Bill Schaffer AIFD, AAF, PFCI & Kristine Kratt AIFD, PFCI
As floral designers, we know to look to flowers and nature for influence and inspiration. We create with natural materials and botanical elements, artistically combining them with vases and vessels that can themselves be unique art forms.
How do trends in other creative fields affect the world of floral design? How do these trends seep into the consumer’s awareness of design? Our awareness of other creative mediums and their trends can lend inspiration in a constantly evolving world of design.
Specific trends in creativity will impact design in 2018. For designers, and artists as well as brands, trends are a necessary tool. They allow us insight to where we are as a culture, how we connect with the world around us, and how to make your creativity resonate. Awareness of trends in all different creative mediums helps us to be relevant and stay inspired.
CREATIVE REALITY
This growing trend blends real life with fantasy and imagination. Artists are pushing the boundaries of what is considered beautiful as well as what is considered “real.” Intense, crazy colors, unexpected combinations of objects and eccentric creativity abounds. Contrast is the king of Creative Reality when we use natural elements and colors in unnatural ways.
PHOTOGRAPHY
One way to observe changing trends in visual design is to pay attention to stock photo images. Trending photographs in 2018/19 will offer authenticity and creativity. Creative images that tell a real story. “Real people” is one of the current top-trending search terms for images. Things that are overly shaped, posed and manipulated are making way for more organic and spontaneous visuals.
MULTI-LOCALISM & HISTORY
Artists and designers are continuing to gather inspiration from our interconnected world. Technology, travel and global-consciousness have opened the door to shared cultures, cuisines and artistry. Art forms, techniques and cultural craftsmanship from this global-village are being shared with new generations of artisans. We often look to the past for meaning and inspiration, especially in a fast-paced, ever-changing world. Today’s designers and artists are looking for content inspired by history and art that mixes the past with the here and now.
GRAPHIC DESIGN
Throughout the world, creative typography has been an ongoing trend over the last few years and is still going strong with lettering and text in unexpected fonts and monograms. Added into the mix is the use of negative space in graphic design. Simple images and logos become powerful when given negative zones to boost their relevance. The same goes for the trend in one-color 3D design. Monochromatic and bold use of color backgrounds give a modern emphasis to a logo, product or highlighted design.
SHIFTING INDIVIDUALITY
We are in a time that allows us to be anything we dream of being. Design identity is not fixed and permanent. It can change with personal identities, abilities, education, and age. These all morph together to become the cumulative ‘you’. Design, like designers themselves, are endless expressions of the never-ending story that represents today’s consumers. As the population moves into desiring more personalized items to reflect their individual story, creativity in design will continue to evolve.
TEXTURE, TACTILITY & TOUCH
Our sharing of imagery through screens and devices had opened amazing artistic connectivity for the world. At the same time, it has created a longing for tactility and direct touch. Trending fashion and textile designers are creating with materials that have rich and enticing surface textures. Photographers and graphic artists are creating images that include a connection, whether between a subject and another person or object, or images that emphasize the texture of objects. All give back an important sensory experience.
QUIET TIME
Our world is a constant flow of input, data and interruptions. Quiet is trending. People are embracing silence and solitude not only for lack of noise, but for calmer visual world. In the creative world talking a step back from the barrage of media can help refocus and redirect our thoughts. Envision changing a photograph into black and white just to be able to absorb the clarity of the shapes and lines without the distraction of color.
Originally published in the October 2017 Issue of Florists Review
