With our ever-changing society, the trends in what the masses want to see from businesses also shift. With that in mind, let’s dive into the modern techniques to make your business stand out and stay relevant in your respective niches.
There are various ways for you to cater to today’s modernism and still stay true to your roots as a business. Take a look at big brands like Starbucks and Coca-Cola. Each has existed since the 90s, but its design has changed.
Join us as we look at modern graphic design techniques whether it’s about logo design, color palettes, or even typography learn them all below.
Modern Graphic Design Techniques for Your Business
Graphic design is constantly changing. One day there’s a new trend, and the following week it’s gone.
With all these new trends and technologies, it’s essential to keep your branding updated to match your audience’s current demands and preferences. You wouldn’t want your business to be left behind, right?
Join us as we look at modern graphic designs that you might want to consider for your branding.
Relationship between Shapes and Color
Shapes and colors are crucial in design. Designers use shapes and color psychology to influence their target audience’s emotions and perception of your brand.
For example, a square represents trust and stability. It’s the same for the color blue. Combining both makes a blue square a good choice for logo design if you want to embody those qualities.
Another example is a circle. Circles don’t have sharp edges, giving off a feeling of softness and friendliness. You’ll symbolize a friendly and approachable brand by pairing it with vibrant colors such as orange or yellow.
Abstract shapes are also a popular choice in modern designs. Abstracts give your branding a stylized version of your business concept or idea, which means your message quickly gets through to your audience. An abstract logo design is fresh and unique, perfect for making your brand stand out.
Minimalist Design
Minimalism is everywhere, whether in fashion, art, furniture, interior decoration, or graphic design. But why is it so popular?
It’s because simpler designs are easily understood and are much more timeless compared to their maximalist counterparts. Minimalism is also more practical for its easily scalable and adaptable characteristics, whether you’re using it on your websites, apps, flyers, or poster designs.
A great example is Google’s logo. They are now embracing a more minimal approach to their branding. You can also try using a negative space approach in your logo, another design trend in the minimalistic era.
A negative space logo is a brilliant way to retain a clean and minimal look while having a clever and fresh twist that makes it memorable to your audience.
Real-Life Brand Images
Back in the day, using stock photos was common in graphic design. After all, it saves time, money, and resources. But did you know that studies show that people ignore stock photos and prefer looking at real people instead?
Visuals matter a lot more in this digital era. Your branding might take a hit if you still use generic and overused stock photos. Using real-life brand images shows authenticity and credibility.
Just imagine that there are hundreds of other businesses that use the same stock photo that you used. How will your audience know that your product exists or that it’s better compared to others? Using authentic images will make you more legit.
Responsive Logo Design
Is it your first time hearing the term responsive logos? These logos change in size, color, or design, to adapt to the posting size of a platform.
In this digital world, this is more necessary than ever. You’ll need a logo that will suit any mobile or laptop screen size. If you have an app, you will have to design an app icon also consistent with your logo design.
Of course, this is not just limited to digital use. Your logo must be versatile enough to look great in printed form, like a billboard, as to how it will look in your website banner.
Consistency is vital in maintaining brand recognition. Having a responsive logo will maintain familiarity and further strengthen your brand identity.
Animation and Movement Design
With the rise of new technologies, adding movement to your designs is easier. People are also naturally drawn to moving images, so you’ll surely catch their attention by adding animation to your graphic design.
Aside from being visually appealing, your animated design needs to be relevant to the concept or message of your brand. Animation also provides visual cues and can further guide your audience to the message that you want to communicate.
A good example is Netflix, where the letter N morphs into a cinema curtain before the movie or episode. Animation is relevant to their brand since they are a streaming service that shows films and shows.
Stylish Typography and Font
Like color and shapes, your font choice will also affect your audience’s perception of your brand. Of course, it also won’t hurt to match your font with the current typography trends in your design.
For wordmark logo design, rounded sans serif fonts are now the rage, especially with the current minimalism trend. Another trend is using bold, thick strokes for maximum impact and attention.
There is also a rise in handwritten logo designs, probably due to the increasing demand for personal, human connection to brands. Coca-Cola is an example that comes to mind. Their iconic font style has a modern spin on it.
Coca-cola’s reshaping of its logo to make it look like it’s hugging an invisible bottle, it’s creative and fresh while remaining true to its brand.
Seamless Navigation
Another critical factor in modern graphic design is that your website or app should be easy to understand and navigate. Make sure to have consistent design elements.
For example, the buttons are the same size, color, and location. You can also use drop shadows or animation to guide attention to a particular part of your design.
A harmonious design will make your brand’s website or app aesthetically pleasing and user-friendly.
Playful Color Schemes and Gradients
Gradients have become a staple for graphic design as of late. This color scheme is versatile; you can choose either subtle or bold.
The color palettes here are eye-catching and visually attractive compared to flat colors. They can also add depth or texture to your design.
While subtle and soft pastel gradients have been popular due to the rise of minimalistic trends, bolder color palettes are making a comeback. Brands like Poppi use bold gradients to embody the feeling of fun and playfulness.
Companies like Spotify are also experimenting with using an orange color scheme in their ads that are pretty different from their usual green combo.
Choosing a Mascot/Character
Are you looking for a design that gives you a brand ambassador from the get-go? Use a mascot logo design.
A mascot represents your brand’s personality and values. Personalization is vital in modern mascots.
By animating their facial expression or body movement, they can provide visual cues to the audience. Using speech bubbles while “talking” to the mascot and incorporating text to speech.
The bubble will make a difference in providing your audience with a much more positive experience. An excellent example of a mascot is the iconic green mermaid of the Starbucks logo.
Starbucks upgraded its design to be more modern and minimal to match the trending standards. The mermaid, circle, and color are some elements retained to show that they stayed true to their roots—a shop that sold tea, coffee, and spice at Seattle’s Pike Place Market.
Create Your Modern Design Today
There are tons of modern graphic design techniques that you can apply to your brand. While you don’t necessarily have to adjust each time a new trend emerges, it’s not a bad idea to remain aware of current trends and incorporate them into your design to keep your brand relevant in your industry.
If you are considering upgrading your brand, we have the right tools. We have a community of freelance designers ready to help you here in DesignCrowd.
Or you can try out or DIY templates back at BrandCrowd. We have tools for your logo design, Instagram post templates, YouTube banner designs, and even business card designs just for you.
Bring your brand design up to date with modern techniques today!
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Written by DesignCrowd on Friday, September 9, 2022
DesignCrowd is an online marketplace providing logo, website, print and graphic design services by providing access to freelance graphic designers and design studios around the world.