We made it, finally. 2020 is over. Thank god. Now, we have a clean start with 2021. Does it change anything from a Design perspective? We’ve decided to discuss it together with the team, and you can find our conclusions below. We all know that Design Trends are really hard to predict because everything is changing from month to month. Sometimes it is enough to upload a shot on Dribbble which will be successful, and a new trend will automatically start. But let’s stop trash talking and go to the proper content.
3D
I guess it’s not a big surprise. 3D will still be #1 on my Design Trends List. Why? Because it’s getting cooler and cooler due to our software capabilities and technical improvements. A few years ago a website with live animated 3D objects was almost impossible, and now we have tons of great examples that are breathtaking (but not like CP2077 :D).
From cartoonish illustration, eye-catching looped s to almost real-life examples, I think that 3D will have a giant leap in 2021.
| You may also be interested in: Top 10 Figma Plugins that we love Top 10 designs by iteo for our 10th anniversary Beginner’s guide to product design |
Experimental Typography
Something that I’m a big fan of. Bold, tech, and experimental typography. Honestly, I’m a little bit tired of our classical Antique & Grotesque typefaces which are everywhere. Every big rebranding ends up looking… boring, every new app almost looks the same. It’s great to see Experimental Typography combined with lovely Serif Typefaces slowly trending on social media (Instagram ftw!). Awesome fresh look & feel which is truly inspiring and I think this is something that we’re starting to lose. To just play with art, and make art. I highly suggest you to follow @fvckingdesign on Instagram for a daily dose of Experimental Art.
Abstract Geometry
Another great example of a highly trending style. Big geometrical shapes are combined usually with contrasting typography and noisy gradients.
A great way if you’re kind of a Branding type Designer and you’re looking for something fresh and unique. But in most cases, abstract geometry will be used in things such as Posters, Album Covers, Websites. It’s a flexible art form, ranging from stark, neon color palettes to sharp fat shapes. It makes it an ideal catch-all for the design needs of modern brands.
Interactive Websites
Thanks to advancing technology, we’re able to make more and more complex interactions on websites. It’s rather obvious that less is more, but the possibilities that we have are tremendous. From fully functional 3D illustration/games, to really complicated CSS animations, behaviors, cursor movement, or even real physics animation while changing resolutions. A great place to look for inspiration is siteinspire.com.
Nature-Inspired Design
During the quarantine in 2020, we all really missed nature. We missed leaves, wind, colors, natural light, and a whole lot of other things. It should come as no surprise that, as designers, we started to introduce more and more floral motifs to our designs to slightly liven up our works and souls, and build a platonic feeling of communing with nature.
Gold & Material Mix
In relation to 3D, more and more often we see illustrations combining gold or other metal with other materials in many different and imaginative ways. This is a great option if we feel confident in 3D, want to emphasize the prestige of the website and arouse a sense of professionalism.
Serif, Serif, and Serif!
Once upon a time, I couldn’t look at serif typefaces. Fortunately, getting out of my comfort zone showed me how wrong I was. I am definitely sure that 2021 will be the year of serif fonts. And to tell you the truth, I’m glad it will. There is something magical, dignified, classic, and artistic at the same time about serif fonts. Even visually poorly designed branding can get a second life when properly used in conjunction with the serif. Is it a gradient, is it flat or 3D. I’m just thinking. Can serif fonts look wrong anywhere?
Less Colors & Geometric Grids
Grids are simple but have a lot of flexibility in how they can be integrated into a design. Geometric grids are gaining traction as a way to structure a layout, with a clean, bold look and thicker weighted lines emphasize the square shapes throughout. Combined with g Color Less Design it may look like we are taking a step back, but for me, it is a big step forward when it comes to the visual and artistic layer. Even something like a minimal plain design can still be an engaging experience with micro-interactions, animations, and other dynamic effects. Remember! Exploring something new is always a great option when it comes to design.
No code
Developers! No worries! You will always be important. “No code” opens up a path to people who don’t know how but have an idea and vision. It removes the dividing lines between non-designers, those who only design, and those who are developers. It has been exciting to see the development of new no-code platforms. I keep my fingers crossed.
I think – this is it. These are mine and the rest of the iteo Design Team predictions for 2021. Will we be right? Probably not. Can we be right? Of course. We will probably find out everything in the middle of the year when we see in what direction it’s all going. Meanwhile, thanks for reading, remember to explore and play with art as much as you can, because only then does something timeless come into being. Thanks!
