Design trends that will shape 2025

This article is not about design trends that you can follow. It’s about the trends that follow you. Trends come from you, your life and your habits. Design imitates life, by design. Quite literally. 

Relax, chill, breathe 

2025 will be about comfort. We’ll find more whites, lighter hues, and soft rich warm tones. Although recent years focused on attention-grabbing saturated hues and colour accents, designs are now moving toward more soothing and nurturing colour palettes. Especially to create digital comfort. By no means will it be dull, just soft and more natural. 

Realism by the Ai Craftsmith 

With the widespread use of Ai, which is getting smarter and more sophisticated by the day, design language will become more specific and realistic. Visuals will leave less room for imagination. Like a reincarnation of the realistic paintings during the Renaissance, resurrected by Ai craftsmiths in 2025! 

Minimalism is here to stay 

With increased choices in pretty much everything that ranges from picking clothes, watching reels, and even travel, focus has become prime currency. One that you’d hold on to preciously, as long as it is in your control. With this lack of attention, sharp and focused design is having a moment. In terms of graphic design, lots of white space, just the right words and pictures with no extra, no fluff, no decor. De-clutter is the word. 

Return of the creative genius 

Prompts are easy. Logic can be trained. Skills can be taught. To think creatively is an art, and a rare one. In everything that will excel, be it fashion, interiors, films, music, advertising, one will look for that creative genius. At least those will be the ones that you’ll feel and want to hold on to. 

Value of invisible design 

The elements of design that are always ahead of you. Like the banter with a debater who makes you say what they want to refute. Or the chess player who plans your next move. It’s this invisible design thinking that makes a piece — big or small, successful. Sometimes, it can be something as small as a mood-setting welcome note that you receive in your hotel room.. With increased choices, this invisible and often missed design thinking will be your most valuable tool. Design that you can’t see, but has been created to make you feel a certain way. 

Desire for exploration 

With the increased consumption of digital, one would begin to miss exploring the world outside. Will miss just taking a stroll, or exploring a city without researching about it on YouTube. One will miss discovering. The innate ability to ignite one’s curiosity by way of design will be a winner. One will begin to want to discover. Explore, find.

More Sustainability 

Has been long in and will only increase — the need for designing everything more sustainably. A deepened commitment to materials, methods, practices, and policies that reduce negative environment impact. Making the world a better place. 

The advent of design writing 

We live in a world where we are using more of text prompts than ever. In this scenario, it becomes imperative for designers to hone their communication skills to write text prompts that will result in the desired end-output. Embracing the written word to be able to perfectly articulate a design brief is challenging, but will open up new vistas to achieve imaginative imagery. 

Breaking away from norms 

There are too many norms. Just way too many. Wireframes and grids for digital, patterns for fashion, structure for architects. 2025 will be a year for breaking norms. In a good way, to pave the way for the next decade. More fluid, dynamic and exploratory.