12 Design Trends to Keep
an Eye On in 2023
Every year, it’s exciting to see what direction design will take because we can express and communicate more than we think through design. By 2023, designers have turned the tables and changed the context. So, if you’re ready to discover the design trends that will mark 2023, you’ve come to the right place! You’ll find a compilation of 12 styles to try for your brand or business in this list.
Here Are the 12 Design Trends for 2023
1. Have Fun With Geometric Abstract Shapes
2. Choose 3D Design to Get Closer to Reality
3. Feel Nostalgic for the Retro Times
4. Take Design to the Next Level With AI Art
5. Let’s Make Room for Inclusive and Diversity Visuals
6. Discover Expressive and Experimental Fonts
7. Play With Candy-Colored Colors
8. Welcome Back to the Y2K Era
9. Say Yes to All Types of Gradients!
10. Serif Fonts Are Also Coming Back
11. Minimalism With a Pop of Color
12. Bring Life to Your Designs With Natural Elements
1. Have Fun With Geometric Abstract Shapes
2023 is a year full of changes, and to start on the right foot, we begin with the first design trend of the year: abstract geometric shapes. These amorphous elements will turn out any design into something creative! The key to making them stand out is to include various forms with vibrant and contrasting primary colors. Just be careful not to oversaturate to keep a clean and aesthetically pleasing look. Also, we recommend adding a couple of regular geometric shapes like triangles, circles, and rectangles to have balance.
Note: this style perfectly suits branding, packaging, and social media assets.
2. Choose 3D Design to Get Closer to Reality
This design trend has stood out since 2020 in the digital and offline world. It’s ideal for giving realism, volume, detail, movement, dimension, and depth to any illustration, logo, product demo, and even typography. This peculiar effect makes each piece look realistic, which is why many artists have been inspired by everyday life to create 3D elements.
3. Feel Nostalgic for the Retro Times
It isn’t a surprise that we yearn for the good old days as years go by. Such is the case with this graphic design trend that creates nostalgia for those who enjoyed the retro days. Since 2022, the 60s, 70s, and 80s vibe are definitely on the top of the minds of so many designers. So, if you’re part of them, we recommend adding these elements to create an authentic retro style:
- Emphasize facial expressions.
- Add bright color palettes
- Include starburst stickers
- Incorporate bubbles, ovals, waved rounded and thick fonts.
4. Take Design to the Next Level With AI Art
While artificial intelligence isn’t something new, there was a boom in 2022 with the arrival of many incredible and entertaining novelties like Dall-E2, AI copy, and even an AI manga filter launched on TikTok. So many users worldwide were fascinated by how AI works within seconds and the unexpected results it generates. And graphic designers and creatives weren’t the exceptions.
So for the upcoming months, we expect to see more of this modern invention moving into designs. Not to replace what designers do but to influence, enhance and give a dynamic twist to any idea to showcase unique, revolutionary, and unimaginable design pieces.
5. Let's Make Room for Inclusive and Diversity Visuals
To begin with, diversity and inclusiveness isn’t a trend; it’s a practice that should be embraced and endured over time. As years pass by, we’ve seen more general openness from brands and society. But 2023 will be all about design. This means the design is ready to include more and more graphics and photographs of different ethnicities, genders, sexualities, ages, abilities, conditions, cultures, regions, personalities, and more. Through design, we can foment more powerful messages and graphics to keep us all together and celebrate uniqueness. So it’s time to create illustrations, logos, icons, mockups, videos, and much more to include all our worldwide community.
6. Discover Expressive and Experimental Fonts
This design trend is based on experimentation and personal expression. So don’t limit yourself and play with widths, heights, depths, dimensions, fonts, styles, and colors. In the end, it doesn’t matter if it’s hard to read because that’s what it’s all about! These are the fonts you need to challenge the limits of legibility and take the expression to the next step.
So get your hands on your canvas and start experimenting with your creative side until you create a custom typeface or break the traditional patterns.
Pro Tip: If you don't feel that adventurous, look for fonts that are stretched, knotted, amorphous, crooked, or far away from the conventional.
7. Play With Candy-Colored Colors
If you like colorfulness but aren’t into bright colors, then candy pastel colors are the best choice for you. This 2023 design trend presents a calm, aesthetic, minimalist, delicate, friendly, cheerful, playful, and youthful look. So your best allies are pink, blue, yellow, green, and purple in a soft hue.
Although anyone can use these beautiful and delicate tones, they’re more proper for skin care, baby clothes, beverages, candies, wellness, home decorating, fashion, and 3D elements.
8. Welcome Back to the Y2K Era
Another long-missed era that is making a comeback in 2023 is the y2k. That 2000s era is once again iconic and popular. So if you want to give a touch of y2k to your designs, try incorporating the following:
- Star icons,
- Experimental and twisted fonts,
- Grunge, pastel, bubble gum colors,
- Cyber-inspired graphics,
- Icy, pink, and purple hues,
- 3d shapes, gradients, geometric shapes, glitter, metallic textures, grid backgrounds.
9. Say Yes to All Types of Gradients!
Since 2021, this design trend has been hype among interns and designers. Why? Because of their multi-colors that go amazing with pretty much everything. But this 2023, they won’t be only used in the traditional ways. This time we’ll see various unexpected blurs and liquid textures to get a glossy look. But keeping a minimalist style in mind to bring harmony, calmness, and attractiveness to avoid overloading.
So, bet on incorporating these gorgeous effervescent gradient colors not only into backgrounds but also into shapes, typefaces, logos, and whatever illustration you want to convey an aesthetic look.
10. Serif Fonts Are Also Coming Back
This design trend focuses on typefaces, specifically serif fonts. Those elegant but simple letters, characterized by having strokes on the ends of each letter, are becoming popular for 2023. Even since 2021, a year in which many brands redesigned their images, opting for this classy typeface style. So, if you want to convey or project security, tradition, and honesty, this is the best option. Plus, you’ll ensure you’re being inclusive, as these fonts are easily readable even for people with different vision conditions.
🔥 You might like: How to Choose the Best Fonts Logos for Your Design
11. Minimalism With a Pop of Color
This fabulous design trend started in 2022, mostly with packaging, but same as other design trends, this style pretends to be translated into more designs to take simplicity to the next level. This colorful minimalist design trend brings bold, vivid colors but keeps the essence of minimalism. Although it’ll carry bold colors, it doesn’t mean everything is saturated. Instead, the color will serve to liven up and give an unforgettable look to any design. Keeping a clear, clean, tidy, and chic style of minimalism.
This trend mainly came about to try new things and experiment with different design angles. So are you ready to try a vibrant and happy approach?
12. Bring Life to Your Designs With Natural Elements
Over the years, our culture has focused on preserving the environment and taking initiatives to help us care for the planet. And this year, 2023, is coming with great expectations, in which this natural wave returns with more strength having as protagonists botanical, organic, and natural elements will be winners. These elements with green waves will be a favorite because they provoke freshness, tranquility, and balance. Also, this organic wave shows us that we can be ourselves naturally and without masks. So to start implementing natural elements:
- Muted colors are great for this 2023 trend,
- Add lines and play with patterns,
- Show your authentic side and opt for diversity and inclusion,
- Add natural components such as trees, plants, seeds, flowers, and clear skies.
And… That’s a Wrap!
