different ways to do it, and you won’t end up with a design that looks like you are just trying to add a fashionable element. Here, we have a collection of mini case studies of website designs featuring the bubble and blob design trend.

Trends / 6 Aug 2018

3D Typography: An Inspiring Design Trend

An injection of realism can take a design project to the next level. With so many VR and realistic style effects gaining popularity, it is no surprise that 3D typography is part of this design trend.

Three-dimensional typography has extra depth and can be a great display option. While 3D type isn’t necessarily made for readability, it is a fun design trend that is worth a try. Here’s a look at how to get started with 3D typography (with some pretty cool examples for inspiration).

Trends / 25 Jul 2018

Art Deco Graphic Design: A Classic Trend

Add some old-school charm to design projects, with an art deco-inspired design. Traditional, classic, and vintage styles are on-trend now, making art deco elements a fun and easy way to add a touch of something the evokes classic feelings while maintaining a modern touch.

Art Deco graphic design might be a trend, but it is not a new style. The style dates to the 1920s with the greatest popularity of the style lasting for about 15 years. Art deco took off in part due to a culture where advertising was gaining popularity. Art deco graphic design was a mass-produced style and was in everything from magazines to the lines of car styles to architecture to the clothing styles associated with the roaring 20s (such as flapper girls).

Read on to find out more about this trend, and how art deco graphic design is making a comeback!

Trends / 9 Jul 2018

80s Fonts: A Retro Typographic Trend (+ Examples)

Everything about my childhood seems to be cool again. The Netflix hit Stranger Things seriously evokes feelings of the 1980s, people are buying classic Nintendo game consoles again, and everything 80s is totally rad, even when it comes to design projects.

And what makes that 80s connection quickly? It’s typography. This decade definitely had a pretty distinct feel. We’re taking a look at the 80s retro font trend with plenty of great typographic options for your projects.

Trends / 11 Jun 2018

Design Trend: Sliced Text & Typography

Purists say that you should never alter typography. Lettering should appear as intended by the type designer, or you should select a different font altogether. While this is mostly true, the exception is in the sliced text trend.

The nifty effect makes type elements look like they’ve been cut with a precision tool and can add visual interest to logotypes, headlines and simple text blocks. Sliced text effects can vary from super subtle (such as a small bit of a letter that’s missing) to major parts of words missing altogether.

The thing to keep in mind when using sliced text is that words must always be readable – what point is there otherwise? – and you should pay close attention so that unintended letter combinations or words don’t appear due to slicing. Here’s a look at how to make it work for you with some examples of designs that do it well.

Trends / 23 May 2018

What Is Holistic Web Design?

Google “holistic web design” and you’ll see a lot of results that encompass health and wellness. But that’s not really what designers and developers usually mean when they mention holistic web design.

In the most simple of explanations – we’ll dig deeper after this – holistic web design is a process of thinking about all the parts of a project, and understanding and accounting for how they connect. Great content will fall apart if the visuals are poor. And equally, the best-looking website in the world doesn’t do anything if it isn’t highly usable. These are the issues that holistic web design solves before they even become problems.

Here’s how it works (and can work for you), with examples from the Design Shack Gallery.