Irreverence in images: what you need to know about this trend

Right now, we’re living in a world where rebels and outsiders are becoming the new normal.

In business, tech disrupters are becoming the new elite, from Uber to Airbnb. In entertainment, today’s celebrities are no longer airbrushed, stage-managed ‘perfect people,’ but real humans who expose all their insecurities and idiosyncrasies on social media. In politics, too, people and ideas once seen as fringe are shaking up the old order.

So it’s not surprising that the visual trend called ‘Outsider In’ is having a moment. When experts at iStock by Getty Images predicted this trend for 2016 last year, they knew that in the months ahead, images that celebrate rebellion and break with tradition would become more relevant than ever before.

When it comes to visual design in 2016, anti-hero attitudes and extreme fashions are rapidly becoming accepted and admired by the public, and what was once marginal is becoming mainstream. Oddballs, underdogs and the anarchic are all moving from the underground onto the main stage.

In part, this is a backlash against the domination of the web, where popular imagery is instantly mass-replicated and appears everywhere, from aggregated articles to social media shares.

But what does this mean for creatives? Simply put, it’s more important than ever to create unique, stand-out visuals for your brand or project.

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How to leverage the ‘Outsider In’ trend in your work

In addition to trend analysis, iStock by Getty Images offers exclusive, impactful photography that simply can’t be found anywhere else - and all at low prices.

Start your search by using terms such as ‘activism,’ ‘rebel,’ ‘eccentric’ or ‘irreverent’ combined with more familiar search terms such as ‘family,’ ‘business’ or ‘travel.’ The results may surprise you. Narrow your search further by filtering by colour, orientation or number of people.
By focusing your search in this way, you’ll find it simple, cost effective and fast to uncover an iStock image that will help your design to stand out.

iStock by Getty Images also gives you the option of choosing from one of two collections. The Essentials collection contains images that are lower priced but non-exclusive. The Signature collection images, meanwhile, are of the highest quality and exclusive to iStock by Getty Images, at a very minimal increase in cost. There are around eight million exclusive images to choose from in this collection.

With the rise of the Outsider In trend, it seems like fortune favours the audacious. Now is your chance to break clichés and add a dose of non-conformity to your work.

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