Design Trends for 2024
This year is all about personality and personalization. We’re jumping out of the mundane and designing to engage interest, activate emotion, and ignite the senses. There’s no more time for humdrum. Instead we’re ready for relatable, meaningful, engaged experience that’s right for us.
RAW MAXIMALISIM
Cluttercore, color rich graphics, Cyberpunk, Brutalism, and anti-design are used to break the grid with the idea that more is more. While sometimes seen as unrefined and unfinished, this approach is a powerful and demands attention when finessed by a smart design eye.
Landscape design is also employing this idea replacing manicured lawns with eco-friendly gardens with lush color, beautiful scents, and a nod to beautiful Wabi-sabi imperfection.
TEXTURES, MODERN NATURE
Trigger the tactile senses with texture and natural materials. Because we relate textures like silky and smooth to luxe or refinement and rough and scratchy to adventure or ruggedness, texture adds to our experience and helps tell our story. And as we grow more eco-conscious, modern companies are turning more to natural elements for print and packaging. Because of durability, biodegradability, and lack of toxins, natural materials are a smarter and more sustainable choice.
COLOR
For 2024, color is drifting away from the jewel tones and aligning with more neutralized hues such as Pantone’s Peach Fuzz and C2’s Thermal. Still, there are some bold, sensory igniting choices such as Benjamin Moore’s Blue Nova. Whatever your choice, gradients still hold the bar when adding depth and interest. Now with a twist, abstract gradients are the new evolution.
EXPRESSIVE TYPE, STYLISH SERIFS, TREATED SANS
The resurgence in serif type is 2024 and it’s bold. A lot of brands traded their serifs for the sans serif trend and lost a bit of their identity. Many have even taken serifs to a higher level with expressive, personalized type, such as graffiti. And while sans serif still remains a big player in the game, it’s being embossed and recessed to create more impact and interest.
PIXELATION, DOODLES, PATTERNS
In a unique blend of modernity and tech nostalgia, pixelation is en vogue. From fashion week to web design, pixelation and digital destruction draws inspiration from our early video games while acting as a bold counterargument to clean, tech-centric design. Doodles add interest and demonstrate, individual personality, and the feeling that the artist is mid-creation. This character-inducing approach is also prevalent with patterns, which connect us to tradition and allow for endless creative exploration.
BETTER EXPERIENCES, TRUSTWORTHINESS, CLEAN FUNCTION
“I love standing in line,” said nobody ever. Customers need ease-of-use to engage with you. Jumping through hoops, navigating confusing systems, and waiting to pay demonstrate that you just don’t have it together and make for a poor experience. Poor experiences result in bad reviews and the appearance that something is broken or untrustworthy. There’s too many phishing and fraud scams to risk half-baking your brand. Make it work!
So what’s happening this 2024 are better, modern experiences that relate to our senses and reinvent nostalgia. And whether any of these trends are right for you one thing is for sure – personality is on display and here to make a statement.
Here’s to your stylish 2024.
Patrick Baxter, Creative Design
Baxter Christenson inc.