Stay on top of the latest design trends, see what’s popular, and learn how to create design work that feels modern, current, and up-to-date.
Design trends have to be used cautiously. Just as quickly as many trends come into fashion; they can fall out of favor and make a design feel dated.
Don’t ignore them completely — testing out trends can stretch your creative muscles and help you create something you might not have tried otherwise. But do be aware of what’s fresh, what’s timeless, and what’s out of date!
Here are 10 design trends that are over (or should be anyway).
There are some design ideas and concepts that never get old, no matter how many times you see them. Today, we’re exploring these timeless design ideas that you can incorporate into your own work.
These classic concepts are often deeply rooted in design theory. They might be trending styles that cycle in and out over time. They all incorporate elements that make a website design easy to look at, interact with, read and understand.
And for that reason, these design ideas never seem to get old. In fact, you can call them timeless design styles.
We showcase a lot of design trends here at Design Shack. Not only is it fun to look at examples of new work, groundbreaking projects, and things that are growing in popularity, but it can also serve as a bit of design inspiration.
You can use trends to determine if your projects look modern, classic or just plain dated. But design trends aren’t for everyone all the time. That trend that looks amazing for one brand or project might be a disaster for another.
So how do you know when to use design trends (and when to just ignore them altogether)? Here’s your primer!
Of all the retro design styles that have been trending, mid-century modern design might be one of my favorites. The phrase “mid-century modern” is more than just a staple on home improvement television shows, it’s also a classic art and design style that speaks to an era.
The best thing about mid-century modern design is that it can simplify the complex. It was a popular style in homes and décor, as well as graphic and product design in for decades spanning the 1930s, 40s, 50s, and 60s.
Now it is making a comeback as a graphic and web design trend.
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.
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.
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).
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!
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.
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.
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.
Good design can really get you in the mood. Today, we’ve got a collection of dark and moody website designs that will help inspire you to create a distinct atmosphere in your design work.
While most dark collections have a bit of a “downer” vibe, not all of these designs have that feel (although color has a lot to do with how you feel when you look at them). This showcase is more than a gallery, we hope it inspires you to create a dark, moody design of your own.