Innovative print design ideas every new designer should know

Innovative print design ideas. New trends in print design emerge every year. Some of them come and go. Others develop slowly and have the potential to stick around for a decade.
Today we will talk about print designs that are currently trending. We hope they will inspire you and help you to come up with new brilliant ideas.
Let’s get started!

Futuristic geometrics

Futuristic geometrics are not ‘a new thing’ in graphic design. But it’s a relatively new trend in print design. Combinations of 3-D cubes, pyramids, and other geometric shapes are now used in the design of leaflets, brochures, business cards, and other printed products.
Futuristic geometrics usually pair well with dark backgrounds. This type of design is a perfect solution for IT startups and other innovative companies.

Image source: https://www.printingnewyork.com/product/jumbo-flyers/

 

Minimalist floral prints

Minimalism has been dominating the world of design and branding for the last few years. And in 2020, this trend is getting even stronger, particularly the trend for minimalist floral prints. Extra thin lines, elegant shapes, pastel shades – that’s what modern customers like the most.

Image source: https://www.printingnewyork.com/product/natural-business-cards/

 

Extremely minimalist print design

Some modern clients are obsessed with minimalist art movement and are looking for extremely minimalist print designs. So if you want to land more projects, you should adjust your approach to work and ‘go minimal’. You should learn how to use simple geometric shapes and thin lines to create original designs.

Image source: https://www.designwomb.com/work/whistle

 

One-color pallet

For many years, modern people have been surrounded by too bright advertising. And they get tired of it.
Now people strive for simplicity in shapes and colors. And pretty often they choose one-color prints instead of multi-color ones.
Here is an example of how a designer can use one color to create a visually appealing print.

Image source: https://www.uprinting.com/postcard-printing.html

 

Natural textures and materials

Modern people actively support the environmental movement and prefer to use products that are made of natural materials. And when it comes to print design products, they choose items with natural textures, shapes, and colors.
It means that innovative print design ideas relate not only to the prints itself but also to the materials used for printing. Keep that in mind, when working on your next projects. The best sustainable materials for printing are recycled paper and bamboo paper.

Image source: https://cms.cloudinary.vpsvc.com//image/fetch/q_auto:eco,w_700,f_auto,dpr_auto/https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/sitecore-media-bucket/prod%2fen%2f%7b4F63C692-9221-465C-97FF-47938FF51858%7d

 

Focus on a dominant brand color

If you want to create a winning print design, you should choose colors wisely. Don’t try to combine a bunch of different vibrant colors. It will not help you to make your design more eye-catching. To create an elegant modern design, focus on one dominant color – the brand color.
Take a look at the following example. The menu design includes only three colors: white, black, and yellow. The menu doesn’t contain colorful food photos, but it still looks stylish and highlights the authenticity of the restaurant brand.

Image source: https://www.printingnewyork.com/product/brochures/

 

Fingerprint pattern

Have you notices that fingerprint patterns become popular in print design lately? Clients, particularly newly-created companies, love this design a lot. Can you guess why?
Unconsciously, we tend to associate the fingerprint pattern with ‘authenticity’ and ‘originality’. Therefore, company owners believe that by choosing this pattern, they add authenticity and value to their brand.

Image source: https://order.design/project/greenhouse

 

Watercolor designs

The watercolor background is another print design trend you can use to your advantage. It always looks beautiful, and it’s easy to create.
Kimberly Oleander, an editor at Supreme Dissertation, says: “Clients like watercolor designs because they allow to express the brand personality and to grab attention in a non-intrusive way. Watercolor designs are an excellent solution for clothing and cosmetics brands, as well as art companies.”

Image source: https://www.designwomb.com/work/seascape-flowers

 

Image source: https://www.vistaprint.ie/business-cards/square

 

Emphasis on a text message

As a designer, you know that picture is worth a thousand words. And working on new prints, you pay more attention to the visual elements rather than text.
However, in some cases, the text plays a more important role than pictures. And your task is to create a design that draws attention to the message expressed in words. You can do it in multiple ways, for instance, by putting the words over the picture using a huge font size and contrast font color.

Image source: https://bond-agency.com/project/action-stadium

Sometimes clients don’t provide designers with a specific title they want to use – they provide only a vague description of their idea. If you have to work with such a client, find someone who can help you to come up with the right phrase or title. Contact marketers on Upwork, or get assistance from writing companies like GrabMyEssay and TrustMyPaper.

 

Diagonal stripes

Diagonal stripes always make a simple design look more catchy and stylish. You can use the striped background to breathe life into your creation, whether it’s a minimalist print design or any other design.
The stripes themselves can be thin or wide, bright or light. It all depends on the preferences of your clients and your own vision of the design. If you want to follow current trends, use pastel colors.

Image source: https://www.designwomb.com/work/style-check-in

 

Image source: https://www.graphicart-news.com/op-art-inspired-packaging-for-casa-cardona-wines-by-marcal-prats/#.XtdCqssufIU

 

Impressionism art prints

The vast majority of print designers are looking for inspiration in art. And pretty often, that leads to new trends in print design.
Inspired by masterpieces of Van Gogh, Salvador Dali, and Edgar Degas, modern designers have started applying impressionism ideas to modern print design. So now we can come across brochures and magazine covers that look like masterpieces of famous artists.
If you are passionate about art, feel free to bring your passion to work. Create your own masterpieces of print design and become famous in your niche.

Image source: https://www.classicgraphx.com/design-team/portfolio/#2

 

Neon lights

Neon lights have reinvented themselves. Now they are widely used in print design.
Neon lights and contrast background designs work well for digital companies or event agency. If you’re currently working with clients from these industries, consider using this idea.

Image source: https://www.vectorstock.com/royalty-free-vector/rectangular-leaflet-with-neon-light-vector-21829934

 

Wrapping up

We hope that these twelve print design ideas will motivate you to experiment in your work and build something brand new.
It’s time for you to catch the inspiration and start creating fascinating designs the way you feel it.

 


Written by Donald Fomby.
Donald Fomby is a professional Content Creator and Editor for writing service. His body of work consists of articles, essays, and news reports on trending digital marketing topics that aim to help readers with practical advice.

Maria Papaefstathiou

VISUAL DESIGNER since 1996 and blogger since 2010. Living in Athens, Greece. She has been focusing her research on poster design and particularly on social poster design and portrait design. Her main poster project is a series of posters celebrating great personalities of traditional and popular culture in Greece and Jamaica. These include actors, singers, musicians, poets etc. This is an ongoing project. “I believe that design is a powerful tool that we designers can use to spark enthusiasm, change mindsets and bring positive actions to our world and our culture”. FOUNDER AND EDITOR OF GRAPHICART-NEWS.COM BLOG. She carefully curates high-quality designs, illustrations, and art, from all over the world that will teach and provoke other designers. Many consider her blog to be an exceptional educational tool. CO-FOUNDER OF THE INTERNATIONAL REGGAE POSTER CONTEST which was launched on December 2011, partnering, the creative activist Michael Thompson aka Freestylee. (www.reggaepostercontest.com)