We’re just over halfway through the year (I know, where has the time gone?) so what better time to take stock and look at some of the design trends of 2017. We asked our Design team to list their favourites of the year so far and some we predict will only get bigger.
Duotone
Duotone images are created by combining two bright contrasting colours into an image. Duotone has really taken off in 2017 with the likes of Spotify using it in their advertisements. By combining duotone with shapes, Spotify has created an abstract, eye-catching design, which really stands out. Super simple, but seriously effective.
We expect to see more and more of this in 2017, so step away from dull colours and think bright!
Authentic non-stock imagery
Websites like Shutterstock allow people to find large amounts of stock imagery, quickly and easily. More often than not, this is usually for co-operating office images. We’re all guilty of it, but this has meant the industry has become saturated with a large amount of generic stock photos, which can sometimes stick out like a sore thumb. Creating and capturing unique photos for your website and social platforms, will not only develop your brand, but they will help you stand out from the crowd and help to create a more ‘human’ feel to your site.
Hopefully, 2017 will bring an end to the classic desk shot!
Bold Colours
If Spotify wasn't already an indication, bold colours are really starting to get some traction this year. In the past companies used muted washed out colours to come across as a bit more ‘minimal’. However, we are now seeing a lot more companies rebranding to include bolder and more contrasting colours. Not only does it stand out a lot more, it looks great in situ as well. Google’s material design tool has also helped this trend a lot with its design guideline ‘a living document of visual, interactive and motion guidance’
It’s safe to say 2017 is the year to go bold or go home with your colour schemes!
Bold Typography
Typography in the past couple of years has focused on very thin clean fonts. We’re now seeing brands using big bold fonts, which again really helps to stand out and helps to capture people’s attention. A lot of brands have a bold contrasting font for their headers, and for their paragraphs, they use a cleaner font. The Verge is a great example of this with the bold font of their title making a huge impact and the finer details in a clear and simple font.
As with your colours, it’s time to go bold with your fonts (literally!). It’s time to ditch the minimal look and use fonts as another tactic to capture people’s attention.
Gifs
At Creative Pod, we love a good Gif! and 2017 looks to be the year that they are set to really take off! However, up until recently, gifs haven’t really taken off anywhere other than social media. This all set to change, with the delightful little moving pictures expected to become an increasingly popular trend for 2017. You can expect to see them making their way into websites, iconography and much more!
Gifs are a great way to make a website feel alive and gives a website a much more interactive feel. Check out our blog on how to choose the perfect gif for more info!
