Incorporating trends into design

Trends in design come and go over time, leaving us in a world that is constantly changing around us. It’s exhausting to keep up with this constant shift sometimes and it is important not to be left behind when trying to reach an audience. So should we be incorporating these trends in our design? The answer is a tough one and open for interpretation.
An important thing to remember about trends is that they represent an era or time period; who could forget the highly fashionable shoulder pads and leg warmers of the 80’s, or trends like creating 3D letters on absolutely everything. When we design something using current trends it will one-day be looked at as being a part of that era in design history. With this in mind, it is important to take into account the length of use for an item when creating a design solution. Things with shorter life cycles like posters, fashion items, cards, and diaries, will theoretically be on display for a set amount of time where it is much safer to use current trends. However other areas like corporate branding, logo design, and anything that can’t easily be redesigned, needs a solution which not only appeals to the current market but will continue to do so once trends have changed. This suggests that sometimes a more timeless design solution is more appropriate.

So how do we find the balance in using current trends?

Do your research

Remember that initial idea that pops into your head when you hear about a project? These initial thoughts may have influences from current trends, and existing ideas which we’ve already seen floating around. Sometimes it’s hard to break past this initial thought and develop it into something which stands out and apart from what’s already out there. This is why it’s important to do some careful research and find ways to incorporate inspiration whilst still creating an original design. What could be an acceptable design solution can become extraordinary with a well-researched conceptual approach.

Don’t over use trends

Don’t be that designer who didn’t know when to move forward. When everything looks the same it is hard to effectively reach people and create something which stands out. Trends might be popular but this is not a strong enough reason on it’s own to justify using them.

Find the best design solution

The best solution for something may not necessarily involve a particular trend in the industry. To effectively incorporate a current trend into a design it needs to fit with the brief and be useful in reaching the viewer and/or potential customer. In other words the design needs to call for a trend.

So while using trends helps us to reaching an audience it is important to only use these trends when it is suitable. It is also important to ensure that in using current design trends, we don’t loose our ability to push ideas and concepts to their full potential. So maybe we need to take a step back and look at current trends with a wider perspective and remember that one-day we will be looking back on these design trends as a past phase.

Blog written by Amy Sonter