2019: The Year of Design Simplicity

It's always fun to try and predict the future. Though, we're narrowing the focus to our industry's. Design Director Joe Flory shares the one trend in particular that he sees shaping design in 2019.

"An overarching trend I’ve noticed, across the board, is the eschewing of extraneous ornamentation in favor of a simpler and uncompromising (sometimes verging on ugly) visual aesthetic. One that feels more pure and honest by its very nature.

In the digital world, this trend can be seen most readily in “brutalist” design, which embraces a raw, straightforward sensibility; it can come across as almost jarring. This influence is even starting to be seen where you would least expect it — on mainstream corporate brands’ and institutions’ digital destinations, like Yale, Gucci and Bloomberg.

In typography, there’s been a huge uptick of Grotesque typeface releases by independent foundries in the past year. You’re starting to see more and more brands utilize the unpretentious and workmanlike qualities of Grotesques to best express their brand value.

Being a minimalist by nature, I already inevitably embrace many of tenets of this trend. However, witnessing how other designers have utilized this aesthetic in their own work across many mediums has made me question or re-think a lot of my own design decisions. Can this functionality or form be simplified even further to create a more meaningful expression of the brand or user experience? Can I get away with a simple Grotesque typeface where an elegant Serif is typically expected?

Typically, I’m averse to paying too much attention to trends, for all of the obvious reasons. However, this particular one has been thought-provoking and informed my creative process."

To read more about what others in the industry are paying close attention to (and see Joe's featured), hop over to Creative Bloq.