Infographic: 2014 Global Design Trends

Think, for a moment, about the web and graphic designs of yesteryear. What springs to mind? Do you recall the “grunge” and “retro” look? Or when everything seemed to feature silhouettes of excited crowds? Or when everything seemed to have round 3D “glassy” buttons? Or when everything was all handwriting and layered textured backgrounds? Or when stripes and chevrons reigned supreme?

Maybe you’re having a hard time recalling specific examples, but I’m willing to wager you’d recognize these design elements when you saw them. And furthermore, I’m willing to wager that you’d recognize them as being outdated. Popular design trends work as a shared, if temporary, visual language that helps communicate your current ideas.

Here at Dowitcher Designs we know good design goes beyond trends. But we also know how important staying “fluent” in the design language of the moment is for your marketing. That’s why I found this infographic from Shutterstock.com on 2014 design trends to be particularly useful. Shutterstock analyzed browsing and download data on their site to develop design trend predictions for the coming year.

Some interesting points:

• Drawing from the pervasiveness of Instagram and other photo apps, the “filtered” look will be popular for imagery, as will the “flat” look (think anti-3D).
• Design trends vary on a country-by-country basis — France is very much into black-and-white visuals, Brazil is captivated by geometric patterns, Canada loves its conceptual icons, and the US is focused on business & technology imagery.
• The most-shared images on social media platforms tend to feature vibrant colors, shallow depth of field, typographic quotes, and landscapes.

Scroll down to see the full infographic, and when you’re done let me know in the comments below what trends you see making it big in 2014.

Infographic: Shutterstock’s Global Design Trends 2014