2025 Graphic Design Trends

Trend 1: The human touch

One popular trend in 2025 design is leaning into ‘the human feel’: from hand-drawn elements, imperfections, and less structured layouts - authentically ‘hand-crafted’ work is seriously having a moment.

Surprising, given the rise of AI in design? Maybe. But in some ways, it may not be surprising at all: as we become increasingly attuned to visuals created by bots, this trend serves to demonstrate a higher premium on work that only a human creative can make. A reassuring thought for those worried that the machines are coming for our jobs!

What our designers think: “Creating something that feels authentic and ‘right’ still needs a human touch and from echos on the internet, people are beginning to notice and build a disdain for marketing / campaigns which are AI generated.”

Trend 2: Maximalism

Maximalism in a nutshell? More is more. This trend has been gaining real momentum over the last year or so, as we embrace excess and the artful mixing up of colours, textures, patterns, graphics and typography. This trend shakes off the austere minimalism that has long been revered in the industry (when the highest compliment work could achieve was being daubed ‘clean’).

But maximalism doesn’t automatically equate to ‘gaudy’ or a ‘mixed media’ effect- just take a look at Burberry’s newly updated logo below. The ornate, detailed approach is thoroughly maximalist, when compared to their previous stripped-back logo treatment, but still achieves the air of prestige associated with their brand: proof that there is nuance to maximalism!

What our designers think: “We’re definitely seeing a comeback of maximalism, big type, bold colours, layered compositions. Minimalism seems to be taking a back seat to more expressive, character-driven design - it’s a fun challenge to try and interpret a maximalist approach for our client’s brands, where we can.”

Trend 3: Rise of the machines

AI is becoming part of our everyday lives - whether it’s a weather report from Alexa in the morning, or Chat GPT compiling research for an upcoming meeting. Design is also seeing the influx of AI - notably as it crunches time on intensive processes that previously took hours (if they were possible at all). 

Great examples of this are intelligently altering and expanding images: check out the generative fill examples below, expanding our views of some iconic album covers.

There’s no arguing with the efficiency and usefulness of AI to help expand or alter an existing image (we all know the pain of the perfect group shot, but one person is blinking!) In Whitenoise, we’ve certainly capitalised on these efficiencies to save time and money for our clients, avoiding the need to reshoot or spend many hours for what is now achievable in half the time (with some manual tweaking too, of course).

AI can also generate images and artwork from scratch: most of us have seen some very convincing images only to spot an extra finger, or a few too many teeth in a smile. Generative images and artwork do represent a risk - AI continues to struggle with copy in visuals, as well as some finer details on body parts already mentioned. When it comes to creating imagery, even the most realistic efforts can be unnerving and inauthentic (and easily spotted as AI to the trained eye). Generating marketing materials with AI can also prove frustrating, as it requires strong and specific prompting skills, and sometimes the disjoint between the command and the result can have you wishing for a designer who could ‘just move it up and over’.

What our designers think: “While AI is an incredible tool, creating something that feels authentic still needs a designer’s touch. The flood of AI-generated visuals, voiceovers and templated videos/animations feels a bit like the fast fashion of design; cheap, and ubiquitous. I believe thoughtful, well-crafted work will win out in the long run!”

The right place for trends

As the review above demonstrates, implementing design trends comes down to a strategic analysis of the client and the job.

In certain instances, capitalising on a trend will align with the goals and personality of the brand and land their new campaign right into the zeitgeist. Similarly, in certain scenarios, trending techniques and technology will allow designers to perform repetitive or technical work more quickly and effectively. In both these instances, there is strong rationale to inform leaning into a trend- plus it allows our team to learn and flex new skills and techniques!

Whitenoise will never recommend piggy-backing on a trend for the sake of it - we will apply the same long-view thinking we bring to all projects, to best advise the client on when it is most suitable to try something new, which will ultimately work for and serve them.

What does the future hold?

As a long-standing creative agency, we don’t just observe the trends: we aim to do our part in shaping them.

We’re rounding this piece off with our award-winning team’s thoughts on what we might see in coming to the forefront in the months and years ahead.

1. Art-directing as standard

“Whether it’s a campaign, a single Instagram post, or even a piece of packaging - I predict a growing focus on making every visual feel considered, styled, and creating a moment / culture impact. It’s less about just designing and more about crafting a visual world around the message and engaging with your audience.

When I’m scrolling, only a handful of things actually make me stop and take a second look—those are the pieces that feel truly art directed. I think the future of design is going that way!”

2. Typeface customisation

“Increasingly, we’re deconstructing typefaces and playing around with them to achieve more uniqueness and stand-out for our clients - I’d predict that in coming years we’re going to see far less ‘standard’ typefaces being used, and way more custom options surfacing.”

3. Sustainable design

“Yes, sustainability can be applied at the design stage! In recent years, I’ve noticed clients briefing far less printed materials, and putting more priority on digital assets to communicate their messaging. We are being asked to make interactive e-publications as a replacement for long-form documents - there’s loads of advantages (interactivity, one-lifetime-link, analytics), and they skip the costs of print and distribution! I expect to see us making more and more e-publications in the coming years.”

Interested in engaging with Whitenoise for your creative marketing content? Pick our brains on the latest trends and developments in your industry, and let’s make something great together.