Keeping up with graphic design trends can feel like chasing a moving target. What’s fresh one minute can feel dated the next. When choosing graphic design trends, consider not just what looks good, but what works for your brand.

Graphic design trends like minimalism may work for a food and beverage company but may fall short of accurately representing something like a concert venue. It’s worth knowing different graphic design trends, whether they have staying power beyond 2025, and if they’re actually a good fit for designers to learn or brands to try out.

3D Design

Accessibility to 3D tools has seen a sharp increase in recent years, and with that comes a growing pool of talents and insights on how it can be applied in advertising. Tools like Blender, Cinema 4D, and Adobe Substance have made it more accessible than ever. Today, it combines modeling, lighting, and texturing to create immersive, often photorealistic visuals. From hyperreal product mockups to stylized characters and abstract compositions, 3D design is a great way to stand out against the more flat visuals of traditional graphic design trends and techniques.

3D Design Isn’t Going Anywhere: Why It Matters for 2025+

3D rendering and design is a medium that is still considered on the rise. As AR/VR, gaming, and metaverse-adjacent experiences continue to gain relevance, the demand for 3D content will likely increase. Even outside tech-heavy spaces, 3D continues to be used in advertising, concert visuals, and general social content to catch the eye and stand out in fast-paced, scroll-heavy environments. We should expect to see even more integration of 3D assets into everyday brand visuals.

Should Designers Learn 3D Design?

If you’re a designer and haven’t looked into 3D yet, it’s worth your time. You don’t have to master every aspect, but understanding the basics of modeling and rendering can be extremely beneficial, especially for product visuals or experimental layouts. There is a learning curve, as your toolsets will likely differ from what you are used to, but the payoff is a skill set that will noticeably set you and your clients apart.

Should Brands Use 3D Design?

For brands, 3D design offers a fun, flexible visual style that can add value to campaigns. It’s particularly effective for tech companies, beauty brands, or anything considered product-heavy. It may not be necessary for every brand, especially those with minimalist or heritage-focused identities. Still, it’s one of the graphic design trends worth considering for those trying to stand out in digital spaces.

What Type of Brands Should Use 3D Design?

Many e-commerce brands have been using 3D to bring products to life more engagingly, all while avoiding overloading pages with multiple heavy image assets. While 3D can create interesting assets, industries like food and retail might find it more advantageous to showcase authentic photography to establish a connection with customers and use 3D in seasonal campaigns, social media animations, or menu spotlights rather than static designs or advertising.

Popular Brands Using 3D Design:

1. Nike

Nike is well known for using experimental media and 3D design in campaign rollouts, sneaker reveals, and product showcases. They blend hyperreal 3D with motion graphics to create high-energy visuals.

2. Apple

In product presentations and packaging renders, Apple uses photorealistic 3D to emphasize design precision and quality. It’s subtle but powerful.

3. Fenty Beauty

Their social media often includes 3D product mockups and stylized animations. It helps them stand out in a very crowded cosmetics space.

4. Lexus

Lexus has used 3D renders and motion design in commercials and digital experiences to give their cars an almost surreal feeling.

Retro Futurism

Retro Futurism pulls aspects from previous art movements and how they interpret the future; notable characteristics include chrome finishes, neon glows, pixel fonts, and vintage sci-fi textures. It capitalizes on nostalgia and blends this with an optimistic tone, often resulting in aesthetics similar to those found in the 60s through the 90s. Visuals might include analog tech motifs, grainy VHS overlays, or surreal color palettes that bridge the gap between dystopia and dreamscape.

Retro Futurism Beyond 2025: Still Making an Impact?

This trend has revived, particularly with Gen Z audiences in fashion, music, and tech circles. It taps into a desire for nostalgia and novelty, exactly what today’s digital-first audiences look for in their entertainment. While it might not be evergreen, this is one of the graphic design trends that has enough cultural momentum to carry it through 2025, especially in brand campaigns targeting younger or more trend-savvy demographics. With the recent wave of simple modern designs, there is a desire to tap into a more natural feel to break away from what has now become the status quo.

Should Designers Learn Retro Futurism?

Retro Futurism is a great style to explore if you want to experiment with visual storytelling or stand out against the more simplistic modern designs you might see today in advertising. Understanding how to apply this look in an appropriate context can drive interest, help you create a more interesting portfolio, and show clients that you can meet specific needs or step out of the box when you need to.

Should Brands Use Retro Futurism?

As mentioned, this would depend on the brand and specific audience you are catering to. When done correctly, this style can deliver the desired engagement needed. This style excels at emotional connection with older audiences, especially if your audience grew up with early internet, arcade games, or 90s cartoons. Still, it also does well at tapping into the curiosity of younger generations. It’s particularly useful for industries like music, fashion, and entertainment. Newer fintech brands like CoinBase and Binance have prominently featured it. However, this is one of the graphic design trends that may come across as too playful or niche for more serious sectors like healthcare or finance unless used intentionally in specific situations.

What Type of Brands Should Use Retro Futurism?

Lifestyle brands, video game brands, and food and drink companies could benefit from experimenting with this look to create more interesting packaging designs for products and advertising. In contrast, luxury or premium brands might find the retro elements clash with their tone. Knowing when to employ these graphic design trends is key to getting the appropriate audience to engage with your brand effectively.

Popular Brands Using Retro Futurism:

1. MTV

MTV is well known for tapping into nostalgia. From rebranding stingers to social content, MTV’s visual identity leans heavily into retro tech, VHS overlays, and lo-fi sci-fi energy.

2. Adobe

Especially in their Adobe MAX conference visuals and Behance campaigns, Adobe often experiments with retro-futuristic aesthetics to connect with creative audiences.

3. Supreme

While not overtly “futuristic,” Supreme has used pixel art, retro type, and surreal, nostalgic visuals in limited-edition drops and collaborations.

4. CoinBase

Coinbase has leaned into retro-futuristic aesthetics for years, featuring glitch art, neon sci-fi interfaces, and nostalgic overlays.

Minimalism

Minimalism in graphic design is all about simplification, stripping visuals down to essential elements to communicate its message more directly. Clean typography, high contrast, large white space, and a limited color palette. Techniques can include grid-based layouts, sans-serif typefaces, and a focus on visual hierarchy. While graphic design trends can be colorful, expressive mediums, pulling back and reducing extremities can have a time and place. The correct target audience can expect to feel like the advertised product or service may deliver on quality and laser-focused consideration of how the product was made.

Less is Still More? Evaluating Minimalism for the Future

Since minimalism is relevant to foundational design principles at its core, we can expect to see this style used for many years. In 2025, as brands continue to prioritize accessibility, quick turnaround times, and clean user experiences, minimalism will remain relevant. It adapts well to both print and digital formats. It plays nicely with responsive design, a must in today’s technology-focused world.

Should Designers Learn Minimalism?

Minimalism is one of the foundational graphic design trends essential for every designer looking to work in advertising. Even if you don’t consider minimalism your style or focus, understanding its principles will make you a better designer. It forces you to think critically about composition, type, and balance. Mastering it gives you the discipline to know when not to add more.

Should Brands Use Minimalism?

You will probably find that most brands engage with minimalism as one of their graphic design trends in some capacity, regardless of the brand’s primary function or style. However, it is especially effective for tech, healthcare, and luxury spaces. That said, minimalist branding can sometimes feel cold or sterile if not used in the appropriate context or where a human touch is needed, so it should not be seen as a one-size-fits-all solution.

What Type of Brands Should Use Minimalism?

E-commerce brands, fashion, and technology often benefit from minimalism because it keeps the focus on the product and user experience. However, restaurants, event-based companies, or experiential brands may want to take a different approach and use texture, color, or photography to avoid feeling too clean or sterile.

Popular Brands Using Minimalism:

1. Apple

Probably the poster child for modern minimalist branding. Everything from product pages to packaging is intentional, crisp, and clean.

2. Muji

This Japanese retailer embraces extreme minimalism both visually and in philosophy. Their branding, packaging, and even stores reflect it.

3. Everlane

A fashion brand that uses minimalism to communicate transparency, simplicity, and ethical production. The clean layout puts products front and center.

4. Aesop

Their branding and packaging strip away excess, using elegant typography and subdued tones that speak to a premium experience.

2025 Graphic Design Trends for Brands

When choosing graphic design trends for your brand, there isn’t a single right answer. Each brings something different to the table – whether it’s the eye-popping depth of 3D, the cool nostalgic-meets-new feel of Retro Futurism, or the straightforward clarity of minimalism. The real trick for designers and brands isn’t just jumping on the bandwagon, but figuring out if a style genuinely fits the message, the audience, and the overall vibe. Choosing wisely is what makes a trend work, not just the trend itself.

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