Print design was more vibrant than ever before in 2013. It seemed that designers didn’t hold back, but experimented more than ever in order to get their pieces noticed. The cost of print may be high in contrast to designing for the web, but the aesthetic of physically printed materials still has great impact on an audience. Here are some of the biggest trends in print design that captured my eye in 2013 that every designer should be aware of right now…
Flat Design
The flat design trend is crossing over from interface design to print design
Flat Design is a simplistic design form in which 3D effects such as drop shadows, bevels and textures are purposely excluded making it stylistically 2D. Flat design is growing in influence across the web and app designs and right now we’re seeing it break into the print medium.
This series of flat illustrations called Re-Vision (above) was created by Barcelona studio Forma & Co and printed as promotional postcards and posters. Re-Vision is typical of the new trend for flat design in print.
Typographic Contrast
Typographic contrast is difficult to pull off, but when done well the results can be spectacular
It takes great confidence and understanding of design to pair contrasting typefaces – the elements can be as different as chalk and cheese. But when done well it can look incredible, as seen in the above illustration by Joao Santos, a Portuguese designer specialising in poster, editorial and illustration, called My Dry Wet Mess. A large scale brush typeface is complemented by a tiny sans serif, while the contrast in typefaces balances the design and is visually appealing.
Experimental Distortion
Experimental approaches show just how much impact print design can have
Even though online graphics have dominated the industry over the past few years, experimental work as shown above show how much impact printed work can still have. The designer of the piece above distorted pre-existing artwork to create large scale, visually arresting posters.
Unusual Paper Stock
Using unusual types of paper stock is a great way to boost your print designs
Interesting paper stock will entice your target audience. A great example of the trend are these unusual golden tickets for ‘A Design Film Festival’ which launched in Singapore and has traveled to Portland, Berlin, Taipei, Kaohsiung, and Bangkok.
Being Playful
A playful approach doesn’t just work for child-oriented print design
The playful approach can be incorporated into much more than just child-related briefs, as this eye-catching printed work for the charity Benevolent Society shows. Created by New Zealand based graphic studio Designworks, the strategic idea behind the work was overlapping a broad spectrum of colours that represent core internal pillars of love, hope, strength, wisdom and belonging.
Did I miss your favourite print design trend? Tell us about it in the comments below!
