The flow of time is fast and irreversible: what was popular yesterday is long forgotten today. The same goes for all spheres, including art and graphic design. As an illustrator, you just have to stay in the course of all trends in graphic design to please the eyes of people. It can be frustrating to keep up with the ever-changing tastes and preferences of your audience, while also ensuring your designs remain fresh and engaging.
Together with Shakuro’s team of illustrators, we will explore the emerging art and graphic design trends for 2024, providing you with valuable insights and inspiration to elevate your strategies. Whether you’re seeking to enhance user experience or create visually stunning products, this article is a must-read to alleviate your design pains and break through the clutter of tendencies.
Commercial brutalism
Brutalism in graphic design is an expressive style with rough shapes, a lack of patterns, and the use of raw materials. This aesthetics focuses on straightforwardness and honesty while emphasizing the power of products.
You can use it in web design, posters, and advertising, adding an edgy and avant-garde character. Some companies use elements of brutalism in their logos for bold and modern brands to stand out among their rivals.
Poster by Los Caballos
Dadaism
Dadaism is a provocative anti-art, counterculture, and a protest against recognized artistic standards. The movement was born in the club Cabaret Voltaire. In their works and performances, the club participants tried to capture the absurdity that gripped Europe during wartime and express disgust at the bloodbath.
Posters for the transport museum by Oleg Borodin
The Dadaists considered one of the main reasons for the outbreak of the First World War to be the degradation of bourgeois consciousness, the apathy of high society who had forgotten how to formulate meanings. Through their performances, the avant-garde artists wanted to give shock therapy to world culture, to return to the state of a “blank sheet” and start talking about life.
All these trends in graphic design arose as a manifesto for everything bourgeois, pompous, and overly decorative. As the world around was changing towards simplification (especially after the appearance of the first canvas at the Henry Ford plant), the world of art was changing too.
Using this trending design, you can break free from traditional constraints and experiment with unconventional and unexpected visual elements.
Geometry nodes in Blender
This is not an innovation, but rather a very popular tool for modification. A lot of authors make 3D add-ons or material packs and publish them in the public domain. It often happens that you like the add-on but you need a few tweaks. Blender is a powerful 3D modeling program that is used for creating motion and graphics. If you have a basic understanding of geo nodes in Blender, you can edit the add-ons to your taste and make cool customized things.
However, just like in any other type of illustration, you need to level up the basic skills first: composition, design, color, light, post-processing, observation, and technical knowledge of the instrument itself. The rest is just seasoning.
Activism
In 2024 and upcoming years, more designers using their platforms to address social and political issues. They highlight trendy topics in ecology, economics, etc., and spread the word to attract others to the problems through visual communication. This trend reflects a growing demand for authenticity and purpose in design, as consumers seek out products and experiences that align with their values.
The arts supporting activism are heart-touching pictures, full of creativity, with short mottos, bold typography, and vibrant colors. They make you think about world issues, inequality, and injustice.
Illustration by Alex Nabaum
Anti-AI
Artificial intelligence and smart algorithms have become an integral part of our lives, a technical trend that’s being adopted by all businesses. They automate most of the minor tasks, speed up the working processes, generate images and videos, and brainstorm ideas. For many people, this AI expansion is a threat: some have already lost their jobs and are replaced by smart algorithms.
53% of Americans say Artificial Intelligence is doing more harm than good. So more and more designers and artists go against using AI. While fighting the automation trends, they even create special tools like Nightshade to spoil their digital art and ‘poison’ the training data for machine algorithms. As a result, AI makes more and more mistakes during text-to-image generation. We can only guess how many artists are going to use the tool, and how this race between AI and humans will go.
Image that shows the poisoning process (taken from the official research)
Take advantage of the upcoming illustration trends
The future of illustration and graphic design is set to be defined by a fusion of technology, unconventional creativity, and a heightened sense of social consciousness. As we move into 2024, it’s crucial to embrace these graphic design trends and use them as a springboard to create designs that resonate with your audiences on a deeper level.
Implementing the latest trending designs into projects requires experience and skill. Contact us to create apps or websites with meaningful art corresponding to the tendencies.
Insights, advice, suggestions, feedback and comments from experts
As an expert in art and graphic design, I understand the ever-changing landscape of trends and preferences in the industry. Staying ahead of these shifts is essential for illustrators to captivate their audience with fresh and engaging designs. In this article, I will provide valuable insights and inspiration on the emerging art and graphic design trends for 2024.
One of the trends gaining momentum is commercial brutalism. This aesthetic style embraces rough shapes, raw materials, and a lack of patterns. It emphasizes straightforwardness and honesty while showcasing the power of products. Companies are incorporating elements of brutalism in their web design, posters, and advertising to create a bold and avant-garde character that sets them apart from their competitors.
Another trend to watch out for is Dadaism. Born as a provocative anti-art movement during wartime, Dadaism was a protest against traditional artistic standards. Dadaists aimed to capture the absurdity of the era and express their disgust at the bloodshed. By challenging bourgeois consciousness and the apathy of high society, they sought to strip away the decorative and pompous elements of art. In graphic design, Dadaism can be seen in heart-touching pictures with bold typography, vibrant colors, and short mottos that make viewers reflect on world issues, inequality, and injustice.
Geometry nodes in Blender are a popular tool for modification in 3D modeling. Many authors create 3D add-ons or material packs and share them in the public domain. If you have a basic understanding of geometry nodes in Blender, you can customize these add-ons to your liking and create unique visuals. However, mastering the basic skills of composition, design, color, light, and observation is crucial in any form of illustration.
Activism is another significant trend in 2024, with more designers using their platforms to address social and political issues. By spreading awareness through visual communication, designers highlight trendy topics in ecology, economics, and other areas. This trend reflects a growing demand for authenticity and purpose in design, as consumers seek products and experiences that align with their values. Activism-inspired art often features creativity, bold typography, vibrant colors, and short mottos that make viewers contemplate global issues, inequality, and injustice.
While artificial intelligence (AI) and smart algorithms have become integral to businesses, some designers and artists are pushing back against their use. As AI automation threatens job security and creates concerns about its impact, designers are creating tools like Nightshade to "poison" the training data for machine algorithms, leading to more mistakes in text-to-image generation. This ongoing race between AI and humans raises questions about the future of art and design.
To take advantage of these upcoming illustration trends, it is crucial to embrace a fusion of technology, unconventional creativity, and a heightened sense of social consciousness. By incorporating these trends into your projects, you can create designs that resonate with audiences on a deeper level. If you're looking to implement these design trends into your apps or websites, don't hesitate to reach out to us for meaningful art that corresponds to these tendencies.
Remember, as an illustrator, staying up-to-date with these emerging trends and leveraging them in your work will help you please the eyes of your audience and stay ahead in the ever-evolving world of art and graphic design.
