These Design Trends Will Inspire Your Next Projects

Design is all about transforming the plain into something special. Of course, while designers are looking into the future while thinking of 2021 trends, the impact of coronavirus is a major factor. However, some themes were already affecting interior design before to Covid-19; the virus simply accelerated them. The solution to expensive solitary living, multigenerational housing, became increasingly important after the quarantine isolated grandparents from grandchildren and autonomous offspring returned home.

So, let's take a look at how 2021's designers are shaping the decade's destiny.

Abstract psychedelia

Psychedelia is connected with creative exploration and has its roots in the music and culture of the 1960s. It seems to fit the times: psychedelia's wild imagery fosters independence, and the idea that designers are no longer constrained by traditional limitations.

Symbol trend

In design, the little things matter. A nation can be united by colored bars on a waving flag, while a simple red octagon can save lives at a busy crossroads. Symbols like these have long been associated with universality. The power of classic symbols resides in their capacity to transcend language, whether it's in the form of delivering warnings or defining a cause through shared iconography. In the year 2021, designers will use this capacity to create aspirational icons of resilience, growth, and empowerment.

Retro-futurism

The sci-fi dreams of a bygone era, is appealing for the spectacular ways in which the past got it wrong. By now, we were expected to have flying cars, ray guns, and robot maids. Instead, we have Roombas. Retro-futurism as a visual style, on the other hand, has endured through the ages thanks to its strong imagination and an unexpectedly positive outlook—at least more so than our present visions of doom in series like Black Mirror. Retro-futurists believed in human advancement to the point where even terrifying green Martians in flying saucers would be no match for our technological prowess.

Authentic representation

The Black Lives Matter movement is a once-in-a-generation global protest movement. We are optimistic that this is merely the beginning of a reexamination of systematic discrimination, and that its ramifications will be felt across all industries in 2021, including graphic design. In illustration and stock photography, we've already seen designers try to avoid using models in favor of real, diverse individuals. Not only that, but we imagine that this will go even further in 2021, beyond mere inclusivity to a celebration. 

Bold characters

Good design can tell a story. Great design makes that story unforgettable. Many graphic designers want to abandon abstract images in favor of humorous characters by 2021. And the more character these characters have, the more unforgettable they are. This movement is centered on concept illustration, which provides not only character poses but also individuality in the form of a hand-drawn approach. The notions themselves—suit-wearing animals and anthropomorphic sushi—indicate a much-anticipated return of levity and oddity in the months ahead.