As we embark on a new year, designers are focused on one thing - Design Trends! Understanding and applying trends is key to create stunning artwork that sells and loved by the audience and clients!
Here's what we're expecting in 2024!
Click on the image above to see inspiring examples with links for all of our trend predictions
Calming Rhythms
Adobe Trend research team identified and named this visual style as calming rhythms 🙂
The repetition and visual rhythms of this style are often used to create more pleasing compositions in graphic design. This trend is very calming, relaxing, and positive, and we predict designers will incorporate it into their work!
3D Gradients
Although gradients in graphic design are nothing new, we expect to see a rise in 3D gradients this year. This trend uses irregular gradients, usually produced by using either static or animated 3D objects or environments. This trend can be applied pretty much to anything from typography to product shots and it is already widely utilized on the Web.
Midjourney prompt: Soft, beautiful, calming, abstract 3d gradients
Source file 2, 3 Unknown
Hover over or drag examples below to interact with 3D gradients created with Spline:
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Stretch & Inflate
There are lots of reasons why this specific visual trend is on the rise. First of all, Adobe Illustrator's Inflate feature, introduced a couple months ago, makes it super easy to turn 2D vector shapes into inflated 3D objects!
This trend generally carries a positive vibe, and designers are likely to incorporate it into their work.
Examples of Adobe Illustrator's Inflate feature created by FREEPIK
Bento Grids
This style is inspired by Japanese bento boxes, and we're here for it. We expect designers to use this style for presenting their portfolios, slides in presentations, creating editorial and web design content!
Doodles
Simple doodles, sketches and cartoon characters are huge at the moment and we believe they will become even more popular this year. They can be used independently or mixing them with photography or even 3D renders!
Pixels & Dots
In visual communication, it's all about getting your viewers' attention, so anything that stands out is going to work! There's a lot of contrast in this style, and that's why it works so well. We are used to looking at super high-resolution screens, so anything pixelated will stand out.
This year we're expecting designers to mix pixelated details with smoother and softer details to create visuals that stand out.
Source file 1
Generative AI
There is no doubt that generative AI will have a massive impact and influence in how we interact with images in 2024. It was already a major disruptor last year!
However we have a couple of predictions that about AI that we expect to see:
- Anti-AI - This could be anything from images mocking generated imagery or making a statement by clearly utilizing non AI methods.
- AI-ism - This trend will embrace the quirks and mistakes or hallucinations of generative Ai and instead of trying to hide them is going to emphasize them in compositions.
- Detailism - Magnific AI and similar tools used to create endless resolution and details by enhancing pixel images. Watch our video about this incredible and revolutionary tool to learn more.
Detailism
AI-ism
Watch our complete 2024 Design Trends tutorial for more information and examples:
Keeping up with what's trending is important for designers. The term trend refers to anything popular, so pay attention to what people watch, eat, and wear and take inspiration from them!
It is important to keep in mind that trends can emerge, get oversaturated, and disappear quickly. Rather than following trends blindly, designers should take inspiration from them and combine them with their own unique styles!
Stay tuned as we will soon release 2025 design trends in December 2025
Disclaimer: Sources & Credits
The images we used for our trend blog were pulled from various online sources that captivated us, including talent designers, photographers, and painters. While we try to give them all the credit they deserve, sometimes we make mistakes or are unable to trace the source of the image. If you see anything we shouldn't have used or need proper crediting, please let us know, and we'll make it right 🙂
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