The Hottest Graphic Design Trends for 2025

It’s no secret that the field of graphic design is constantly evolving. Sure, the basics like color theory and composition stay the same, but the tools and design trends? Those are always shifting—and that’s what makes being a graphic designer so fun and challenging.

Looking back, 2024 was undoubtedly the Year of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Text-to-image AI generators like Dall-E and Midjourney made a splash, sparking both excitement and anxiety among creative professionals. This technology definitely won’t disappear in 2025, but many graphic designers are now exploring ways to collaborate with AI tools.

That’s not the only shift on the horizon. From inclusive designs to user-centric experiences, we’ve done the research to find the hottest graphic design trends of 2025. Read on to find out what the new year has in store for the industry.

IN THIS GUIDE:

Fusion of Analog and AI Technologies
Minimalist Maximalism
Textured Retro Designs
Personalized and Inclusive Designs
Rise of Motion Graphics
Growth of 3D Design
User-Centric Experiences
Graphic Design Trends FAQ

Fusion of Analog and AI Technologies

When generative AI tools became mainstream in early 2023, many creatives worried that they would replace jobs or lead to diminished graphic design relevance. However, these concerns quickly faded as the technology’s limitations became clear.

You’ve probably seen AI-generated images of distorted hands, and there are countless examples of bizarre “AI fails.” And have you ever tried to get an AI image generator to add text? Forget about it—almost every time, you’ll end up with gibberish that barely resembles human language.

Despite these limitations, AI platforms can be extremely powerful collaborators when used by knowledgeable creators. According to Canva’s Marketing and AI Report, 75% of marketing and creative teams already consider gen AI “an essential part of their toolkit.” This percentage will undoubtedly increase in 2025 as more graphic designers combine analog methods and AI technologies.

This fusion will likely lead to more mind-boggling, futuristic imagery as artists blend traditional aesthetics with AI’s unconventional—and often unpredictable—visuals. Take, for instance, Nutter Butter’s “unhinged” TikTok videos, which captured headlines in late 2024. This content frequently combines AI-generated imagery, photographs, memes, and other elements. The result? A surreal mashup of unexpected visuals that left some viewers scratching their heads while others were hooked.

Using AI in design or photography also allows creators to generate new content in their distinct style. For example, Exactly.ai users can train a personal AI model by uploading hand-made reference images, and then use it to create custom artwork that matches their unique aesthetic. This tool lets you experiment with new content ideas and techniques while preserving your personal aesthetic. You might use your custom model to quickly generate 20 variations of a logo or explore different layouts for a magazine ad.

Plus, many creatives are using AI to handle time-consuming or repetitive tasks. This might involve automatically generating backgrounds, resizing images for different platforms, or suggesting filters. These applications can speed up the entire design process, giving you the freedom to focus on tasks that still need a human touch, such as brainstorming new ad campaigns or designing seasonal packaging.

Minimalist Maximalism

Minimalist maximalism may seem paradoxical, but it makes total sense when you consider our modern love of contradictions. This trendy style combines clean lines and simple aesthetics with bold, striking colors and patterns. It’s all about capturing the audience’s attention without overwhelming them.

Fenty Beauty’s social media posts often embody the minimalist maximalism aesthetic. For example, this Instagram post features a neutral background, with the only text appearing on the makeup bottles for a clean, streamlined appearance. However, the striking red hues and the shimmering splashes of makeup add a burst of chaotic, playful energy. This bold minimalism draws the viewer’s eye to the center of the post, inviting them to linger on the makeup products and admire their dazzling shades.

Combining maximalist elements with minimalist design is a great way to spotlight products without distracting the viewer with excessive information. It also allows graphic designers to create striking images that linger in the viewer’s mind long after they scroll past them.
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Textured Retro Designs

With technology advancing at a dizzying pace, it’s no surprise that many people are finding comfort in the past. That’s why nostalgic elements are making a big comeback. When combined with modern textures, retro styles are poised to become one of the biggest trends for 2025 in web design and graphic design.

This retro revival focuses on adding fun, modern twists to vintage elements from the 1980s and 1990s. For example, graphic designers might combine nostalgic textures—such as faded paper or grainy film—with space imagery for a retrofuturist mashup. Or channel their inner Andy Warhol by creating pop art-inspired designs for contemporary products.

Similarly, old-fashioned scrapbook and collage design is another graphic design trend for 2025. This aesthetic adds a handmade touch to twenty-first-century digital design. We may see more blends of hand-lettered text and faded photographs in social media campaigns or web banners that mimic torn paper. These rich textures will make the art stand out and evoke fuzzy feelings of nostalgia in the audience in 2025.

Totino’s “Wakey Wakey” commercial is an excellent example of textured retro designs. The 15-second ad draws inspiration from 1990s cereal commercials, complete with a cheerful jingle and a peppy teen. However, the ad modernizes these familiar nostalgic elements with unsettling textures, such as the creepy sun puppet’s Playdough-like body and a newscaster’s bumpy skin, likely inspired by the superhero The Thing.

These visuals, reporter Audrey Kemp writes, appeal to Gen Z customers by adding “a distinctly surreal and strange touch” to a familiar design.

Spotify’s innovative “Spreadbeats” ad also demonstrates the power of retro textures. Targeted at media planners, this business-to-business (B2B) campaign transforms an Excel spreadsheet into a customized music video. The ad creates a highly immersive visual experience with a retro color palette, stop-motion effects, and pixelated text inspired by old-fashioned video games. Together, these elements remind advertisers about music’s unbeatable emotional impact on customers.

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Personalized and Inclusive Designs

According to business consulting firm McKinsey, 71% of customers expect companies to deliver personalized communications, and 76% feel frustrated if they don’t receive them. This longing for customization extends to visual elements, making personalized designs one of the most impactful graphic design trends for 2025 and beyond.

Fifty years ago, personalizing designs would involve painstakingly creating custom work by hand for every customer. Fortunately, modern advancements like AI and data analytics have significantly streamlined this process. Now, creatives can create personalized graphic elements without spending countless hours perfecting each design.

On the most basic level, personalization often involves adding the customer’s name to a promotional email or website banner. This PetSmart email, for instance, greets the client by name and includes a tally of their reward points. By addressing the customer individually, brands can build a sense of connection and acknowledge their loyalty.

For more elaborate customization, you could use demographic data to tailor imagery for different segments of your audience. For instance, you might use vibrant colors and playful visuals to appeal to Gen Z’s love for quirky aesthetics. By contrast, older professionals might respond better to a muted color palette and clean, geometric shapes. This customized approach lets you cater to diverse audiences and provide more impactful and relevant experiences.

Additionally, many creative professionals have recognized the importance of representation—in all designs, not just personalized ones. As a result, the design industry is shifting to more inclusive visual storytelling that reflects society’s rich diversity. This frequently involves showcasing people from a wide range of ethnicities, races, genders, sexualities, and other identities.

For example, Apple’s Accessibility web page features digital drawings of people with diverse skin tones. One illustration shows an Apple Watch displaying an incoming call from Mayuri Patel, a common Indian name, reinforcing the brand’s commitment to inclusive visual messaging.

Graphic designers can also promote inclusivity by incorporating accessible elements. According to Microsoft, inclusive design “enables and draws on the full range of human diversity” and “puts people in the center throughout the process.” For instance, creatives can provide alt text for images and use clear typography to improve accessibility for people with visual impairments.
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Rise of Motion Graphics

Motion graphics have skyrocketed in popularity, and this trend shows no signs of slowing down in 2025. Graphic designers are adding motion to everything from marketing emails to movie credits and social media posts.

It’s not hard to understand the appeal of motion graphics. A 2023 study published in the Journal of Advertising found that animated imagery boosts user engagement and increases an advertisement’s persuasiveness. The study also revealed that complex, nonlinear motion is more engaging than simpler, linear motion.

Of course, using motion effectively involves more than animating random graphics. To get the most out of this trend, you should focus on creating emotionally impactful stories. For instance, animating a character’s facial expressions can make them more relatable to the audience, while animated transitions can build suspense. These seemingly small efforts can have a huge impact on your audience’s engagement and help leave a lasting impression.

The Duolingo website uses subtle animations to grab visitors’ attention. As users scroll down the homepage, characters leap in and out of smartphone screens, while a golden crown and other symbols float up and down in the background. These motion graphics build intrigue about the company’s mobile apps and introduce some of the rewards the user can earn by playing the platform’s language games.

Similarly, the lifestyle brand Barbour embraced motion graphics for its Christmas 2024 advertising campaign. Cleverly titled “Baa-bour,” the ad uses stop-motion animation to depict characters from Shaun the Sheep wearing the brand’s signature hats and tartan scarves. Barbour shared the ad on Instagram, where the motion graphics stand out to users as they scroll through their feeds.

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Growth of 3D Design

3D visuals also rank high on the list of 2025 graphic web design trends. These graphic elements add depth and realism to websites, social media posts, and other visual content. In some cases, they’re so lifelike that they seem to leap off the screen at the viewer.

3D design has numerous applications in graphic design. Many companies create 3D product displays to help customers picture items more clearly. For example, Flooring America’s Floor Visualizer Tool lets users upload a photo of their home to see how different flooring would look in 3D. This tool personalizes the shopping experience and reduces the risk of customers ordering the wrong products.

3D images can also make advertising and visual storytelling more engaging and memorable than flat, one-dimensional graphics. Take, for instance, the 3D billboards that appeared in major cities to announce the release of Spider-Man 2. These ads featured the menacing villain Venom, who appeared to lean out of the frame at passersby and even cast a shadow on the building below. This innovative design blurred the line between the digital and the physical worlds, creating a more immersive—and even downright thrilling—viewing experience.

The good thing about 3D graphic design solutions is that they don’t always require a high upfront investment. Tools like Blender and Autodesk Fusion 360 allow users to create 3D models, motion graphics, virtual reality environments, and other visual content. These technologies are a cost-effective way to produce 3D designs, though they can have a steep learning curve. Many creatives attend graphic design programs to master the basics and gain proficiency in these tools.
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User-Centric Experiences

Human-centered design will be a top priority for many creative professionals in 2025. This approach focuses on anticipating and meeting the end user’s needs throughout the entire design process. It aims to create user experiences that are:

• Accessible
• Engaging
• Functional

According to the federal agency Digital.gov, the principles of human-centered design and research include:

• Actively listen to your audience’s preferences and needs.
• Adopt a “Yes, and” mindset instead of rejecting ideas.
• Approach research subjects and users with empathy.
• Embrace inclusivity by seeking out many different perspectives.
• Iterate frequently to identify failures early.
• Investigate the underlying causes of your subjects’ attitudes and behaviors.

Following these guidelines will help you create user-centric experiences. For example, you might conduct focus groups throughout the web design process to understand how users navigate your interface. By inviting people from diverse backgrounds to provide feedback and repeatedly iterating your design, you can develop a highly intuitive and accessible interface.

Studying top-notch examples of user-centric experiences can also provide inspiration. The National Institutes of Health is one of the leaders in this area. Its simple menu has clear headings and subheadings, allowing users to quickly locate relevant information. The site also features multiple search boxes for easy navigation and an option to view content in Spanish, improving accessibility for non-English speakers.

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Graphic Design Trends FAQ

What is an increasingly popular style in graphic design?

In 2025, we expect to see more designs blending minimalism’s simplicity with bold, eye-catching visuals. This balanced approach, coined minimalist maximalism, is redefining modern aesthetics. To achieve this look, designers are combining clean, functional layouts with bold colors, intricate details, and statement typography to balance simplicity with creative flair.

How will graphic design grow in the next 5 to 10 years?

Graphic design will evolve with advancements in AI, VR, and AR, enabling more interactive and accessible designs. A focus on sustainable and inclusive practices will continue to shape industry standards. Designers will increasingly collaborate with tech experts to create experiences that adapt to user needs and environments. Additionally, cross-disciplinary skills will become essential as the lines between design, technology, and storytelling blur.

What’s next for graphic design according to industry insiders?

The future of graphic design lies in generative AI, hyper-realistic 3D art, and adaptive content tailored to user needs. Collaboration between technology and creativity will drive innovations. Expect a rise in dynamic branding that adjusts in real-time to consumer preferences. Also, ethical considerations will gain importance, with designers prioritizing authenticity and cultural sensitivity in their work.

What is the heat mapping trend in graphic design?

Heat mapping involves blending bright, gradient shades around a subject to mimic the effect of thermal imaging. For example, a graphic designer might surround an object with cool blues for an icy effect, while fiery reds and oranges create the impression of emanating heat. This technique is also used in data visualizations to represent different values, such as varying population levels or migratory patterns. By using different shades and gradients, creators can help viewers grasp complex data and trends quickly.

Why are trends important in design?

Keeping up with modern design trends is more than a hobby—it’s crucial for staying relevant in this always-changing industry. Trends often reflect wider cultural attitudes and the latest technological developments. By using them in your work, you can create cutting-edge designs that feel novel and relevant to your audience.

Of course, you shouldn’t follow every trend, especially ones that clash with your existing style or goals. Instead, explore a few innovations that fit your vision and seem the most interesting or impactful to your work. A careful and selective approach will help you create fresh designs while staying true to your personal style.

What does the environmental typography trend entail in graphic design?

Environmental typography integrates text into natural or human-made spaces to add extra meaning or convey a specific mood. For example, you might arrange potted plants to spell out a message about sustainability or use bold paint to write sports-themed text on a basketball court. Other popular locations for environmental typography include ceilings, fences, stairways, the sides of buildings, and walls.

Graphic Design Resources

Are you ready to take a deeper dive into the latest digital media design trends? Explore Sessions College’s graphic design degrees to learn more about our digital media, graphic design, and web design courses. Our flexible online classes start three times a year and cover a broad range of topics, from color theory to UX design.

Not sure if you’re ready to take the leap yet? Check out our guide to becoming a graphic designer to learn more about this rewarding career.