Exploring Graphic Design Trends - The Human Touch pt. 1
Though the Design world is constantly shifting and evolving, I (and I’m sure many others in this field) have picked up on a few trends that have been building momentum of late. At the same time that AI has entered into the world as a means of executing creative projects, the Design world has put a larger emphasis on the need for The Human Touch.
This concerted effort across creative industries reflects an outward shift in design tonality that feels approachable, human, and friendly. This trend topic is simply far too large to address in one single post, so I will be splitting this larger trend into three easy-to-digest areas to focus on.
The first part of this emerging trend is a meteoric rise in Playful Aesthetics— the use of softer, rounder, more youthful letterforms and an uptick in Brand Character integration are among the ways today’s hottest brands are injecting personality and energy directly into their visual identities.
A few hallmarks of the Playful Aesthetics design trend:
loose, light, fluid lettering that make typefaces more approachable
use of illustrative brand characters to break up text-heavy designs and copy
personification of objects with a touch of the brand’s personality
vibrant color palettes that evoke creativity, innovation, and friendliness
Brands are experimenting with quirky fonts that feel bespoke and fun rather than overly rigid and corporate. After all - typography isn’t just a way to communicate information; it’s a tool that can be utilized to connect emotionally with audiences and consumers.
Brand characters have proven to help make an identity feel alive, unique, and above all - memorable. In a way, this design trend brings the traditional literary tactic of anthropomorphism to a whole new level.
A great example of this is BONES Coffee Co. - which incorporated a surprisingly lively skeleton character into their packaging and brand imagery. By taking the skull from the brand’s primary logomark and expanding it into a fully fledged brand character, BONES Coffee Co. were able to liven up their brand’s packaging, social media, and overall imagery while building on their existing identity.
It doesn’t hurt to have an illustration wizard like Joshua Noom designing your packaging either!
While integrating a mascot or brand character is certainly not a new idea in brand identity building, the last few years have given this particular piece of the trend a massive kick start. This can be attributed to successful rebrand efforts like the work being done over at legendary studio Turner Duckworth ; none more prescient to this topic than their work on - you guessed it - Little Caesar’s.
I know, I know! Hear me out.
It might sound crazier than their famous breadsticks, but the recent rebrand to the Little Caesar’s identity is one that belongs in Graphic Design textbooks. Taking a brand with 85+ years of history and consumer familiarity, regardless of their public perception or the price of their pizzas, and modernizing their entire identity is no small task. But in this particular case, Turner Duckworth knocked it out of the park.
They were able to reinvigorate a tired brand character mark (and thankfully remove its chest hair) and channel that newfound energy into the typography, packaging, and marketing, and in doing so created a full suite of animated and exciting new looks for a character that previously was only used to exclaim“PIZZA! PIZZA!”as a tagline at the end of commercials. And don’t even get me started about the hidden detail of the “LC” monogram on the hem of the toga - total chef’s kiss.
Admit it, you’re a little hungry for some Little Caesar’s now aren’t you?
In addition to individual brand characters, identity designers are blending their typefaces themselves with illustrative elements, creating logos or brand wordmarks that are inseparable from their character counterparts.
Take Rambala Dog Food for example - by adding a minimalist illustration of a dog’s mouth over the top of what could have been an ordinary text box, they were able to communicate their message even more effectively to their consumers. If that wasn’t enough, they took it to the next level by introducing an entire suite of playfully illustrated brand characters to adorn their packaging.
If you love a good brand makeover, the fine folks at the Peruvian design agency SED: share a great series of before-and-after’s from their overhaul of the Rambala identity. As it says on their packaging, you can really tell this rebrand was “Hecho con Amor”.
These are just a few of my favorite examples from this rising trend in the design world. The slides that accompany this post also showcase a few other examples I’ve curated to showcase this growing trend.
What other examples of this trend have you seen? Have you implemented this design trend into any work of your own? Feel free to share some examples of your own in the comments below. Stay tuned for part 2 coming soon to an internet near you!
Thanks for joining me in my first installment of my newly minted design blog. I’ll be sharing trends like these, insights, thought experiments, and my personal projects here on my website, as well as on LinkedIn.
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