We’re already a bit into the Monday of the year—aka January. (Shoutout to Clara Adams for that metaphor.) But hey, it’s still prediction season in my book. So, I asked our creative team—each with their own unique interests, skills, and expertise—what they anticipate for 2025.
From branding to interactive and motion to digital strategy, we had some thoughts. Take a look at the trends our team is putting imaginary money on.
You might want to sit down for this, but *AI shockingly made the list on repeat. I know. I was equally surprised. *To be read in a sarcastic tone.
Maddie Godwin
Art Director
AI’s Growing Pains
AI will continue to improve, but expect some flubs as brands rush to be early adopters. Think Spotify Wrapped’s infamous blunder. We’ll continue learning where people feel comfortable and uncomfortable with AI “replacing” the human hand. And failing to render said hands well.
The Rise of Handcrafted
In response to AI’s global domination, handcrafted mediums will regain popularity. There’s charm in imperfection, and as algorithms get sharper, people will crave the authenticity of something made by hand. Praise be.
Clara Adams
Graphic Designer
Brands with Personality
Say goodbye to clean-cut sans serifs and rigid brand guides. The trend is shifting toward brands with rich, dynamic personalities. Think of brands as a character. Rules? Meant to be broken. The goal is to stand out, even if it means bending a few design “rules.”
AI as a Tool, Not a Trend
AI will become less of a buzzword and more of an everyday tool—streamlining tasks and creating efficiencies so designers can do what they do best. But misuse or ethical missteps? Prepare for backlash. As workflows become faster, hand-process work will become even more valued.
Clara Thamke
Graphic Designer
AI Images and Videos Everywhere
Brace yourself for a flood of AI-generated visuals—often without much discretion. Will they be tasteful? Eh, doubtful. See this Coca-Cola ad, for example.
Nostalgia for the 2000s-2010s
The late 2000s and early 2010s will ramp up. Expect design and advertising to tap into this era more and more. Here’s a great example.
Will the Serifs Please Stand up?
Sans serifs, don’t let the door hit you on the way out. The fatigue of clean sans serifs keeps rising as brands have homogenized and lost personality. Variable fonts and serifs will be stepping into the spotlight in 2025. Brands can stand out by choosing a typeface with personality, like Parker did with Ostermoor.
Cole Buckhart
Video Editor
On the fly Content Marketing
Brands will trade their rigid, old-school digital content strategies for flexibility and authenticity. By posting on the fly and leaning into trends as they are actually trending, they’ll stay more relevant and drive stronger engagement with their audiences.
AI as a Support Tool
Beyond generating creative assets (Cole has some thoughts), AI as a support tool can help streamline administrative tasks and processes. This will enable agencies to focus on delivering smarter insights and making informed decisions faster, ensuring the creative works even harder and clients’ budgets are maximized for greater impact.
Mitch Kuhn
Creative Director
AI for the DIYer
Small businesses already DIYing their marketing will dive into AI-generated art. While it might save money and feel like a smart move, everything will start to have a similar vibe. Perhaps a few landmark AI-related legal cases will freak everyone out, hitting pause on the trend. And maybe, just maybe, they’ll circle back around to human-generated art. We shall see.
Blackletter’s Moment
Could 2025 be the year of Blackletter’s peak? Perhaps. Perhaps, indeed.
Brand books with a soul
Brand books will move away from strict rules, focusing instead on conveying a vibe, voice, or system. It’s a lofty hope, but one we’re all in on.
Kellie Fox
Senior Art Director
Print’s Comeback
Print design is stepping back into the spotlight. In all reality, it never left. However, the last several years have shifted focus to digital design and marketing. There is a strong desire for authenticity and connection—making room for print and the tangible to shine again. When someone touches something, holds it in their hands, they remember it more.
Crissie Hoskins
Creative Director
Typography
Typography is going to be a BFD this year. No more “best supporting actor role.” Relying less on imagery, we will see fonts taking the lead to convey emotion and energy. Whether big, bold, and experimental, or refined and minimal, typography will play a huge role in design in 2025. And with a heavy lean toward type-driven creative, variable fonts will continue to slay.
Color
Just have fun with it. Get weird. Colors that shouldn’t go together can. Does it match? No. Does it work? Probably. Stand out and be brave. Maybe it’s pairing Pantone’s neutral color of the year, Mocha Mousse, with a feisty neon accent. They’re bold and bright. Fresh and juuuuust “off” enough to work. We will also continue to embrace neutrals and tone-on-tone vibes. All great news.
Playful Mashups
We will see many playful mix-and-match approaches in graphic design—from unexpected font pairings to color combos and a mix of all of them.
Deanna Scherrer
Senior Art Director
Collage and Texture
Digital design will lean into collage, texture, and illustration, making online experiences feel more human.
Brutalist Web Design
Brutalism in web design will continue to evolve. Focused on using bare web elements and structure instead of decorative design, it leads to websites with interesting interactions and design. Sometimes, it can feel a bit chaotic, but it certainly helps a site be unforgettable. Here’s a wild example.
Handcrafted
As AI integrates further into workflows and increases the ease of access to digital design, human-centered, hand-crafted creative will emerge as a countertrend.
Brands wanting to leave a meaningful impression must cut through the noise by leaning into more tactile marketing, like experiential design, environmental build-outs, and print pieces you can hold. The more senses we can incorporate, the stronger the connection between brand and consumer.
