2026 VISUAL DESIGN TRENDS
Every year it seems we attempt to decipher and decode what’s going to be the direction of visual design going forward. We emphasized trends last year that some of our clients instilled in their visual designs to enhance packaging, motion graphics and even their overall brand look. As much as we try to be out front on trends it can be difficult determining what will have staying power in the cyclical world of visual design. At Bachman, when we see a trend emerging, our first thought is with a client’s brand. If a design trend can enhance that brand, then we merge it with our design process. We never jeopardize brand integrity with “forcing” a trend where it doesn’t belong. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the leading trends for the coming year with eyes wide open.
A.I. DRIVEN CREATIVE
A lot of designers try to fight it for a multitude of reasons. There’s something a little odd about giving design control to a machine. Yet, we’ve been doing something kind of similar for over 30 years now. There’s a lot of technology that’s been built on bringing creativity to the masses. Digital Cameras, design software, now prompt driven A.I. Just like rock and roll, the computer and the automobile before it, A.I. is here to stay. In our own experimentation with A.I., it’s very powerful, yet very dumb all the same. Some of us are old enough to remember that we felt a similar feeling when first designing on Macs. Using it to create isn’t a perfect solution but many designers are learning to prompt and as the learning advances, generated images are becoming more difficult to spot. When we look at A.I. as a tool, creative prompting still comes from the human side, and that in itself is an art form. Prompting an AI generator to get the results you want, can take several attempts. Attempts that can yield interesting alternatives. It’s what the artist inside the designer would call “happy accidents.”
Using A.I. prompting in combination with conventional design software can generate something new and different. Perhaps, the biggest concern with generative A.I. is to what degree will the industry can suffer from piecing together protected art before copyrights are infringed upon. Although the legal ramifications can be seen as an obstacle, visual designers are creating surrealistic worlds and spaces mixing A.I. into their workflow. The results can be quite unique.
A collaborative zine produced by Franklyn and Michael Freimuth highlighting ai artists across an array of themes and visual exploration
Generative AI is used to predict a future vision for advertising and product offerings. Albeit in a seemingly dystopian space. Source: Rodney Leonardo
HANDCRAFTED ORGANIC ELEMENTS
The natural counter to the slickness of A.I. driven design is a return to craft; a more hand-done look. Developing meaningful collage with mixed materials, edgy typography and offset layered looks all create a texture that is bold, and uniquely human. Extending from the emergence of The “Doodles & hand drawn, illustrative elements” trend last year, this organic and crafty, root-based design engages an audience. Nuance and imperfection represent a more artful appeal. Combining with the GRADIENT TREND from last year, we’ve noticed an uptick of GRAIN TEXTURED GRADIENTS as part of this trend. These “rougher” gradients are utilized in motion graphics and packaging to add depth in a 2-dimensional, illustrative way. Navigating the distance between polished and grungy this style appeals to a more direct approach, yet evokes a warmth, soul and authenticity creating nostalgia for any viewer.
“Found” elements and cutouts with colorful gradients adorn this poster for a celebration of Sondheim. Source: Sondheim by Pentagram
We love the offset layers and overlapping imagery of these designs for the Atlantic Theatre Company by Pentagram
The textured gradients and “smokey” shapes give a nod to vintage poster art of the 30s and 40s. Source: Graphéine
SATURATED COLORS and UNTRADITIONAL COMBINATIONS
WOW! That’s the intent. Bright almost “fictional” colors combined with some unconventional color combinations yield a look that is poppy and gets noticed. What we love about this trend is the punch it delivers to a world of muted and drab earth tones. Mired in simplicity from a design perspective, it screams loud, like a child in the grocery store. Fitting for the times, bold color just shouts “me first” in the aisle or online. It can be a difficult balancing act to convince marketers of the power of bold color. Typically when they see it they love it but only if it belongs to someone else’s brand. Bold color gets noticed and without muted colors that surround it, it could get lost in a sea of WTF? That’s probably why a trend like this may subside. Still, there’s plenty of brands that take a risk, if even for the short term, when so many brands are fighting for consumer attention. In our opinion, boldness, simplicity and consistency are all a brand needs to disrupt and own the space.
Art for the “Behind the Music” series blends simple type with simple geometry and unconventional color combinations. Source: Thalles Ferreira.
Unconventional color combinations are used with simple typography and text that smacks of onomatopoeia to get the point across here. Blum by How&How (Designers: Lina Aragon and María Alejandra Maya-Fresa)
ORGANIC AND FLUID SHAPES combined with EXPERIMENTAL TYPOGRAPHY
A key to this visual trend is pushing the boundaries between readability and form with stretched type, liquid shapes and unconventional pairings. Adding some hand-drawn elements and collage-inspired letterforms with retro typefaces, open all sorts of doors to possibility. For most of design history, the written word and how it’s dressed has been experimented with in many eras. Designers of a certain age, may remember a time in the 90s when letterforms were literally broken apart and re-assembled. Deconstructed and put back together to create letterforms that challenged readability, but added a ton of visual interest. Whereas that style was more “smash and grab”. This style seems more “modeled” to fit the use. An interesting aside to the organic nature of this philosophy is that there is a “flow” to the creative, as if the design elements all connect and live symbiotically in their space. That is the crux of great design.
Packaging for Friidu, plant based ice cream. Not only do they do some funky stuff with their type treatment but they utilize simple geometric shapes as flavor cues. All a part of its inventive look. Source: Behance (multiple artists)
Barely readable but so engaging. Some viewers may not appreciate the challenge but visual interest can not be denied. Experimental Typography Poster Design by Sawdust
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
Although we’ve focused an article defining trends going forward, the question has been asked by our contemporaries: Do trends matter anymore? This is a very valid question and even in writing this article a clear distinction is evident. In an ever, increasingly visual world, trends do matter but what is rarely considered is how we understand the relationship a trend has with its time. When you consider A.I. driven creative and the subsequent trends that followed in our listing, there is a clear “point, counter-point” relationship. On one hand, you have the polished-looking dreamscape that A.I. can deliver. Then, on the other hand we have trends that are uniquely “human” design, where choices are made based on creative thought, layout and problem solving. It’s a contrast that can not be denied.
At Bachman Brand Development we strive for the best results for our clients, plain and simple. We utilize all the tools in our arsenal to help clients achieve the very best visuals for their brands. If you’ve got a problem you need solved, reach out to us. We like a good challenge, but we really love a GREAT SOLUTION.
FOR FURTHER READING and REFERENCES
Piktochar-Graphic Design Trends