From Tik Tok’s consolidation as one of the main social media platforms, to the Musk/Twitter soap opera, Metaverse, AI Art surge and the World Cup, 2022 was a very busy year, with a lot happening in the creative and marketing areas.
As the year comes close to an end, 2023 knocks at our door feeding our imagination with trends and possibilities. It’s that time of the year when designers turn their attention to the next Pantone Color of the Year (which is beautiful, by the way) and try to figure out what will be part of their inspirational routine in the next year.
So, with an adventurous and exploratory spirit, we highlighted 5 Graphic Design Trends from sources around the web to keep an eye on in 2023 and, perhaps, they will inspire you. Let’s get started, shall we?
1- Motion Graphics and Animations
Over the last few years video contents are only increasing in popularity, especially because of social media platforms like Tik Tok, Instagram and YouTube.
We can expect more and more brands to create animated content and increase engagement through movement and interactivity, replacing static posts and banners for reels and other short-form video contents.
2- The Blob (or bold abstract shapes)
The amorphic puddle-like shapes, called “Blob” by Philip VanDusen, are becoming a trend as an important visual element inside a layout. It can be used as a color field to compose and harmonize the layout or to mask a photo or illustration in an interesting way.
Curious fact: here at Rock Content these elements have been part of our identity and can be seen very often in our posts and visual assets.
3- 3D Elements
From 3D typography to product mockups, logos, characters, brand mascots and even virtual environments, 3D assets pop with the eye and are excellent to capture attention and provide a more immersive experience for the audience.
3D softwares like Blender, Cinema 4D, 3Ds Max and Maya have been evolving so much lately that it’s allowing many designers to give their first steps into the 3D world with less effort and high quality renders.
4- AI Art
Ok, this is by far the most polemic topic. 2022 was the year when the world watched Artificial Intelligence begin to generate images from a few words in a matter of seconds.
Midjourney, DALL-E 2 and later on Lensa have shaken up the creative community in the past few months. A mix of excitement and fear took over and while part of the people started to experiment generating every sort of image, some artists began to bring ethical implications to the discussion.
Thing is: AI Art software uses huge image databases to learn how to compile new images from prompts. Many of these database images come from artworks made by real human artists and their use is not previously authorized by them.
This is causing a major reaction from artists against AI Art as they have their work allegedly exploited by paid AI softwares and see no compensation for it. Artstation, one of the most prominent digital art platforms, has seen artists mobilizing and asking that AI Art be banned from it.
Besides the ethical polemic and the fear of what will happen to the Art and Illustration industry in the near future, it is undeniable that AI Art is a huge trend and is making the image generation process much faster and accessible to non-artists in a way that has never been seen before. There are many possibilities to explore, but a lot of discussion to happen yet on how to use AI the proper and ethical way. So let’s keep an eye on this topic in 2023 and see how it evolves.
5- Inclusive Visuals
Designing for everybody is not only a trend, but a necessity. And it should be present not only in your visuals, but also be part of your strategy and planning as well.
In 2023 we can expect brands to increase diversity, inclusion and accessibility in their campaigns and use illustrations, icons and animations with a strong appeal towards this direction.
Launched in July 2022, the 6th edition of Rock Content Magazine is a good example of how to address the subject not only with visuals but also with content.
Bonus Trend: Infographics
An extra trend we’d like to show regards infographics. The team from Venngage have put together some specific trends for infographics in 2023. According to the list, we can expect infographics with bright color palettes and making the most of animated elements.
A vintage vibe, that was so present in 2022, is also likely to occur again next year. Another tendency that may continue to increase is the use of personalized data infographics, like the ones we can see on the Spotify Wrapped.
Gradients are something that infographics have been using for a while and this should continue, but the creative use of lineworks may be on the rise through disruptive timelines and diagrams.
At last, an interesting trend is transforming data charts and diagrams into pieces of art, giving them an innovative, colorful and fresh approach.
Keep Exploring
Those were the 5 (plus a bonus) trends we wanted to highlight for the next year. There are a few more we would like to mention, like Virtual Reality, Brutalism, Y2K and Custom Types, but in the end, the truth for every creative pro is quite simple: the more you explore, the more you get inspired.
So explore, research, talk to people and experiment. I’m sure you’ll bring astonishing designs to life in 2023!
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