Design & Branding

16 07 2024

10 graphic design trends you should be using in 2024

Just like social media trends, there are also trends in graphic design. We see trending audio and challenges across many social media channels, but graphic design trends are also important. These trends can include certain colours, symbols and characters that can be crucial in your designs in 2024.

While maintaining design individuality is crucial, incorporating current graphic design trends can have several advantages. Certain design features or elements can influence your audience. Showcasing that your brand is modern, up-to-date and keeping up with your competition can greatly impact the desired results of your design. Certain design trends can be used to communicate your message in a timely and effective way.

The graphic design industry often evolves in tandem with the world of fashion, beauty, and interior design. Jumping on this trend signals to your audience that you are present and engaged with up-and-coming design styles.

Source: Looka

To help you and your marketing team, we have been doing research on the top graphic design trends for 2024, and here are our findings:

1. AI Generative Images

AI-generated images are not new, but they have advanced greatly, particularly in the last couple of years, transforming the graphic design landscape.

Using Imagen on Canva, we asked for ‘An image of a purple deckchair on a beach’, and it generated the following:

Then we asked for an umbrella and a sunny sky to be added, and it generated the following:

Not only can they create greater efficiency when it comes to resizing or changing styles, but they can also be a great tool for brainstorming.

2. Geometry

In 2024, we see the use of geometric shapes back on the rise. Geometric shapes are classic and timeless, and according to exploding topics, another reason they are trending is that they are the first shapes we learn as children and are often associated with familiarity and approachability. As consumer demand for transparency increases, geometric shapes are a great way to convey this message through elements and symbols.

3. Nostalgia

Nostalgic designs are making a comeback, particularly from the 1960s and 1970s. While the designs themselves are not simple, they bring a level of comfort as they are recognisable and can bring fond memories to the forefront of our minds. Nostalgia designs also bring graphic design back to the basics of a time without tech advancements in AI.

4. 3D Visuals and Fonts

According to Adobe, 3D type, particularly in the form of “bubble text”, is sure to be a trend we’ll see much more of in 2024. 3D visuals can be used to make designs feel playful and joyful.

5. Maximalism

Minimalism had its time, and now it is all about maximalism. Maximalism is an excessive use of shapes, patterns and colours. Maximal designs provide a sensory overload. They demand attention and are sure to catch your audience’s attention.

6. Bold minimalism

Following on from Maximalism as a graphic design trend for 2024, we will also see a lot more bold minimalism in designs in 2024. Bold minimalism is exactly what it says: a minimalist design with striking elements to make a statement.

7. Sustainable look / natural

In an era where we are becoming increasingly environmentally conscious, it is no surprise to learn that sustainable and eco-friendly design styles are being used more in 2024. Using natural colours such as browns and greens and elements such as wood and leaves are great ways to showcase sustainability and being environmentally friendly. Even if your design does not say the words ‘eco’, ‘sustainable’ or ‘environment in the text, these design elements help to portray that message.

8. Hand Drawn / Doodles

In a world where AI dominates, hand-drawn elements such as doodles or characters can bring authenticity and a personal, human touch to your graphic design in 2024. Doodles are also more friendly and less intimidating; we will see them used more this year.

9. Vibrant colours

In previous years, we have seen more use of neutral colours such as whites and beiges, but now there is a shift towards more vibrant and bold colours and, in some cases, even clashing colours being used together. These can help your design stand out in a noisy world, create excitement, and be more engaging.

10. Inclusive Visuals

Finally, you may have noticed that more inclusive visuals have been added to designs recently. Across the world, we have seen a greater shift in responsibility to reflect the true diversity of the world around us, and graphic design is no different.

To Sum Up

Graphic design trends in 2024 are not to be ignored, particularly if you want your designs to have an impact. However, it is still important to stay true to your brand identity and use these trends where appropriate.

Whether you are looking for digital or print designs, we can help! We have helped hundreds of businesses across Kent to showcase their brand through social media templates, business cards, brochures, vouchers and more.

Check out our graphic design work:

Graphic Design

Written by Hannah O’Toole

Social Media Marketing Manager

Her day-to-day role at We Do Marketing consists of Social Media Management, Content Creation, Campaign Generation and Digital Marketing. She has worked in Marketing for the past 14 years, in many different countries and across a variety of industries. She has gained broad knowledge in all aspects of Marketing, from long term strategy and marketing plan to social media campaigns and content creation.

Get In Touch

Written by
Hannah O’Toole

Social Media Marketing Manager

Get In Touch

14 02 2024

Strong Branding: Is Your Brand Letting Your Marketing Down?

Lydia Design & Branding

You are active on social media, have many visitors on your website, and feel like you are doing all the right things to market your business, but you are not reaping the benefits. Does this sound familiar?

Why is this happening?

The chances are you need to go back to the basics and look at your brand. In this article, we will uncover what a brand actually is (it always surprises us how few people know what a brand is) and what makes a strong brand. From this, you will be able to make a real success of your marketing efforts.

Let’s start by looking at what exactly a ‘brand’ is

Many people may think of ‘logo’, ‘company name’ or ‘visual identity’, but a brand is so much more than that. It is beyond what just sits on the surface. There is a reason the brands ‘Heinz’ or ‘Ford’ have been so successful, and it isn’t only because they have a strong logo and visual identity (although that helps).

A brand refers to every experience that affects the customer relationship between a product or service and its buyer.

This may be a scary concept that EVERY experience affects your brand, but it is true. From how you present yourself on social media, your user journey on the website, your team answer the phone, the way your product is packaged, the list goes on….

So, how do you make a strong brand to maximise your marketing efforts?

One exercise we do with all our clients is to review your entire customer journey. Pinpoint where people can find your brand (social media, Google, etc) and then map out each step of the journey to purchasing your product or service. It doesn’t stop there; how about after-sales or account management?

At this point, you should be thinking, what could be improved at each step? Are you proud of that step in what it says about your business? If not, then you should iron out the creases and make some changes. These changes don’t have to be huge, they can just be tweaks such as making the process a little simpler, more efficient or enjoyable for your prospective customers.

Here are some key things to look out for at each step to reap the benefits of your marketing efforts.

Messaging & target audience

Are you speaking to the right people who want to purchase your product/service? Unless you are Heinz (and have their marketing budget!), you should try and focus on 2-3 key target audiences rather than everyone and anyone.
Once you have identified who you are targeting, focus on how you speak to them. The tone of voice, interests they may have, and pain points you can help overcome. Think about how they can relate to your brand and think – ‘I like this company, so I want to work with them.’
This messaging must translate to your social media, website and other marketing efforts.

Visual

How your brand looks is still very important to strengthen your marketing efforts. For example, you can say all the right things, but if they aren’t visually appealing or the formatting is off, the chances are they won’t be successful.
How your brand looks visually is also important to stand out from competitors and align with your values. If you say you are innovative, ensure your logo or colours don’t make you look old-fashioned.
Our top tip is to ensure your brand looks visually consistent EVERYWHERE. One key way your brand can let down your marketing is through inconsistency in fonts, colours, and styling. A strong brand always looks the same and is very easily identifiable.

Here are some cool brands we have worked with to help their internal brand SING externally.

Website

Ask yourself, how easy is it for people to purchase from you or get in touch?
Your website may not be doing what it needs to because of your customer journey – which is a key part of the relationship you build with new prospects and, therefore, a key part of your brand. If prospects find it difficult to find a product, check out, or navigate to what you actually do, this can cause frustration, and immediately, you have broken down that relationship. And guess what? It’s so hard to rebuild a broken relationship.
An example of this is Amazon – they have become the go-to brand for service and delivery, all because their website and service delivery are unparalleled.

Visit some of the websites we have recently designed and developed and check out our recent article on website design trends.

Now that we have established the key considerations for a strong brand from which your marketing efforts can flourish, you can decipher which channels are best. Think about where your audience is spending their time. Don’t focus on Facebook if your audience is younger, and likewise, don’t focus on TikTok if your audience is older.

Once you master the above, it should be smooth sailing and of course, if you do need more support, we are always here 😉

Written by Lydia McKeown

Marketing Director

Lydia founded We Do Marketing in 2016 and has chartered marketer status. Lydia acts as a Marketing Director for a select few of our clients and works with the team on the client’s strategies. She does lots of consultations with new clients and runs our discovery sessions. She also writes client marketing plans and strategy which feeds into all of the marketing we produce or plan for our clients.

Get In Touch

Written by
Lydia McKeown

Marketing Director

Get In Touch

22 03 2021

Why Should Businesses Invest In Graphic Design

Lydia Design & Branding

So when and why should you invest in graphic design?

The most obvious time you might need a designer is when you need a logo and a brand for a new business venture or product. A strong visual identity can work wonders for your business. I’ve summarised a few reasons below.

Stand out amongst your competitors

A strong visual identity will help you stand out from the crowd and make you more memorable. Design is a differentiator and it can help strengthen your current brand or product and can be a mechanism for growth.

Attract the right target audience

Design and marketing go hand in hand – good brands know their target audience and how to appeal to them. The choice of typefaces, colours, style of photography and icons are all used to appeal to different people and create different emotions.

Colours have become synonymous with certain industries or qualities and designers use them to communicate the type of business or product it is, pulling in your brand values to help you reach your intended audience.

For example:

Blue = professional services, trust, loyalty
Purple = luxury, royalty, sometimes spiritual
Yellow = happiness, optimism, creativity
Red = love, energy, strength, bold
Green = fresh, natural, healing
Black = sophisticated, glamour, strength

One of my favourite examples is the cereal aisle in the supermarket, think about how many different types of cereal there are, it’s quite clear when you look around what cereal has been designed to appeal to children, ones aimed at females, healthy eaters or men looking for a protein kick.

Change people’s habits / perceptions

The strongest brands go as far as changing people’s perceptions or shopping habits. The biggest challenge designers and marketers face is how do I get my customer to do X Y or Z? And a strong brand has the power to help.

Some of the most prominent brands changing people’s perceptions are the eco-friendly ones like Ecover or Method – brands that have identified a gap in the market and developed a product to fit but have also invested in a strong brand with clear brand values that’s communicated clearly through their packaging.

But graphic design isn’t just about logos and visual identities

Yes, they’re an important step and a building block for future design work but ultimately graphic design makes things easier to understand.

People process graphics a whopping 60,000 times quicker than text and with social media and the internet being such a huge part of our lives, graphic design has never been more important or more prominent. Everything you look at online has been designed (it might not be good, but it’s been designed).

Improve data presentation

If you’ve got lots of statistics or information to format, graphic design can help you communicate them more effectively. We love infographics because they help us take information in quicker and are able to retain it easier.

The same goes for if you’ve got a 100 page word document in Arial 10 – it probably looks long and boring with no breaks in the page and it’s likely the important information gets missed. A designer can help make documents more legible and user friendly, enticing a reader to delve into your report, pulling out key bits of information.

My top tips:

Invest in design

According to Design Council Research, for every £1 invested in graphic design, they gain a £4 net operating profit. Design can add value to any business, so set aside a budget for graphic design – no matter how small.

A logo and visual identify doesn’t have to cost the earth and there’s plenty of affordable options around on freelance marketplaces such a Fiverr or Upwork or local freelancers who don’t charge big agency rates.

If your budget stretches further, it’s worth investing in a good graphic designer who can help you create a strong brand and communicate your message visually.

Be consistent

If you can’t afford a designer to prepare a logo or brand for you and you do it yourself, be consistent – choose a colour palette and typeface and stick to it, identify a style of photography or icons that work for you – all of these things help to create your visual identity and people begin to recognise, remember and associate you with it. When you think of Lydia or I Do Marketing you immediately think lilac/purple!

Need help with Graphic Design?

Graphic Design Services

Get in touch

Written by Lydia McKeown

Marketing Director

Get In Touch

Written by
Lydia McKeown

Marketing Director

Get In Touch