As they say, “everything old is new again,” and 2018 will be a year of modernizing graphic design trends from the past and diverging from the (literally) flat design landscape of recent years. Minimalism and simplification will stick around, but expect to see some old favorites make their return to the limelight with modern, updated looks.
If you’re feeling fashionable and want to add some contemporary flair to your designs, check out these 10 graphic design trends that will wow your customers in 2018.
Here are 10 graphic design trends to watch in 2018
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- Responsive logos
- Gradients
- More depth (with semi-flat design)
- Dashing duotones
- Palettes & patterns inspired by the 80’s & 90’s
- Movement: animations & GIFs
- Bold typography
- Custom graphic art and illustration
- Authentic photography
- Highly-detailed vintage
1. Responsive logos
It’s been 10 years since responsive design began to revolutionize the web, and since then it has become the industry standard. The rapid rise of mobile browsing (and an endless assortment of devices and screen sizes) has created critical usability issues for traditional websites. Designers and developers began experimenting with various ways to make designs adapt to the user’s device as a one-website-fits-all solution. This laid the groundwork for what would become known as “responsive design.”
The idea of altering logos to meet the same user demands has largely remained unthinkable… until now. Companies have been refreshing their logos into modern, simplified versions over the past few years and responsive logo design is the logical next step in meeting the demands of today.
Digital and interaction designer Abdul Rehman Shaikh created an experimental project called “Responsive Logos” to explore the creation of scalable logos for some of the world’s biggest brands.

Via_ Skype Via_ Google
2. Gradients (and we’re also calling them color transitions)

Gradient image overlay with color transition animations for added flare. Via NYC Pride

Stripe uses vibrant gradient backgrounds to compliment semi-flat illustrations. Via Stripe
In the not-so-distant past gradients reigned supreme. They were found on every website button, page header and PowerPoint presentation. Your corporate PDF wasn’t cool unless a gradient graced the cover. Then, sometime around late 2007 they were sidelined as we embraced an era of flat design.
Flat design is evolving, and gradients are making their modern-day comeback as a flat design enhancement. This enhancement is part of a design update often referred to as “flat 2.0” or “semi-flat design”. Their reappearance in iOS and adoption by industry leaders like Stripe and Instagram have solidified their popularity once again, and you’ll be seeing them in the form of vibrant UI, branding, backgrounds, illustrations and overlays.

We’re also seeing an increased use of the term “color transitions” when referring to gradients. While the terms seem to be used interchangeably, “color transition” more often refers to the modern application which is vibrant, smooth and “flatter”—fitting within flat design aesthetics.

3. More depth (with semi-flat design)

Card design for the Galaxii game app by boorykin
We’ve been seeing them a lot lately, and it’s safe to say that shadows are officially back in 2018. Like gradients, shadows were put on the back burner as we stripped realism and skeuomorphism from our designs in favor of extreme minimalism and two-dimensional design.
In hindsight, depth was a valuable tool for helping users determine visual hierarchy, input fields and calls to action on screen. Designers had been experimenting with “long-shadows” as an acceptable means to add more dimension to their flat designs when Google Material Design reintroduced real shadows as an enhancement to their UI. The idea quickly spread outside of Material Design and designers began reintroducing shadows of their own. These shadows were large, soft, sometimes colored and added subtle depth and dimension unlike their harsh, overused, “drop-shadow” predecessors.
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