All the top design trends you need to know in 2016

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Get a head start with 2016's biggest trends in branding, logo design, colour, web design, UX and tech.

Love or loathe them, new design trends emerge, evolve and expire every year. As a creative professional or hobbyist, it helps to have a handle on the aesthetics that will define the coming months – if only to stay one step ahead.

Trends work best when they're manipulated in new contexts to produce original creative. Whether you're interested in using the predictions here to push your work further, or simply want to know what to avoid, here are the most exciting design movements happening across six core creative disciplines.

branding trends

Brands will increasingly offer more immersive customer experiences, like the Ikea billboard that was converted into a climbing wall

Today's consumers expect to be able to interact with brands, demanding new products and services – and becoming a more active part of the conversation.

With brands and branding techniques changing to reflect this, here's what we're tipping to be the biggest trends in branding design for 2016.

logo design trends

Last year saw some big companies redesign their logos

There might not be one single recipe on how to design the perfect logo (opens in new tab), but you'll be able to create a cutting-edge logo with these seven rising logo trends for 2016.

colour trends

Kampo Lounge by Studio ID shows industrial pastels in use

Studies have shown that up to 90 per cent of snap judgments made about products can be based on colour alone, so choosing the right one can be crucial – which means you need to know 2016's top colour trends, whether you use them or not.

web design trends

Marketplaces are springing up for Material Design, crossing the mobile/desktop barrier

Now, more than ever before, the web is a playground for designers to push the boundaries of what is possible, experimenting with novel user interfaces, and leveraging the power of all the possibilities in creative, exciting ways. Here, we round up the hottest web design trends set to dominate 2016.

UX trends

10 trends, accompanied with explanations on why these developments are gaining popularity

2016 looks like it will be the year of more full-width images, split-screen layouts and monochromatic colours, amongst others. Find out which UX trends will be staying and which new ones are being introduced, with these 10 predicitions.

Tech trends

Chat as Interface will change customer behaviour

Tom Moran, Gary Glozier and Sion Evans of TH_NK reveal their predictions for the tech trends that will change web design over the coming year.

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Julia Sagar
Julia Sagar

Julia is editor-in-chief, retail at Future Ltd, where she works in e-commerce across a number of consumer lifestyle brands. A former editor of design website Creative Bloq, she’s also worked on a variety of print titles, and was part of the team that launched consumer tech website TechRadar. She's been writing about art, design and technology for over 15 years.

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