Design/ Media Trends of the next few years.
Every year around the time of new year, articles about design trends are popping up. I wanted to do something different and list up trends or movements of which I believe they will stay for way longer than a year which is in my option much more useful information, because it enables you, to learn new things which are relevant long term.
Latest update February 13, 2021
AI Tools
More and more Software Companies like Adobe or Autodesk will create better features inside their software driven by AI. already there are features like object recognition, and AI Filters to change faces inside of Photoshop. Another really popular AI feature is the Denoising of 3D rendered images.
There are also interred Standalone programs like Cascadeur or AI Gigapixel which are built around the idea of making something better than with the initial method with the help of AI.
Those tools and features will appear more and more often in the next years and can make the creator more powerful, but that will also set a higher standard.
3D
A few years ago 3D was a remarkable and special skill I even got my first job as a Motion Designer because I had some 3D skills. But nowadays you rarely find a job description as a graphic / motion designer not including things like “basic skills in C4D or Blender is a plus” So the demand is definitely there and one day it will be the standard.
Or if you are a creator, maybe it is time to learn it. Because let’s be honest, during these times, we all sit at home and play video games or watch pointless YouTube videos and TikTok most of the time.
Here is the Tutorial, I recommend to every beginner YouTube.com/Blender Beginner Tutorial – Part 1
And here is the Download Link for Blender Blender.org/Download
Online Events
Since the last year, many events never happened the way they were planned due to contact restrictions. Which meant for some event organizers to look for alternatives.
And since online events are extremely practical since they are relatively inexpensive and not limited by location. With more possibilities, this might be part of the future, especially for events such as fairs.
Facebook Alegria
Few people heard about it but everyone saw it. Alegria is the Name of the ecosystem for Facebook Illustrations and probably one of the most copied design ecosystems on the internet.
And there are many reasons that speak for it like, it is inclusive since the people shown don’t are recognizable as humans but too abstract for anyone to feel discriminated against; The style is simple to recreate and to adapt, which saved time and money and; it works really well as a simple vector file, which makes it extremely easy and well performing for web applications.
The downside is that everything looks more or less the same. It is just not interesting it is more like a placeholder.
The actual creator of this style is the LA-based design Agency Buck.
Less demand for simple easy things
More small business recognizes that it is important to also be present on the web and in media, which created the market for easy-to-use tools to create media such as Adobe Express or Canva. Also, a platform such as Fiverr profited from this need.
That means there will be less demand for graphic designers doing simple things or things for small businesses that don’t really have a real marketing budget.
Holistic Design Systems
Almost every big tech company has a Design System, a system that is adaptable for every situation and for every medium. Since it looks to become the norm, that companies are present on multiple platforms and mediums, there will be a need for holistic concepts and ideas.
Web micro-Interactions
Since Smartphones became advanced enough over the last few years to support almost everything that a desktop does and internet speed constantly increases, the web became more of a playground for designers. Websites can be bigger and more complex, which enables web developers to create a dialog instead of a monologue, a website that talks back to the user which can make communication way easier.
There most important example for this is the message got to send after clicking send on a form because without it unsettles the user. Makes him unhappy a subconsciously connects bad feelings with the website and the website owner. I think there are a lot of examples like this in which it can improve the communication of the website through micro-interactions.
There are already people whose only job it is to create such micro-interactions even do I think currently it is more part of a UI Designers Job.
VR/AR
Currently, VR and AR are more of a gimmick or a niche. But big tech names such as Mark Zuckerberg or Tim Cook think it will be the future. I think currently this is extremely fueled by the contact restrictions and lockdowns which created the need to shift more things in the online world.
Especially for Fairs, Many clients ask for VR and Real-time solutions. And currently, it is a real niche. This means perhaps it is a good train to jump on by now and maybe build a company around this field.
Human focused Design
Human focused design is the idea of designing something with the realistic behavior of humans in mind. It means to make text big enough so that it is easy to read, make things less boring so that people don’t get disinterested instantly, especially on the internet. It is about using colors with the question of how it influences the behavior of the viewer. Overall, it is about letting psychology and knowing about human behavior influence the design.
Back to basic
It is a more general development of humanity that happened in the last 20 years that people seem, to step back a bit from the current progress, that people care more about work-life balance, reducing stress, feeling connected to nature, consume less, be for minimalistic and focus on what is important.
And I think we are seeing something similar when it comes to media. Minimalism for example is a Design Philosophie that moved into the media world roughly 10 years ago. But it is more than that. People want to spend less time on their phones and also value printed media more.
