Of fashions, manners and manners

The end of the year is a time for recapitulation of the past and for the oracles to explain what will happen in the next twelve months. Graphic design is not exempt from this annual liturgy. 

illustration: luis echánove

illustration: luis echánove

It is said that 2015 has been the year of "flat design", of websites with videos or full-screen background photos or bright pastel colors. For 2016 we are already being told that everything will be extreme attention to typography (this should always be the case), custom illustrations and infographics (weren't they already?) and bright and powerful colors. 

When designers bow to fashion trends, whether for convenience or to appeal to the tastes of their audience, they are doing a disservice to their clients, their project themselves. If all brand logos were designed according to fashion criteria, they would fail to achieve something as crucial as differentiation. The very definition of the word "fashion" speaks to its transience, and for that reason, it would be putting an expiration date on design when brands should strive for maximum permanence.

By no means following fashion is a proper way of a good designer.

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