Every January brings with it a multitude of contemplations: hopes, dreams and plans. Amongst this mixed bag of reflections, lies the thought of the future. What does the 12 months ahead have in store for us? This year, instead of going for a traditional trend forecast, we turn to the personal - our own community.
Going into 2024, we posed the same question to 6 creative professionals from our WIx Design Guild: “What types of changes, shifts, trends and movements are going to shape this year in the design industry?”
We invited them to answer this question as creative individuals, sharing a glimpse into what’s on their radar at the moment. From immersive VR experiences, to individualism and design maximalism, their answers might rely on personal taste and experience, but are sure to point us in an interesting creative direction.
Michal Zur | Wix Design education
Visual and Conceptual Maximalism
Looking at our students in the current cohort of the Playground Academy, I see an overarching shift towards maximalism.
Visually speaking, gone are the days of minimalist clean design. We are entering a phase where more is more: colors, typography, textures, techniques. Creatives are using the whole spectrum of their talent, showing it all on one single project, creating an influx of elements that work together.
This movement isn’t exclusive to the visual aspect of design, though. I see it manifests in the practice as well, in the way designers define themselves. They are much less keen on putting one specific label on who they are as designers. There is a shift away from specialization of one skill, and a move towards practicing a broad spectrum of techniques, skills and crafts. We see designers who are illustrators, motion designs, coders - without having to choose one over the other to focus.
In recent years the words 'multidisciplinary designer’ was a trendy way of presenting yourself, but it felt meaningless, empty. Nowadays designers are finally growing into the actual essence of that definition.
Eli Zapa | Motion Designer, Studio Video team
Immersive Experiences powered by VR
Being part of the Video Studio team means I’m part of the Creative Lab at Wix Studio - responsible for researching technologies, tools, and trends in creativity, classic graphics, and image making. Being exposed to every aspect of design, we can see an ever-growing movement towards immersive experiences and particularly - the use of virtual reality (VR) as both a tool and a platform to enhance them.
VR is a transformative force when it comes to design, and its influence and impact can be seen across the board. Immersive prototyping for example, is taking a leap forward and is enabling designers to step into virtual spaces, gaining a realistic sense of scale and interaction. The same thing is happening in architecture, allowing architects and designers to explore and refine their work before the first brick is even laid.
In terms of VR tools, we see the use of collaborative design spaces, which allow for design teams from across different locations and time zones to efficiently collaborate. There are new VR tools aimed at user testing as well, providing designers with unique insights as they can test realistic environments.
I think the design landscape of 2024 calls upon creators to delve into the domains of immersive experiences, sustainability, and VR integration.
Gayane Gasparyan | Designer, Templates Team
Hand-drawn and crafty
I think a trend we will see more of in the upcoming year is the use of hand-drawn illustrations and doodles.
Our current world is predominantly controlled by digital infrastructures, so incorporating hand-made designs has the potential to bring with it a human touch to our virtual world. It offers warmth and personality in the otherwise strict and precision-led digital environment of websites, applications, and social media platforms.
The trend combines simple traditional techniques with modern digital tools, for example designers embracing the crafty nature of hand-drawn doodles and then easily incorporating those elements using digital softwares.
I see this departure from overly-polished designs as an attempt to create an effortless aesthetic, one that feels more personal and expresses real human connection. It has the potential to attract the attention of audiences who appreciate authenticity, creativity, and old-school techniques.
Wix Template for a restaurant
Moran Kadussi | Content Strategy Lead
Heart-shaped Everything
I’ve recently noticed that hearts are making a comeback. In fashion with prints and necklines, heart-shaped bags and accessories, and in graphic and web design using the symbol itself - I see more and more of them.
Years ago, I used to snap a picture every time I saw anything heart-shaped: boxes, leaves, notebooks, graffitis . You name it, it was in my heart-themed folder. The habit slowly lost its grip in recent years - hearts disappeared from the public space, and I myself just wasn’t as keen anymore.
Seeing them resurface now, I realize I missed them all along. Perhaps that is why designers gravitate towards them these days: we live in a time when so many of us need love and comfort, and there is no symbol as simple or as direct as the heart itself.
Today’s hearts tend to be less symmetrical, less cute, and are delivered using new techniques and concepts which are aligned with our times: 3D overblown hearts, pixelated hearts, deflated balloon-shaped hearts. The color palette is taken to extremes: using either the classic romantic shades of red, burgundy and pastel pink, or the darker realms of black, gray and gloomy silver. I’m looking forward to seeing more of them in 2024 - as we hopefully let love win.
Alex Kronenberg | Head of Product Design, Components Team
The Liquid Gold Rush Era
My prediction for 2024 is about seeing a side character make its way to becoming the star of the show. I refer to it as the Liquid Gold Rush Era, and yes - I am obviously talking about… olives!
Growing up in the middle east, I’ve always appreciated olives. I liked eating them, of course, but soon realized there’s so much more to them than their casual yet briny, umami, deep flavor. I find them beautiful, a source of inspiration. When covered in their own essence—the olive oil—they shine like a fine gem. Isn’t that the epitome of self-fulfillment? So whether you eat them, use their by-products, or wear their unique color, don’t mistake olives for a garnish - they are a statement.
And it seems I am not the only one under their spell. I’ve recently noticed many brands have taken to their charm, with either olive-related products that are popping up everywhere, or color palettes that are clearly drawing inspiration from the unique deep green that only olives can offer.
Yan Imbrik | Designer, Templates Team
Embracing Individuality
One global trend I’ve noticed is to purposefully avoid trends. Though this idea isn’t new, I think it will grow stronger and will become even more prominent in 2024.
The design industry has the potential to be very receptive to this movement, as it is very diverse and offers space for almost everything. I see this as a sort of parallel to the body-positivity movement - stepping away from a norm we were all accustomed to and embracing individuality and self-expression.
I believe there are two reasons for this happening. The first is indifference: people are overwhelmed with visual content and their attention is unfocused. With the intensifying use of AI, this is even more amplified. We now have content of every style and complexity, and we usually can't tell if it's human or machine-generated. This creates an atmosphere of indifferentness. The second thing is diversity. As a society, we have become more open and ready to accept things we don’t necessarily understand, and this extends to design as well.
I enjoy seeing this shape up, as I believe the most important thing for a brand and its communication is to differ from others. It’s hard to achieve that when you’re overly trendy and modern. So it's good to be weird or old-fashioned, for example. And it looks like everyone is ready to embrace it.
