Graphic Design: Color and Font Trends for 2024
This year, expect color and font trends in graphic design to command a wow factor. When it comes to print, embracing design trends can make your mailers and their accompanying digital pieces more effective and enticing to the consumer. For 2024, much is uncertain in the geopolitical and economic sense so expect to see art and design evoking feelings of nostalgia and hope. If anything, graphic design will shine in 2024 as it can help brands, businesses, and organizations with consumers in a soothing and humanistic way.
According to top creatives in the design world, graphics, fonts, and color schemes may take contrasting angles in their messaging. For example, some brands may choose to use freehand design over AI-generated images while other brands may focus on botanical aesthetics to offer a soothing escape from harsh realities permeating the collective consciousness. One thing that may not be much of a surprise is a continued reliance on nostalgia in brand messaging. While 2022 and 2023 focused on clean minimalism with nostalgic elements from the 1980s and 1990s, today’s nostalgic design will likely feature homages to the 1970s and early 2000s.
Following are color and font trends for 2024 that may help spark creativity for your next direct mail or digital campaign.
Color and Font Trends to Consider This Year
Sans Fonts Strike Back
The Sans font family is making a comeback this year. Although Sans fell out of favor for several years, there is a revival in Sans-Serif fonts available to designers to keep things modern and quirky for brands. Sans fonts translate well to digital mediums but when newer Sans family fonts are selected, they look great on print, too. Working with Sans can be tricky, however, and it’s not the best choice for every brand or organization so it’s wise to collaborate with an experienced graphic designer.
Sidenote: if Sans is not your jam, Semi-Serif fonts are a great option for design because they contain traditional typeface elements with the jovial, modern appearance of Sans family fonts.
Bring on the Funky and Chunky Text
Evoking imagery from the 1970s Funk movement is a 2024 trend emphasizing rounded type. While this isn’t ideal for more serious products like home insurance or banking services, rounded, chunky type can be very appealing with consumer goods from beauty-, fashion-, home decor-based businesses.
Maximalism and Bold Colors
Scandinavian-style minimalism is still working its way through many digital and print ads but maximalism—specifically with bolder colors (even neon)—is making a splash among top creatives in the Western Hemisphere. One newer specific trend has been dubbed “Cluttercore” and while it borrows heavily from Maximalism, it has a unique messy appearance with overlapping textures and images. When used correctly, “Cluttercore” design can be striking, impactful, and resonate with consumers—particularly younger people.
Botanical Hues
Deep greens will likely be a popular color trend throughout 2024—specifically green hues one might see in jungle and forest settings. These colors have been popping up within a specific design trend called “Garden Cutouts”, which feature green shapes like leaves and flowers against bold backgrounds of yellow, orange, or pink.
The experts at Pel Hughes offer graphic design services in addition to direct mail, large print projects, binding and printing for books, and cross media marketing. Our team works to stay abreast of color and font trends to help your messaging embrace the latest aesthetics for optimal effectiveness. Give us a call at (504) 486-8646 to request a quote.
