The easiest way to curtail on the longevity of your graphics designs is to base them on trends and fads. While they are still new and hot, design trends usually seem like the best things to ever happen in the industry. However, when the trends begin to age, or a new one comes in, people quickly forget about them and move on to the next big thing in the industry.
This is why graphics designs should be rooted on the right design principles that will stand the test of time so that the designs will maintain their beauty and relevance years after the trends have all faded away. Here is a look at the graphic design trends that took the industry by storm but are now slowly dying and nobody ever thinks about them-:
Ultra detailed or Complex designs
You may have probably noticed graphic design styles with a complex composition and ornate details. The popularity of these graphic design trends was partly due to the vintage design that took the industry by storm during the late 1800s and early 1900s. During this period, graphics design featured impressive attention to detail as well as a great sense of craftsmanship that many designers found to be appealing.
Even though retro and vintage styles in graphic design will continue to be popular, there seems to be a general shift in the recent decades towards what trend forecasters refer to as “Modern Retro” style of graphic design.
Another reason for the recent shift from the detailed or complex design is the adoption of simplicity and minimalism as depicted by some of the industry leaders. For instance, Google changed their visual language in 2015, and so many designers have taken the concept, further sounding the death knell for the ultra detailed designs.
The Use of Natural Color Schemes
The use of muted, natural color scheme is another graphics design trend that is slowly fading into the oblivion. With this trend in graphics design, designers tended to base their designs solely on the natural colors that were primarily inspired by nature. But this is no longer appealing in the design world as designers are now shying away from the natural color pallets and shifting towards the use of brighter and more saturated color palettes. The use of natural color schemes was especially rampant during the late 1980s and early 1990s, but a lot has changed since then.
Mixed Typography in design
The mix and match approach of using multiple fonts in the same design was a graphic design trend which was in use for a very long time. You would see it virtually in all the places you would find graphics displayed. These included websites, social media and logo amongst other branding materials. It is never easy to combine fonts, and it can easily lead to the ruination of a design if not done in the right manner.
However, if done perfectly, it can lead to very awesome designs. But presently the trend is no longer considered hot, especially with the challenges that come with the printing of multiple fonts on the same design. As a graphic design trend, therefore, mixed typography in design has lost the steam it needed to move forward.
Monoline in logo design
Monoline logos featured designs where the elements were illustrated in a single line weight. This graphic design trend was a rage when it hit the industry but seems to be losing its appeal among the current crop of designers. It used to be a versatile style that could also be used in minimal designs but despite this, it is no longer the in thing as designers have other approaches on making their designs looks great and trendy at the same time. Monoline logo design is thus one of the graphics design trends which might not be around in the few coming years.
Badges and crest logos
Badges and crest logo types were very popular and could be found everywhere. They appealed to most people due to their ease of creation since they also came with a plethora of templates that made it easy for designers to come up with different kind of logos in this style. But just like any other graphics design trend, their days as a trend had to be numbered and presently, nobody designs logos using the badges and crest styles.
Shaped Typography
Shaped Typography is another graphic design trend you have to accept its demise. This trend featured typography arranged in a manner that it formed certain shapes. It could be the shape of anything including patterns, plants or animals. The problem with this trend is that it made the designs look similar even though they were completely different. But since designers are after freshness and uniqueness in design, this trend is no longer considered great and it joins the list of graphic design trends that are officially out of style.
Learn why you need to cut the clutter in designs here.