Questions about trends
“How many people have to do a similar thing before it’s a trend?
“Aren’t most trends around permanently, like witty packaging or advertising?
“And if something is a trend, shouldn’t we avoid it, especially in branding?”
Posed by Lee Newham of Good People.
Which got me thinking, who decides what a trend is anyway? What does it take to create one? Could I do it, and if so, what would my trend be? Would I want to? Probably not. Although, perhaps if it had some kind of social or environmental benefit.
Maybe I could follow a trend where I only work with environmentally conscious design clients (is that one?). Perhaps finding steady stream of these clients isn’t viable. But then, if all us designers took the same stance… How would we do that?
Just thinking with type.
Related posts
19 appreciated comments on “Questions about trends”
Anything to add?
All comments are moderated so you may experience a short delay before yours appears. Comments should be respectful of other voices in the discussion, and I reserve the right to edit or delete comments at my discretion.
Please use your real name. Keywords will be removed.
That’s the exact problem I’m having right now with one of my graphic design professors, kind of.
He is pushing us to learn and be more creative, I have no problem with that, on the contrary, I think that will make me a better designer. The problem is when he asks us for examples of “innovative” design. Everyone in the classroom provided 10 examples last week, giving him a total of 150+ examples in total of what we thought was innovation. He then chose what he thought was innovative.
All his choices followed a trend.
Trends are something to avoid in my opinion, take fashion as an example. Once I see mass consumers picking up on a style, I know it’s time to change things around. Trends are unavoidable, but push front runners to progressively change what is new. But then it might become a trend to not follow a trend!
I also think professors might lose their design eye with a lack of real world projects. That and the power they have by telling 100′s of students what is right and wrong with design.
I think trends in the design world can be defined as repetitive patterns that we see in prominent works of a given time period. Indeed, there’s no way to verify objectively whether trends are real or not, but those who spend more time exploring and reviewing design works have more chances to spot similarities and trends.
In my opinion, designers have at least to be aware of current trends in their design field. Following them or avoiding them is then totally up to them.
…not all repetitive patterns are trends though, case in point: ‘them’ in the last sentence of my previous comment !! (too bad I can’t edit)
That would make you a ‘trendsetter’ David.
On trend (straight out of Wikipedia):
Though the term trend may be used interchangeably with fad, a fad is generally considered a fleeting behavior whereas a trend is considered to be a behavior that evolves into a relatively permanent change.
I think that says it all.
Victor, following the definition that Blair left, were the trends your professor chose reflective of a permanent change? Interesting definition: “a trend is considered to be a behavior that evolves into a relatively permanent change.” What encompasses “relatively permanent?” Relative to what? The changes that have come before for a specific area of design?
William, same question. Are you talking about avoiding permanent changes, or just those gimmicky fads that come and go much quicker? (Or both?)
Blair, thanks for the nudge. It’s like I’d never heard of a trendsetter before.
Kaishin, on the contrary, there are a lot of them out there (designers, trends). So perhaps it was worth repeating.
Whether or not you like or follow a particular trend, I think it is crucial to try and understand why that trend has caught on. Deep down, trends speak truths about a culture and the themes that come to define people’s interaction with the world around them. A trend itself is just one established way to connect with an audience, but if you look at it within the context of the audience you just might find out something much more valuable that will allow you to make more meaningful connections.
Blindly following trends is as foolish and blindly disregarding them.
Here’s an interesting and inspiring link to designers who are creating positive change with ‘ideas that matter”.
http://www.na.sappi.com/ideasthatmatterNA/inspire.html
Nice trend!
Oh, more fame on David site! :-) Thanks David.
Great comment Blair.
Basically, we are talking about fads rather than trends. We should rename fashion ‘Fadion’, trending ‘Fading’ and the latest photoshop filters ‘Faders’.
I hate Fads. We should be solving problems, not following the solutions other people have created.
Great link Bernadette, shame it’s closed for this year, ‘Designed by Good People’ can make good use of that next year.
I have to agree with Ryan. Understanding a trend/fad is learning which can lead to creative thinking. Look at a trend/fad with glossy or ultra reflections, complex imagery, also 3-d type logos and branding is poplar as the “in” thing. (3d movies = headache) True in most printing settings you need to alter some of these approaches. But with how internet driven many markets are, is that such a bad thing? Also, great timeless logos can experience modification just for fads, to capitalize on advertising purposes. So the reverse formula also can go into effect. Am I making sense?
Fads as they relate to brand design would be a great read.
I think it’s really hard to avoid trends. How many people use the font Gotham at the moment? Back in the 80′s Optima was one of the most popular fonts of its time, almost never used now. At the beginning of the Millenium Officina was the go to face. I know these are only typefaces but the principle is the same. I think branding should follow trends less than say advertising. Branding should have a longevity to it where as advertising is throwaway and has to connect with consumers on a popular level right now.
This one’s hard. Fad, just the sound of the word rings negative connotations. Trend, feels like you influenced something deeper, it can be used for good or bad, but either way, when it gets done to death and has been bastardized from its original purpose, it’s usually done with.
I agree w/ Ryan W. Kimball’s comment about trends speaking truths about a culture.
In terms of “environmentally conscious design” becoming a trend. Look at how fast “the green movement” exploded. We all kinda realized at the same time that our current way of living is not healthy. Being “green” has become a relatively-permanent way of looking at things now. If you don’t mention something in your ad nowadays that you’re “all natural” or “made w/ recycled materials” you’re kinda screwed. So I guess that’s a trend that worked for the positive, kinda.
McDonalds is a good example of a trend being integrated into everyday life. We all know their food is bad for us, well really bad. But it was no big deal for a long time. But then”Super Size Me” hit the air. We got a nice dose of reality fairly quickly. All of a sudden healthy choices started showing up in fast food places like Taco Bell. McD even had its own “healthy yoga meals” all of a sudden. Was this corporate induced fear the birth of a new health trend that seemed to show up outta nowhere? If a trend is so positive it scares companies to sorta rethink its corporate strategy is that bad?
Here’s me thinking way too much.
I was just thinking… In terms of web, even the blog/comment type of site is a good example of a positive design trend that seems to have replaced every other type of web interaction. I wouldn’t call it a fad. And these days you’d be mental to not include it in your online marketing strategy even though every one and their mother has one now. Some people do it well, like you.
Simply put, it’s a great way to connect w/ an infinite amount of people in a short amount of time. It replaced or enhances stagnant sites and gives your audience a reason to return daily. Is this blog trend a negative? What’ll be next when people itch for something different?
The definition provided very well fits the way my professor interprets innovation.
I’m not very happy with the way he imposes his perspective on innovation (key word in his class), but at the end of the day, I have to get a good grade…
His words:
“I’m the professor, so you have to go by what I think is innovation…”
Which college are you at Victor?
I go to Cal State Northridge, (in California, US).
Interesting thoughts here.
I feel that when trends are created, it is generally done unintentionally i.e. wasn’t facebook originally a website for someone who just wanted to keep in touch with his own collage/university friends. Next thing he knows he started one of the biggest phenomenons of the 21st century.
People who generally have a purpose to start a trend do not have great success, because they want to start one over their own thoughts and beliefs, which others will not believe or generally not care for.
If anyone could provide an opposing view to mine I would love to hear it!
I think a trend is something which an individual adapts because it appeals to them and then it takes off, and spreads so that friends, family and pick it up and run with it. Trends exist in every aspect of life, and usually describes what is popular in that given period of time.
Blair has it right. A trend has no end date. The word “trendy” however implies a fad which does have an end date and, in the world of graphic design, a negative connotation. However, in fashion design in particular graphic tees and colorways the goals are different. I would say the goal in fashion is to create trendy designs since the design lifecycle is seasonal. Corporate graphic design serves a more permanent function in business and can’t afford to be trendy.
Victor, I hope that wasn’t a Dave Moon quote. Otherwise he may deserve a phone call. X CSUN grad.