2024 Color and Trends
Things change rapidly in the graphic design industry. You have to keep up with the trends to stay in the game. Now with the advancement of AI, it is more important than ever to educate yourself about these trends.
Introducing Peach Fuzz
Pantone has announced the color of the year. Moving from the bold and vibrant color of Viva Magenta, we have mellowed out a bit with Peach Fuzz.
Pantone Swatch source www.pantone.com. Learn more about the color of the year here.
Leatrice Eiseman, the Executive Director of Pantone Color Institute, said Peach Fuzz is “A shade that resonates with compassion, offers a tactile embrace, and effortlessly bridges the youthful with the timeless.” .
Peaches ‘n Cream Hallmark ornament 1984/1985
Embrace: Peach Fuzz is a warm color that represents a fresh perspective on softness and a sense of community and collaboration. Pantone wants the color to serve as a color that helps someone reflect on inner peace, to feel and heal, and to help individuals focus on nurturing their well-being. Lack of a better way to say it, they want Peach Fuzz to give you warm and fuzzy feelings. I do believe this will add a warm touch to any mood board. If your desire is to convey joy or goodwill this will be a good asset to stay on trend.
Timeless: Peach Fuzz is a color scheme that nods to the 80’s. (I can’t believe I am at the age where the 80’s is vintage.). As we try to recapture our youth (now that a lot of us 80’s babies are knocking on the door of 40) we jump at anything that reminds us of that simpler time. I believe this is one of the reasons Barbie was the highest-grossing movie of last year (source). Peach Fuzz falls right in line with a lot of corporations trying to help assist us in this pursuit.
2024 Design Trends
There are more trends than I have listed below. I am listing my top 5 favorites of the list of 24. You can find the full list of trends here.
Just off the list but worth mentioning:
Reeded Glass and Glass Distortion Effects: This effect is a captivating play of textures, lights, and shadows on distorted glass-like elements. I am glad this effect is coming back. In the early 2000s when CSI Miami debuted, I was in video production and we probably overused this effect back then. It’s a simple design that makes a nice impact. It also lends itself to the organic look that has become popular.
1. Doodles and Line Art Illustrations: Doodles and line art illustrations are hand-drawn, often whimsical, and spontaneous illustrations add a touch of human personality to brands. This gives your brand a free-spirited vibe with a hand crafted feel. These charming illustrations will win the hearts of your consumers. A great example of this subtle touch is “The Farmer’s Dog” logo. The circle not being sub-metrical and the handwritten font makes think small town farmer just loves making food for doing. It gives a more friendly and inviting look to a beloved product.
2. Custom Brand Artwork (Logotypes and Illustrations): Same concept as the above trend but with brand specific. I want to focus on the logotypes. Instead of using generic fonts to create a logotype, artist have been putting their own flair on them. The first example I came across for custom logotype is Nicole Weber on Tiktok. Nicole does a fantastic job making company’s logos feel more organic. One of my favorite examples of her’s is Lost in the Forrest.
3. Natural Colors and Textures: Building further on the organic feel, natural colors and textures feature soft, muted hues, whimsical graphics, geometric shapes, and a limited color palette, topped up with simple modern typography. Giving a simple homegrown feel. A great example of this is the label I made for DAB hot sauce. When working on this design, I wanted to give a “making it in our kitchen” feel. The butcher paper and hand-drawn graphics really put it over the top.
4. Pixel: Talk about vintage. Nodding back to the 8 bit games of the past pixel art is coming back. These tiny, square building blocks of design are taking on a new life and purpose. My favorite pixel designer is dave.xp. The Pivot scene from FRIENDS is great (if you haven’t seen it click here). The way dave.xp gives moment and life to such small dots is amazing. I love this trend and can’t wait to see what other designers come up with.
5. AI Graphics: Adobe has made HUGE strides in its AI development. These AI tools are meant to streamline the workflow of digital artists to make the process easier; however, it remains a divisive topic in the design community. Using someone’s likeness without their consent is a huge topic of discussion and I am sure they will have laws put in place for their protection. The other main contention is the lack of creativity. Considering the pros and cons of these AI tools I believe they have more benefits for those who use them correctly. AI generated graphics is on the other side of the spectrum of organic or home grown. I don’t think designers should solely rely on AI to do the work for them but I do think it is a tool that can help the process.
Generative Fill - Can use the image surroundings to fill or you can type a suggestions. Pink highlight is generated. No more using the clone tool or piecing other images to make a whole photo.
The overall theme in place for 2024 is more of an organic and human feel. It’s funny as we get more into AI, we are also moving more into a humanized touch to our work. My advice is 1. to not rely on AI as your designer but as a tool to streamline the process. 2. Don’t take yourself too seriously as a designer. More clients are looking for an imperfect and whimsical design. 3. Don’t be a cookie cutter designer. Stand out. Bright colors, custom fonts, add flair. Lastly, keep up with the trends. Things change so fast in this industry. I would suggest to follow designers that inspire you. I recently listened to “Steal Like an Artist” by Austin Kleon. He states there is nothing new under the sun. Rather than feeling burdened by the pressure to be original, we should let other people’s work influence us. We should free ourselves to explore and experiment and borrow from the works of others (source). I listed a few of mine already, but the last designer that I will recommend is Will Paterson. Though his videos seem heavily sponsored, he is very good at exampling design concepts. His Youtube can be found here.