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Graphic design inspiration: Making the trends work for your brand

August 15, 2014 by Alyx Grabinger
Filed Under: Branding, Design, Small Business

graphic design words

Did you know that articles with images get 94% more views than those without? How about that 40% of people will respond better to visual information than plain text?

There is no denying brands that invest in graphic design reap the benefits, but how do you do it? Hiring out is the easiest option, but if you are not ready for that yet, here is a guide of the latest graphic trends and how you can make them work for your brand.

The trends and your brand

Earlier this year, 99 designs published an article on the five graphic design trends to watch in 2014. These design trends are cutting edge and will definitely draw attention to your brand. Here are a few ways to incorporate them into your content marketing strategy:

Super-Geometric

Super-geometric design is exactly what it sounds like – straight lines everywhere.

Liam Brazier

Liam Brazier

Super-geometric ideas for your brand:

There are a few easy ways your brand can employ geometric design. You can create flyers using color blocking. The blocks can be filled with text, photos, patterns or solid colors.

pressman

Everlovin’ Press

You can add geometric elements to your designs.

Geo shapes examples

Image courtesy of Shutterstock

Finally, you can use a geometric pattern as an accent or background.

imagine

Jonathan Mutch

 

Retro-Graphics

Simplistic design is popular right now and due to technology limitations, the ’70s and ’80s are a great place to look for inspiration.

retro

Rodrigo Maia (via new records, old covers tumblr)

Retro design ideas for your brand:

The nice thing about retro design is that it is simple – meaning your job is easier. One way to incorporate the retro look into your design is by using a retro font. Demilked compiled a list of 26 free retro fonts.

font

Fontspace

When most people picture the 70’s they think of warm, muted colors. Use these colors in your design.

Alex Varanese

Alex Varanese

Retro is all about the stripes.

poster

Envato

Handiwork

What’s old is new again. Handiwork is the use of detailed, 19th century style illustrations. It is popular right now because the market is over-saturated with photography.

Status Serigraph

Status Serigraph

Handiwork design ideas for your brand:

Handiwork requires advanced graphic design skills if you are looking to go all out, but if you just want to mimic the style, you can just use some of the elements that make up the trend. One aspect of handiwork is the use of neutral colors; use different browns and maybe one other color.

paintad

Wallace Design House

Handiwork designs rely heavily on typography. Mix up the fonts and sizes in a way the leads the audience to see what you want them to see – but be careful not to overdo it.

Remilla and Emil Wedding Paper Goods

Remilla and Emil Wedding Paper Goods

Finally, take advantage of all the pre-designed badges and labels that are available out there to give your design an illustrated look.

labels examples

Image courtesy of Shutterstock

That should be plenty of trend advice to keep your designs up-to-date and keep you busy designing!

 

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Alyx Grabinger

About Alyx Grabinger

Alyx Grabinger is a former marketing specialist at Allée. She has a passion for social media, PR and would never turn down an opportunity to research a new topic. Alyx has worked with many for-profit and non-profit businesses to create and revitalize their website content strategies; she also writes blog posts and web content for businesses all across the country. To each project, Alyx brings an array of skills, including the ability to effectively communicate across age groups.

Comments

  1. 3W Edge says

    September 24, 2014 at 3:20 am

    I think super geometric is really a cool way to represent any brand.

    Reply

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