Graphic Design in the United States in 2021

Graphic design trends in the United States are very important because they dictate the global graphic design trends.

8 min readApr 15, 2021

In this article, we’ll be covering the following topics:

- Graphic Design Trends That Will Dominate 2021
- Top Design Color Palettes for 2021
- Graphic Designers in 2021
- Apps and Games Graphic Design Trends

*The New Midtown Manhattan, Source:tracysnewyorklife*

Graphic Design Trends That Will Dominate 2021

Check out some of the biggest graphic design trends that will dominate in the United States in 2021.

- Muted Color Palettes
- Simple Data Visualizations
- Geometric Shapes Everywhere
- Flat Icons & Illustrations
- Classic Serif Fonts
- Social Slide Decks
- Minimalism
- Nature Design
- 3D Design
- Mood Boosting Colors
- Retro futurism

Muted Color Palettes

While bold and more vibrant colors are not going to disappear, in 2021 there will be more of a focus on muted colors.
Beyond the fact that muted colors are more reassuring in many ways, they also lend themselves to a more natural feel, and that is the big benefit of such a color palette.

If you’re not really familiar with muted colors, they are basically vivid colors that have had their edge taken off with an infusion of black, white, or a complementary color.

Simple Data Visualizations

The goal of any data visualization should be to make complex data easier to understand.
Also, it is very important that someone should be able to understand a data visualization as presented, without much extra context.

Data visualization plays an important part in reporting and visual communication. It brings your information to life in the shortest amount of time.
During the pandemic, we have witnessed how data visualization helps to keep information overload under control and keep everyone updated on the critical numbers.

*James Round, Source:****Path to Pandemic Data Visualization***

Geometric Shapes Everywhere

Despite the seeming simplicity of using geometric shapes in design, it is set to be one of the most popular trends for 2021.
The best thing about this trend is just how flexible it can be.
Geometry is a proven tool in the design process. It allows both the whole and the parts to stand in the eye of the observer. To come to the fore at the same time.

Flat Icons & Illustrations

Icons are a powerful tool for visual communication. With a few icons, we can tell a simple visual story that will give a lot more context to our social media post, blog post, infographic, or video.

Flat, simple icons and illustrations are a growing trend. While nothing new in the design world, flat icons and illustration are resurging with a bang in 2021 as a design trend. The trend will be characterized by simplicity in design and creating a feeling of nostalgia while being a powerful marketing tool. Still, brands use these to convey simple instructions, symbols, or narratives, making the message easy to accept.

Here are a few ways that you can use flat icons this year to upgrade your visuals.

Classic Serif Fonts

Serif fonts are one of the oldest font styles or typefaces that are still in use. They date back to the 15th century and have been in use ever since then.

Because of this, serif fonts are commonly seen as classic, elegant or trustworthy. They can cause a feeling of nostalgia for a large part of the population.

Social Slide Decks

Social slide decks are exactly what they sound like: slide decks that were created to share on social media.

These slide decks are mostly shared on Instagram or LinkedIn because of the way that those platforms handle images.

One way of engaging the audience — without saying a word — is to use animated social slides.

A good example of this is Janneth Sea — Powerpoint & Instagram Template, a set of templates that invites viewers to swipe at their own speed, and contains 30 PowerPoint slides, six Instagram Stories, and six Instagram feed posts that are all fully editable.

*Janneth Sea, Source:elements.envato.com*

Minimalism

Minimal presentation design will always be in fashion, because it’s a surefire way of showing information clearly and concisely.

The adage “less is more” is still relevant. Minimalism is a style that has been around for a while, and it’s seemingly irreplaceable.

axelartstudio *Source* *elements.envato.com*

Nature Design

2021 will be a great year for nature lovers, as one of the new trends in design will be nature-inspired design with organic, softer, and natural inspiration elements in graphic design projects.

The effect of nature imagery is to impart serenity, renewal, and growth — all of which we’ll be breathlessly anticipating in 2021.

3D Design

While minor 3D effects like shadow and overlay have been around since forever, in 2020, designers are taking it to another level, and this style is taking over the internet and will be a very important design trend in 2021.

*leonatsume* *Source:* *UOL-Digital-School*

Mood Boosting Colors

These types of colors translate optimistic messages and simply make audiences feel good.

Retro Futurism

Rather than returning us to an idealized past, 2021’s retro futurism promises to transport us back to the good old days of the days yet to come.

Top Design Color Palettes for 2021

1. Red
2. Blue
3. Yellow
4. Green
5. Pink
6. White
7. Black
8. Gray
9. Gold

Red

It is known that red color causes some positive associations in people (power, passion, energy ). On the other hand, one should be careful if red is used too much on graphics, it can cause some negative associations (anger, danger, warning).

*Karkun studio* in *presentation templates* *Source:* ***Red show***

Blue

Blue evokes some positive associations (trust, loyalty, dependability) but also some negative associations (coldness, aloofness, emotionless).

*spacestudios* in *websites* *Source:elements.envato.com*

Yellow

The most positive associations to yellow are optimism, warmth, happiness, and the most negative associations are: irrationality, fear, caution.

Green

Positive associations to green are health, hope, nature. And negative associations are boredom, stagnation, envy.

*Slidehack* *Source:elements.envato.com*

Pink

Pink evokes a lot of positive associations in users (imaginative, passion, feminine). But also some negative associations (flippancy, childish, raw).

*nanoagency* *Source:elements.envato.com*

White

White usually resembles something pure and positive and most often evokes positive associations in people (cleanness, clarity, purity). But white could evoke some negative associations as well (sterility, coldness, unfriendliness).

Black

Black has some positive associations (sophistication, security, power) and also some negative associations (oppression, coldness, menace).

Jegtheme Source: **elements.envato.com**

Gray

Some of the most positive associations for gray are timelessness, neutrality, reliability. The negative associations are lack of confidence, depression, lack of energy.

*sagesmask* *Source:elements.envato.com*

Gold

Gold color causes a lot of positive associations in users (success, wealth, luxury). On the other hand, the gold color could causes some negative associations (self-centered, demanding, ostentatious) as well.