Top 10 Graphic Design Trends for Cutting Edge Design in 2025

Every year, graphic design trends show us how art can imitate life. These trends aren’t just what everyone is doing, they’re a reflection of our ever-changing needs and perspectives as a society!
From the warm feels of crafts to the chilling look of futurism, 2025 design trends are a clash of machine advancements and human comforts. Expect to see a dichotomy of perspectives on the past and the fast-approaching future!
Why graphic design trends matter
Graphic design trends help you create projects that communicate and connect to your audience in a timely way. By following and understanding trends, you’re showing that you are plugged into the graphic design world and engaged with how consumer interests are evolving.
As writer and activist, Toni Cade Bambara said, “The role of the artist is to make revolution irresistible”. In other words, graphic design trends aren’t only a sign of the times, they’re sometimes a catalyst to change themselves!
Here are the graphic design trends of 2025 you can look forward to:
1. Mixed media scrapbooking
The original “copy and paste” involved glue and scissors – the physical look of arranging images together has returned to create a nostalgic and human graphic design trend.
Combining digital assets like photos, textures, abstract shapes, and handwritten elements creates a “scrapbook aesthetic” that feels personal and tactile. This trend thrives on its raw, unpolished appeal, giving brands a human, relatable edge.
Check out the Sondheim advertising created by creative giant Pentagram.

Source: Sondheim by Pentagram
The Atlantic Theatre branding by Pentagram is also a tasteful example of a collage-like digital design that feels creatively human and nostalgic.

Atlantic Theatre Company by Pentagram
Collins Agency’s brand design for Credit Karma also used a scrapbooking aesthetic to connect to people:

Credit Karma designs by Collins
2. Diversity and inclusion
Although diversity and representation should be an industry standard and not a fleeting choice, it continues to become more of a priority amongst brands and designers.
In graphic design, it means we’re seeing more faces and people in design. But not the standard picture-perfect models. We’re seeing more tattoos, more unique fashion and hair choices, more diversity, and more acceptance of the human body just the way it is. Woohoo!

Moro, “Now add you” campaign by Sickdogwolfman
Designers are diving into diversity unapologetically and highlighting the many looks, perspectives, and lifestyles of the beautiful people on earth. Our strengths as a society lie in our varying outlooks on life. Why not celebrate it?

Source: Rebranding Rosh on Behance
3. AI realism
One of the newest graphic design trends to hit the scene is the use of AI platforms and tools. While this might seem counter-intuitive, designers are using their creative minds to art-direct AI tools and take graphic design to the next level.
We’re seeing hyper-realistic visuals of storefronts, and digital art that resembles hand-drawn illustrations created by digital artists. Reddit’s rebrand is the first brand to embody this trend with its 3D mascot and logo symbol.
Ori, designed by Red Antler, also uses AI imagery and technology to create surreal visuals.

Ori by Red Antler
AI tools can help designers speed up their workflows, research, and creative ideas. Text-to-image generators bring a new level of accessibility to graphic design and visual storytelling.
Want to use an AI design tool for your brand? Try Midjourney, Dall.E.2, or Jasper. Use it to create a stand-out landing page, data visualization, branded packaging, app design concepts, and more!
It’s a world of new possibilities with AI design accessible to the masses.
Create your own unique logo now!
4. Maximum contrast
Red and blue, black and yellow, neon pink and white – think of a high-contrast color combo and you have the color contrast trend emerging in 2025.
You don’t need many colors, just a few that pack enough of a punch. It can be a bold neon color on a maroon background or the electric look of green and blue or pink and periwinkle – explore the extremes of saturation and contrast to find unconventional color pairings.
Like the colors chosen for “The Superpower of Looking” campaign by Pentagram below.

The Superpower of Looking by Pentagram Agency
Designers are exploring disharmony in color and using that to garner attention and intrigue from their audience. Sometimes breaking the rules can be a good way to find something you didn’t know you liked!
The Coqual ads by Pentagram below pair striking color combinations to create contrast and disrupt the visuals you usually see in your day-to-day.

Coqual by Pentagram agency
5. Fonts at the forefront
Last year we saw experimental font trends take over graphic design. But this year, that’s changed. Just kidding, exciting fonts are still in, but, the words themselves are being used as the focal point.
Sometimes the right words in the right font pack a bigger punch than all the design tricks in the book. Like the bold and conversational take that Slather used below. When was the last time you even heard the word “slather”?

Source: Slather sunscreen
We’ve also found display fonts are taking center stage as we experiment with how far legibility boundaries can be pushed while maintaining clarity. Display fonts can vary significantly, but we predict a rise in elongated and handwritten fonts and abstract lettering.
Note: Be cautious with this trend, sacrificing legibility for cutting-edge design can backfire.

Source: Sarah Vermeulen on Behance

Source: Julia Jay on Behance

Source: Yurie Takashima on Behance
Check out these experimental logo fonts on Looka’s logo generator:
- Made with Looka
- Made with Looka
6. Doodle this
In 2025 the unwavering power of a hand-drawn logo is wiggling its way into branding and graphics everywhere.
Industries most affected will be the food and beverage industry – with some craft and artisanal businesses. But, tech companies are also diving into the emotional advantage of a mascot in 2025. Check out the simple look of the Popup Bagels logo below. The logo looks as handmade as the bagel itself.
Handmade illustrations, doodles, and honestly anything that looks like it was made by human hands is a prime trend in 2025. This trend is all about reconnecting with people and adding a sense of fun and emotional connection. With the right wording, it can go hand in hand with our 5th trend!
Check out a digital application of this hand-drawn trend for “The Print Club” brand by Pentagram.

Print Club London by Pentagram
All doodles are welcome this year! Add an artisanal and handmade touch to your products through drawing and illustration. It’s an ode to old-world craftsmanship and handmade arts!
The logos below have a handwritten logo font and a handmade illustration as their symbol.

Designed by pazmiamor.com
The logos below have a handwritten logo font and a handmade illustration as their symbol.
- Made with Looka
- Made with Looka
7. Anti-design
Over the years we’ve seen many renditions of anarchy in design. All that to say, breaking the rules tastefully is easier said than done. We’re seeing multiple fonts with varying weights and sizes, altered spacing, and sideways composition to make you tilt your head.
Nuclear energy influencer Isodope uses parallax scrolling which feels like the Star Wars credit roll, to create a space-adventure-like website experience.
After following age-old design principles, designers intentionally break the rules to create a unique design that instantly catches your eye and imagination. This trend is not for the faint of heart though! It works well for creatives or creative industries like event planning, art galleries, bars and bands, and festivals.

Ewelina Kotra on Behance

Clusterduck Collective on Behance

Source: Behance
There’s no wrong answer here! In fact, wrong answers are welcome. Do your worst!
8. Simple geometry
Geometric fonts, shapes, and compositions are making a sharp entrance in 2025. Designers and people alike seek refuge from ambiguity in the pristine angles and geometry of shapes.
Get inspired by tapping into shape meanings and reducing the world around you into rudimentary concepts. There’s something soothing about looking at the world from a more simplified lens.
Shapes of all sizes and colors appear in branding, packaging, and web design to usher in a bold and contemporary look. Although this design trend isn’t suitable for all industries, it’s for projects that want a modern look.

Manuvo by Pentagram

Om Organics packaging

Source: Polina Zagumenova on Behance
9. The dark side
We’ve noticed designers have traded the proverbial blank slate for a black one.
This means we’re seeing more black backgrounds! So color choices amongst designers are shifting to brighter ones to offset the dark. As black becomes the main contrasting shade – designers are free to experiment with any shade in the lighter or bolder end of the spectrum.
From a blood red to an aura-like mix of pastel colors, we’re seeing colors shine brighter on a black background. Like the ad for Patreon by Wolff Olins below:

Source: Patreon by Wolff Olins
Dark shades can also blend well with physical materials. Be it enamel pins, posters, and t-shirt designs. Black looks good in virtually any setting. The little black dress isn’t black for no reason!
It’s a shade that has the power to blend into any scenario and morph into any aesthetic. Designers are taking advantage of that this year.
10. Biophilic design
With the sustainability conversation growing, designers are embracing climate awareness and infusing their designs with natural elements, textures, and earthy color palettes. A report from McKinsey on sustainability and affordability found that:
This trend is about being inspired by the sturdiness of rocks, the oscillating sea, bright fresh fruit, and lush forest canopies. Designers are channeling nature’s sensations, but also mindfully selecting colors that have natural dye alternatives and work well on the surface they sit on.

Source: Taste Studio on Behance
This trend is great for branding, website design, and packaging food or nature-based products. But anything goes as long as it’s environmentally centered.

Designed by www.327.pt
- By design studio Glasfurdandwalker.com
- Designed by Katiforner.com
A look back at graphic design trends in 2024
Wondering what was relevant last year? Some trends linger longer than others. Here’s a recap of the graphic design trends last year.
- Diversity and inclusion
- 3D surrealism
- 70s nostalgia
- Maximalism in composition
- Experimental typography
- Illustration and animation
- Anti-design
- Vintage minimalism
- Abstract gradients and transitions
- Texture and senses
- Earth-first design
- Geometric shapes
- AI-powered design
Although this year’s graphic design trends feel like a bit of everything, they’re only a reflection of the changing world around us. Try different perspectives and go out there to create meaningful, world-changing work. We’re rooting for you!