Last year, after a long period of pandemic, design favored a return to nostalgic atmospheres and colorful shapes. This newfound optimist remains in 2023, but he has been strained by inflation, the ever-escalating climate crisis, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
While some designers develop creative axes oriented towards technology encouraging them to explore the unknown, others on the contrary react to current events differently and to anti-system sentiment, developing styles around escapism and rebellious innovation. .
Mysticism
Designs that fall under “mysticism” involve iconography related to astrology and divination. A trend that is based in particular on the signs of the zodiac, the third eye, lotus flowers and sacred geometry: symbols that act as talismans.
The reimagined risograph
The risograph or duplicator is a printing technique developed in the mid-1980s by the Riso Kagaku Corporation in Japan. It paved the way for cheap mass printing using dots and desaturated colors, resulting in images that were often grainy and unintentionally stylized with double exposures.
In 2023, risography is reimagined for digital and abstract graphics. With grainy textures that add depth to minimalist, vintage-inspired shapes.
The revival of punk
A rebellious counterculture movement that dates back to the Dada period of the 1920s, Punk has always been present to varying degrees in our society. But in 2023, Punk will see its appeal renewed with the rise of anti-systemic discourse.
Aesthetically, the punk movement tends to be characterized by “Do It Yourself” techniques like scribbled letters, cut-outs, mismatched fonts, and chaotic collages.
retro line art
In 2023, many designers are turning to minimal line art to create humorous and fun illustrations. The simplicity of line art lends itself to a “cartoonesque” style: it’s a retro style that recreates the nostalgic memory of drawing with a marker.
Airbrush surrealism
It is an approach to design where imagination and oddity have their place. But in 2023, surrealism joins in quite unexpected ways with the airbrush techniques of the 80s, combining both soft-toned “retro” designs with strange and chimerical imagery.
Botanical folklore
Nature is a basic element in graphic design. Mixtures of leaves, fruits… create very lively compositions. In 2023, these nature-inspired patterns are less refined, with the use of wobbly “squiggles,” coarse textures and incongruous colors.
90s space psychedelia
The trend of psychedelia continues in 2023, but this one turns to “infinity” and tends towards a spatial psychedelia of the 90s which consists of mixing the future and the past. This trend makes use of futuristic themes, simulated environments, and cyberpunk neon.
The mixed dimension
Between real life and virtual life, the boundary is blurred, and it is precisely this boundary that graphic designers are shattering in 2023, by integrating digital illustrations with real photographs. A trend focused on fun and whimsy with the use of bright colors and fun cartoons.
acid graphics
The acid or so-called “grunge” designs of the year 2000 are renewed and are part of styles such as brutalism and anti-design by presenting a darker side. It is a trend that questions the future of digital art, which is more computer-oriented than human-oriented.
The Experimental Escape
In 2022 the theme of escape was already very present because the creatives wanted to attract the attention of the public by imagining enchanting worlds. A trend that will continue in 2023 with a more “experimental” touch and incorporating codes related to the technological world and AI.
Complex compositions
Storytelling is at the very heart of graphic design. Visuals tell a story and carry messages for the brand that uses them. In 2023, this “visual” narration will be both more literal and more abstract with the use of complex compositions: illustrations that combine several scenes, for example.
Abstract Gradients
These color transitions have been used for a long time, and manage to reinvent themselves from year to year. The gradients of 2023 are no exception: they will express themselves through abstract shapes or blurry stagings.
“Graphic design trends in 2023 once again open another exciting chapter in the evolution of art,” summarizes Patrick Llewellyn, CEO of 99designs by Vista. He adds: “As an instrument of communication, graphic design is intimately linked to the public conscience. Each trend provides a creative outlet for the concerns we all face with the economic and political context in which we live. The new trends thus balance us between a certain form of nostalgia, experimental audacity and the punk desire to rebel against the general state of the world”.

The 12 biggest graphic design trends to follow in 2023
Infographic source: 99designs by Vista

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12 graphic design trends for 2023 – Professional Marketing e-magazine
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