Despite all the challenges we faced last year, time marches on. The new year brings a new opportunity to keep your designs fresh. Spending time getting inspired will help you create more, sell more, and live your dreams in 2021.
In this post, I’ll talk you through some graphic design trends you can use when you’re low on inspiration. Some of these trends will work well printed on t-shirts or mugs or embroidered on a hat. Other trends might help you come up with ideas for your website and social media posts. Feel free to mix and match these ideas to find what works best for you.
Enough chatting. Let’s get started. Here’s what’s hot in graphic design in 2021.
Illustrations
Hands down, illustrations will be the king of graphic design this year. Personally, I follow a ton of illustration accounts on Instagram and even asked for an iPad this Christmas so I can start creating my own digital drawings. Until I figure that out, I’ll keep up with the trends, so you don’t have to. Here are some different types of illustrations you can expect to see this year.
Thin lines
When it comes to illustration in 2021, it’s all about the detail. Thin, dark outlines can be used in full-color, illustrative designs. Also feel free to forget about color altogether and use simple black lines with no color or shading. Both options will be super popular this year. There’s something for everyone.
This trend works great for digital design and printing on posters. You’ll need a high-quality image and large surface space to make sure all the details are visible.
If you want to use thin lines on apparel or embroidery, just make sure to check our file guidelines before you start designing.
You can also order samples for yourself to see how the design looks on a product before you offer it to your customers.
Cartoons
Every trend eventually comes back around. The thin lines trend was popular in the 1970s and 1980s, especially in cartoons. That same cartoon style is popular again today, just with an updated color palette and landscapes.
Geometric shapes
Another one of this year’s top trends is geometric shapes. These kinds of fun, bold shapes are especially great for embroidery. You can embroider on hats, t-shirts, sweatshirts, and more. Geometric shapes will also work well as part of your logo. Keeping your design simple allows you plenty of space to think about color and other elements.
Crazy colors and tie-dye
When you’re creating designs this year, keep color in mind. Bold colors are in, so don’t be afraid to go crazy.
Make sure to choose colors that coordinate well with each other and colors that will print well on products.
Use tie-dye designs with solid color combos on our all-over-printed products like leggings.
Gold is also one of the most popular colors of the year, so consider adding some gold foil-inspired elements to your designs.
3D
There are a lot of fun, new tools that make 3D design easy. Check out Dimensions CC or Figma.
Or, maybe you already have some 2D designs that would be easily converted to 3D for a fun, updated look.
Put them on t-shirts and mugs or use them on your website. Apple’s new OS has a lot of 3D elements, which might be boosting the popularity of this kind of design.
Animation
Take your illustrations to the next level by making them move. This will be fun for a logo design or a special element on your website. You can make it happen with software like JSON, which turns your illustrations into fully-transparent animation code you can use easily on your website.
Animating one of your current designs for your website or social media will add some fun to your customer’s browsing experience—and maybe even make them more likely to buy!
Sustainability
Sustainability’s been part of the conversation for years now, and green and eco-friendly items are as in-demand as ever. See if any of your designs can be printed on our range of eco-friendly and organic products.
You can reflect your sustainable attitude in your designs as well. The color green is an obvious choice. You can feature plants, trees, and other organic images in your designs, but don’t be afraid to think outside the box and take sustainability further. Dig deep and ask yourself what living sustainably means to you and how it relates to your brand and your own niche audience.
Consider implementing eco-friendly messaging on your website. Print-on-demand, rather than mass-production of items is a much more responsible choice for 2021.
If you’re taking photos of your products, consider adding in some greenery or other items that represent sustainability for your brand.
Read also: Striking Product Photography Trends to Try in 2021
Photography
Beautiful photography is always in style. You can print photos on products like canvases and posters or branch out and put them on mugs or apparel.
It’s easy thanks to Printful’s partnership with Getty Images. You can choose from millions of images right inside Printful’s Mockup Generator. Then, add the image to your product. Keep in mind that you’ll pay Printful $1 each time you sell a product that uses Getty Images.
If your brand is focused on an activity or the outdoors, take advantage of a beautiful, natural backdrop and showcase your products there.
Typography
Are you tired of the word bold yet? I hope not, because bold typography is also in. Make your letters big. Feel free to implement some of the illustration elements we talked about when it comes to your lettering like fun colors and 3D design. Typography is a great place to take risks and go a little crazy—chaotic text designs will also be popular in 2021. Channel your frustration or other big feelings into your type.
We’ve got many font choices for your designs built into our Mockup Generator, and there are a ton of places you can download free or cheap fonts online. I love browsing Google Fonts for typography inspiration, and there are many other free fonts available online.