Our Favorite Design Trends 2020-2024
5 design trends of the 2020s and 5 reasons we love them
The first half of this decade has seen an explosion of growing graphic design trends, from AI-enhanced design and 3D surrealism to the nostalgia led resurgence of turn-of-the-millennium aesthetics like Y2K and Frutiger Aero. The current design landscape is brimming with bold and fascinating styles to gather inspiration from.
Come along with us as we explore our favorite design trends of the past five years, the unique flavors they bring to the table, and why we love them. These trends have captivated our imaginations and transformed the way we think about design.
Here are the design trends of the last five years that have been most influential for our work so far.
Bold Typography
Typography has undergone a significant transformation over the years, evolving from its role as a vehicle for written communication to being a powerful design element that can define a brand’s identity, influence public perception, impact our emotional experiences and change how we perceive and process information.
Throughout time, typography has moved on to become a tool used to create visual hierarchies, guiding the viewer’s eye through content in a deliberate way. It also has a definitive role in crafting strong logo designs and conveying a brand’s values and personality. Typography has evolved from uncomplicated text with little font variation before the digital age to modern techniques such as type in motion, type as image and experimental typography. This progress shows its inherent ability to make a design visually compelling and effective. After all, nothing makes a design fall short faster than a boring or outdated font choice.
The 2010s were dominated by delicate, thin fonts and cursive typography. However, the 2020s have seen a massive shift against minimalism across the board, including type, where we see expressive typefaces, 3D styles and engaging bold fonts.
Why we love it
Capturing and holding attention is increasingly difficult in today’s fast-paced world. With the ever-increasing number of websites, brands and media competing for our interest, time and money, bold typography cuts through the noise, creating an immediate impact that’s hard to ignore and leaves a lasting impression.
Instant impact. Bold type stands out from thin minimalist designs, quickly drawing the viewer’s eye and delivering the message with authority and confidence.
Creating visual hierarchies is crucial for organizing information and making it more accesible and easier to navigate.
Expressing brand personality. All typefaces show a brand’s or a designer’s personality, but bold punchy typography reflects more strength, modernity and dynamism than simpler fonts.
Versatility in applications ranging from digital to print, logos and more, maintaining legibility and impact regardless of the context.
Glassmorphism
Glassmorphism is a design trend that has been growing in popularity since 2020, gaining prominence in the tech industry through its use in Apple and Microsoft’s design systems.
This style is characterized by blur effects, translucency and layered elements that give the effect of frosted glass, and a sense of depth, contrast and dimension. Glassmorphic materials help provide a three-dimensional effect by providing texture to otherwise flat two-dimensional designs. Components of glassmorphic design appear to float within the layout, offering an airy, sleek and contemporary look.
Its roots go back to skeuomorphism, a trend prevalent in the 2000s and featured prominently in Frutiger Aero, and flat design, which followed later. Skeuomorphic design aimed to replicate real-world textures and materials, including glass, metal and wood, in the digital space. Flat design, on the other hand, emphasizes simplicity and minimalism, and refrains from unnecessary decorative elements.
Glassmorphism brings these two styles together, blending the tactile and realistic feel of skeuomorphism with the intuitive experience created with flat design.
Why we love it
Depth and dimension. The layers of translucent effects create depth and dimension without making the design look cluttered. The result is refreshing, clean and seamless for the user’s eye.
The sleek and polished look is unambiguously modern and sophisticated. It aligns perfectly with contemporary design principles, making interfaces look crisp and user-friendly.
Versatility. Glassmorphism can be used indiscriminately across all digital media, from website to apps and operating systems, while maintaining its visual appeal. This versatility is essential in present-day design, much like with Bold Typography.
Improved focus. Glassmorphism is a fantastic tool to draw focus on key elements of an interface. Blurred backgrounds add visual interest, but remain subtle and non-distracting, allowing the user to concentrate on the information on the screen.
Futuristic appearance. The high-tech look of glassmorphism makes designs feel ahead of their time, which resonates with forward-thinking users looking for innovation and cutting-edge technology.
Chrometype
Chrometype, also known as chrome typography, 3D liquid metal, or chrome effect graphics, is a typography style characterized by metallic, reflective shapes, iridescent colors, illegible glistening text and 3D depth. Although silver is the standout preferred color choice, liquid metal can take on a watery or icy appearance, as well as a range of colorful reflections and textures.
This trend was gaining traction before 2020 (AIGA), but has really taken over in the past five years. It calls back to Chromecore and Y3K, but is more closely related to the Acid Graphics universe. These aesthetics are reactionary by nature, sharing various levels of frustration with late-stage capitalism, rigidity and traditional design norms.
Chrometype draws from 1990s chrome aesthetics and space-age metallic look, but with a contemporary update. The polished metallic finish of chrome typography feels clean and high-tech but nostalgic at the same time. Its popularity in the 2020s is at the intersection of nostalgia for the turn-of-the-millennium, futurism and the recurring pushback against flat minimalism.
Why we love it
Pushback against design norms. After a decade of minimalism, simple color palettes and clean lines, the chaotic, experimental and unconventional liquid metal style offers a fresh perspective on what design can be. The limit does not exist.
Community and Youth Culture. Chrometype is deeply rooted in youth culture and communities that embrace unique offbeat aesthetics. It acts as a form of self-expression for younger generations to differentiate themselves from the mainstream.
Nostalgia. Revisiting the shinny, futuristic of the ‘90s through 3D Liquid Metal design shows the impact this period had on our collective imagination. Its return in an updated form is beloved by many, including us at elevenpm.
Mix of Organic and Inorganic elements. Chrome typography beautifully combines organic fluid shapes with inorganic high-tech materials, creating a unique high-contrast visual effect. This dynamic quality makes designs feel both alive and technologically advanced at the same time.
Sharp and Futuristic. Sharp lines, metallic finishes and reflective iridescent surfaces stand out as distinctly futuristic. Like Glassmorphism, it feels ahead of its time and ultramodern.
Bento Box Layout
Bento boxes are a long-standing staple of Japanese culture. Similar to a Western lunch box, a bento box is a single-serving balanced meal you can take to school or work. The key trait of bento boxes that ultimately led to this particular design trend is the presence of various compartments within the square or slightly rounded lunch container. These bentos, which neatly separate different foods, have inspired a layout system that organizes content into distinct, well-defined sections.
Inspired by Apple presentations and Microsoft’s Metro design language (Source), Bento Box style layouts have taken over web design in the past few years. This grid system provides a distinctive sense of order and clarity, offering a structured way to showcase products, branding, blogs, portfolios and so much more. We even use our version of this grid style for our website!
The versatile, yet organized presentation style of Bento Box grids makes this trend particularly popular in website and app design. Apple, among other tech giants, have fully adopted this UI format, which may lead to a long-lasting integration of the layout in the design industry.
Why we love it
Future-proofing. Bento UI’s implementation in major operating systems, CSS Grid technology and relative ease of implementation could make this trend very likely to continue its evolution and remain relevant throughout the years. (Source)
Intuitive navigation. Bento layouts are simple, efficient and well-organized, making the navigation incredibly user-friendly. There is a clear logic behind the layout, which allows users to easily find the information they are looking for.
Visual balance. Even distribution of content across a grid helps designers achieve a functional and visually attractive aesthetic. This style of layout is balanced and harmonious, avoids any risk of confusion, and does not overwhelm the user.
Design efficiency. Bento UI’s compartmentalized nature allows for modularity and scalability. Different sections can be independently designed, developed, updated and reused for other sections of an app, website or in a different project altogether.
Responsive design. The Bento Box inherent grid structure allows for seamless adaptability to various screen sizes and devices. This ensures that designs remain functional and accessible on desktop, tablets and mobile, improving user experience across all platforms.
Hand Drawn Illustration
Drawing has been a major part of the human experience since prehistoric times. The resurgence of hand-drawn illustration in design marks a striking contrast to the rise of AI-generated content, which is why we included this approach on our list. Human touch, uniqueness and genuine creativity enrich brands with personality and an authenticity that cannot be replicated.
Over the past decades, and even more so in the past five years, software like Adobe Creative Suite and Procreate have helped artists streamline artistic creation of all types, allowing them to produce incredibly high-quality, polished, close to perfect illustrations. However, from what we’ve seen in the past years, people tend to resonate more deeply with human-made, imperfect art.
Doodles, shaky lines ignorant-style drawing and “bad” handwriting may initially look like childish, unskilled scribbles. But their appeal and prevalence on packaging of all kinds is undeniable.
Why we love it
Authenticity. Hand drawn illustrations stand out in a digital landscape where AI-generated imagery has become rampant and often difficult to discern from real images. The unambiguous feeling of humanity in a piece of media makes it comforting and cultivates a deeper and stronger connection between a brand and its audience.
Playfulness. Fun writing styles and bright color palettes typical for this design style make for a playful, approachable brand that audiences want to engage with.
Storytelling. Illustrations are often able to tell a story more effectively than photographs or digital images. Artists can create characters and scenes that reflect the brand’s personality, story and values in an engaging visual way.
Diversity. Hand-drawn illustration will inevitably incorporate diverse styles and cultural influences, enriching the visual narrative of a project. This can help businesses better connect with their target demographics and reflect a more inclusive worldview.
Distinctive visual style. The individual style and skill of the artist permeates through the project. Unlike mass-produced images, hand drawn are distinctive and virtually impossible to replicate.
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Final thoughts
As we conclude our exploration of the design trends from the 2020s that have been most influential to our work, a common theme emerges: a continuous push against the boundaries of conventional design and a growing demand for design focused on human experience and accessibility.
We believe these trends reflect the spirit of our times while displaying a rather optimistic view of the future of design. As we move forward to the second half of this decade, we expect to see even more exciting creative solutions and tech innovations aimed at increasing accessibility. In terms of visual approach, we anticipate even more variation and highly specific niche styles, as well as a continuation of bold, maximalist aesthetics.
Want to introduce a bold new look to your brand? We’d love to work together and make your business stand out from the crowd.
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