Ok so every year we get the “top design trends” articles and theyre always like 90% aspirational nonsense that nobody actually uses in client work. figured id start a thread about trends that genuinely stuck around and changed how we work
trends that ACTUALLY stuck imo:
- variable fonts. took forever but theyre finally mainstream. using them on almost every web project now
- 3d elements in flat design. that weird hybrid where you mix dimensional objects with flat UI. its everywhere and honestly it works
- dark mode as default. not just an option anymore, clients expect it from the start
- AI-assisted color palettes. even people who hate AI tools are using these lol
trends that DIED despite the hype:
- NFT-inspired design. remember when every brand wanted “metaverse ready” visuals? yeah
- brutalism in mainstream branding. stayed niche which is probably where it belongs
- claymorphism for everything. cute for a week, impractical for real products
whats your take? what stuck, what faded, and what do you think is actualy coming next?
1 Like
hard agree on variable fonts finally hitting mainstream. i remember evangelizing them in like 2020 and nobody cared. now every brand guidelines doc i see mentions them
id add one trend that stuck: micro-interactions everywhere. not just hover states but scroll-triggered animations, loading state celebrations, even error messages with personality. thats not going away
The dark mode thing is massive. we redesigned our entire SaaS product last year and the brief literally said “dark mode first, light mode optional.” complete reversal from 3 years ago when dark was the afterthought
also agree on claymorphism dying. it was fun for dribbble shots but try implementing it in a real product with 200 components. nightmare
From a branding perspective the biggest shift i’ve noticed is the move away from ultra-minimal logos. for a while every rebrand was “make it flatter and simpler” but now clients want distinctive, ownable marks again. the bland era is ending thank god
NFT design dying is the best thing that happened to the industry lol. remember when every agency had a “web3 design” division? those got quietly shut down real fast
but im not sure brutalism stayed niche tho. bloomberg, balenciaga, loads of fashion brands went full brutalist and its still going. maybe not mainstream but definitely not dead
Surprised nobody mentioned the AI aesthetic backlash. theres now a whole design movement around making things look explicitly hand-made and imperfect specifically to signal “a human did this.” hand-drawn illustrations, visible brush strokes, intentional imperfections. its basically a counter-trend to AI-generated polish
Great points all around. @henry.nomad yes thats a huge one i missed. the “certified human” aesthetic is real and growing
@pixelrage47 fair point on brutalism in fashion. i was thinking more about like, regular client work. nobody is asking their local dentist for a brutalist website lol