We Analyzed Design Requests.

37,097Here Are The Hottest BusinessGraphic Design Trends for 2018

As of April 2018, Design Pickle had created 37,097 unique design requests for our clients in 2018 so far. That’s a lot of graphics! That’s around 579 new designs created every day that we worked.

Curious as to what kind of requests made up those 37K+ designs? We were!

So instead of storing this knowledge for ourselves, we decided to put together this report to help you get more design inspiration, see what other people like you are requesting, and let you in on the latest trends in business graphic design this year.

In this post we’re going to dive into the trends, show you the most popular categories of requests for businesses so far this year, and give you some examples you can use in your own business (or send right to your designer — if you’re a current Design Pickle customer).

Other prominent design categories included email design, blog graphics, mobile and web graphics, infographics, podcast images, powerpoint templates, and newsletters.

After going through our database, we found the number of requested designs in the following categories (we left off some of the lesser requested des ign types for sake of brev i ty) .

Ad

Instagram

Print

Facebook

T-Shirt

Other Social Media

Email

Blog

Mobile

Infographic

Podcast

Powerpoint

Newsletter

2345

1971

1782

1685

1148

1092

326

271

246

157

141

113

47

The Data: 12 Design Categories

The types of designs a Design Pickle designer completes are usually production type graphics. For example, one hour a designer could be designing a t-shirt for an apparel company while the next they may be designing an Instagram post for a food blogger.

As long as the request is within our scope of service, it’s fair game for our designers to start working on.

24000

Ads

Instagram

Print

Social Media

Facebook

T-Shirt

Email

Blog

Mobile

Infographic

Podcast

Powerpoint

There were 6 categories in which we had over 1000 unique design requests style in the previous 90 days. Those catego-ries include:

Ads (these can be Facebook ads, Google Ads banners, Pin-terest ads and more)• Instagram posts• Print design• Facebook posts & covers• T-shirt designs• Other social media posts (basically networks other than Facebook and Instagram)

Ad Graphics Dominate

The ad graphics category includes all advertising re-lated requests that weren’t specific to a certain plat-form. Requests in this categories can be anything from generic social media ads to print ads.

Gone are the days where you could reach the people who already like your page organically. It’s pay to play on most social media channels now.

With that organic reach gone and an increasing number of businesses advertising on social media, you better have some great visuals in your ad that will grab the attention of the reader.

That’s why we see an increasing number of businesses looking for original creative designs for their advertisements.

Hundreds of requests for bright, colorful, and “unique” ads come into our system every night and every morning hundreds of bright, color, and unique ads are sent to inboxes across the world.

T-Shirt Designs Continue TheirUpwards Trend

While we design t-shirts for all types of businesses and events, we get a lot of Merch by Amazon individuals who rely on Design Pickle for unique andcreative designs.

Shout out to all of our Merch by Amazon clients! While not all T-shirt requests were made for Merch by Amazon Design Pickle customers, most of the 2,813 total t-shirt design requests were.

That’s a whole lot of t-shirts.

You could wear a unique design every day for 7 years with the amount of requests that came through. And considering our designers typically design a couple versions of each request, in reality it’s probably closer to 15 years worth of unique daily t-shirt wear-age.

Major Trends inBusiness Graphic Design

Blogging is dead. Long live the blog! Just kidding.Blogging is still alive and thriving. And we have thedesign data to prove it.

As the number of requests for social media posts increased, we were surprised to see that the number of graphic design requests associated with more “traditional” blogging actually INCREASED as well. Based on data from last year, 1 in every 170 requests was associated with a blog article. This year, 1 in every 77 requests was associated with a blog article.

While blogging as we know it may not be as popular as instagram at the moment, it still is something your business should be doing. Why? Because unlike Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest, you own the content on your blog. If anyone of those were to say “hey, we don’t like what you’re doing” - they could potentially wipeout an income source with a few clicks.

The Number of Graphics Associated with Traditional BlogsActually Increased

The Top Six Categories(Plus Inspiration You CanImplement

As we mentioned earlier, the top six categories in terms of sheer quantity requested by client were

AdvertisementsInstagram postsFacebook posts and coversPrint materialsT-shirtsOther social media images

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Ads

Quick Tips for DesigningAdvertisements

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A great social media ad should... Contrast with the rest of your reader’s news feed (bright colors, high contrast)Have an image that evokes an emotion you want your ideal viewer to feel (usually a positive one)A pop of color or something eye-catchingIncluding a person looking into the camera and smiling is great when using stock photography

Ad InspirationCheck out these two awesome ads that were designed by Design Pickle for your inspiration.

23.4%

Get Your Own Ad GraphicDesigned TonightHere’s one that we created for your own use. If you’re a Design Pickle client simply click the button below to add it to your own Jar and customize it with your own text, colors, and more.

USE THIS AD AS INSPIRATION

19.7%

Quick Tips for Designing Instagram Posts

Instagram Post InspirationWe’re BIG fans of instagram and love designing all of your posts to make your feed just perfect! Check out some of these designs we’ve created for other customers just like you.

Instagram

What makes for a great instagram post? An eye-catching photo A high contrast or color post draws the eye to your postIf you’re doing a quote post, use a readable fontConsider a series of posts that form a larger image when looking at the feed in grid mode

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Have a Designer Create Your Own Instagram PostHere’s a sample instagram post we created for you to take a customize for your own instagram feed. If you’re a Design Pickle client simply click the button below to add it to your own Jar. Simply modify the request with your own text and any other details you wouldlike added.

USE THIS POST AS INSPIRATION

Print

Quick Tips for Designing Print Work

Print InspirationCurious to see what other kinds of print work Design Pickle users are requesting? Here are a couple ofexamples to inspire your next print job.

17.8%

What makes a great print design?Avoid gradients or have your designer use Photoshop so blends won’t bandIf you’re going with a traditional print shop, see if the prices change depending on the number of colorsyou use If you’re going with only black and white - try mocking it up on the color of paper you’ll be using to make sure it’s legibleKnow your margins, bleed, and share any templates your print shop may have provided if you’re using one

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Get Your Own FlyerDesigned NowHave an event coming up? Need a flyer? We’ve designed this flyer that you can customize for your own event. If you’re a Design Pickle client simply click the button below to add it to your own Jar. Add the details of your event

CREATE YOUR OWN FLYER LIKE THIS

16.8%

Quick Tips for DesigningFacebook Covers

Since this isn’t an ad, we don’t have to worry about the20% text rule. Yay!Match your graphic to your current logo and brandingKeep focus on the right hand side of your cover - so your viewer’s eyes will be drawn to the same area where the “learn more” type buttons happen to be locatedBut compensate for mobile consumption! The text area will be a bit narrower on a mobile device (mobile dimensions are 640 pixels wide by 360 pixels while desktop versions are 851 pixels wide and 315 pixels tall). Just ask your designer for the twodifferent sizes to see what they’ll look like!

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Facebook Facebook Graphic InspirationWe love facebook and so do our customers. Here are some designs we’ve made for other Design Pickle clients just like you to make their facebook page pop.

Request a Facebook Graphic NowWhen is the last time you really thought of or refreshed your facebook cover? If it’s been a while, we’ve got a few ideas in mind for you. Just hit the button below, ask for any modifications you’d like, and a new facebook coverbcustomized for your needs will be in your inbox shortly!

MAKE YOUR OWN FACEBOOK COVER

T-shirts T-shirt InspirationHitting on a winning t-shirt design on Merch by Amazon can be huge, so many of our merch clients choose not to share their designs publicly. However, we still have a ton of inspiration to send your way. Check out the awesome t-shirts Design Pickle designers have created this year.

Quick Tips for T-Shirt Design

11.5%

Thinking of designing your first t-shirt? Here are a few tips from our designers that will help you get a great design for your new favorite tee. Know what color shirt (or shirts) you’re going to use and use a design that will look good on it and have the right contrastFind a good mix between simple and complex (for example, the rolling stones logo, the circular design of the ramones shirts, or “keep calm and carry on”)Ensure you understand what color mode (CMYK, Pantone, RGB), resolution, and file formats your printer would like when making your design request

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Design a T-Shirt TodayWe’re loving the beautiful typography and hand lettering trend that’s happening at the moment. Here’s one you can get done by your Design Pickle designer today. As always, just ask for what you’d like and your designer will get it right to you.

CREATE A SHIRT LIKE THIS ONE

10.9%

Other Social Media

Quick Tips for Social Media Posts

As a (probable) user of social media, you’re familiar with how many different brands, people, ideas, and events are trying to get your attention. Standing out from the crowd is imperative to be successful in this channel.

Check Out Some Social Media Posts We’ve Done For CustomersWe’ve already talked about Facebook and Instagram in this post, so let’s consider some of the other visual focused platforms out there like Snapchat, Pinterest, Tumblr, LinkedIn, and even Twitch.

How can you get attention with your graphics in such a crowded space?Be on top of the latest graphic design trends(your Design Pickle designer can always makesuggestions as to what’s on trend lately)Use graphics and text that evoke emotionIf you use text, make it legible

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Consider including something to draw the eye to your ad, like a pop of color or a beautiful picture

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Add Some Fresh ContentTo Your Social FeedsHaven’t made a pinterest pin in a while? Why don’t you have a designer create a fresh new one for you. Just click (make sure you’re

MAKE MY OWN PINTEREST PIN

ConclusionSocial media may be dominating business graphic design trends so far in 2018, but don’t worry, blogs aren’t dead and everyone still loves a great t-shirt.

Hopefully some of the above images inspired your next graphic design tasks. If you want to keep an eye on all the graphic design trends simply ask your Design Pickle designer what’s hot at the moment. They’re always there to help you out. Try us out for 14-days risk-free.

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