Top 5 Graphic Design Trends for 2021

After a year of lockdowns and disappointments, it can feel as if creativity has disappeared and left a dark vacuum in its place. However, creativity hasn’t left the building. You cannot hold down the world of graphic design for long and the colour and vibrancy of this year’s trends are just what we need right now.

Get inspired to learn graphic design with these trends

Whether you are into colour contrasts or monochrome images, there is a graphic design trend that you can love and make your own. Build your graphic design courses portfolio by trying out some of the top trends for 2021.

1. Abstract psychedelia

Born in the 1960s, the original psychedelia movement reflected an age of new freedoms and minds opening. Now, when many of those freedoms seem to be lost or forgotten, a revival may be what the doctor ordered.
Creative experimentation against a backdrop of social upheaval can create lasting images that change the course of history. One of the unique qualities of abstract psychedelia is that the viewer never sees the same image twice. The careful arrangement of chaotic and complex ideas speak as much about the viewer as they do the design itself.

2. Symbol revival

Symbols are one of the earliest and most universal communication tools known to humankind. Specific shapes and colours are seemingly hardwired into our minds to mean particular things. Red is associated with danger, triangles with caution, hands with help or support.
Symbols can also empower people, bring them together, and create common themes and points of focus. Incorporating these and other universal symbols into graphic design allows you to leverage their meaning and generate understanding without words.

3. Retrofuturism

The World of Tomorrow, Today – a refrain heard regularly in the 60s and 70s where individuals widely believed that by now we would have flying cars, robots doing all the manual work, and humans would have colonised the moon. It was an idealistic and positive view that many aspects of popular culture and art reflected.
Incorporating these positive aspects into graphic design allows you to combine the best of the past with hope for the future. It links a simpler time and art style with futuristic promise for a better tomorrow.

4. Seamless surrealism

Surreal is a word that perfectly sums up the past year. You could almost believe that it has been the storyline of a poorly written book. One of the many purposes of surrealism is to make you think and question, to take you beyond where you are comfortable.
While surrealism creates imagery that brings us to the very edge of what is believable, it also contains an element of realism. The best work blends these two elements seamlessly, creating intriguing images that draw in the view and reach them in a way that words cannot.

5. Authentic representation

We live on a rich and diverse planet where many voices cry out to be heard. Movements like MeToo and Black Lives Matter are at the forefront of getting these voices heard by the general public. Graphic design is responding to the changing mood and moving away from stereotype and stock images relying more on authentic representation, life and people as they are. Reality may be hard but highlighting the diverse voices representing us all is one way to make the world better while showcasing your talents.

Start your graphic design trend and enjoy #UniAsItShouldBe at the North West’s No. 1 University for Student Satisfaction for the past three years.* Start your BA (Hons) Graphic Design journey today. 

Enhance your graphic Design Skills with the University of Bolton

At the University of Bolton, we pride ourselves on putting our students first. Our students benefit from expert tutors, who create positive and supportive learning environments. We have excellent staff-to-student ratios, ensuring that you get individual tutor support when you need it. Our graphic design classes take place in our £10 million purpose-built arts facility that includes the latest in studio design, software and equipment.

Begin your graphic designing journey with us by calling +44 (0)1204 900 600 or emailing us at enquiries@bolton.ac.uk.

If you have any questions about funding, finance, wellbeing, accommodation or disability services, our award-winning Student Services Team are here to help.

*Complete University Guide – North West Region, 2019, 2020, 2021