No brand should lean on “Graphic Design Trends 2026″…

As we roll towards the end of the year, graphic designers (and ChatGPT) will pull together listicles and videos on the colour, type, and visual trends that will supposedly plaster our screens and streets next year.

So if you’re gathering those types of trends, here’s my input: gather, then lean away from and reinterpret trends to stay ahead and unique in a competitive market.

But if you’re looking for something beyond aesthetics, here’s my own hopes for the graphic design trends 2026 has to offer. Less about on-trend typefaces, colours and aesthetics – because we should all be aiming for timeless anyway, right? – more about process and approach. Buckle up:

Celebrate graphic design ruthlessness.

Graphic design is a process, not just a bunch of cool mock ups to stick in a reel. And part of the process is being ruthless with your ideas.

I used to say graphic design is “wasteful” but I think “ruthless” is a much better way to describe it. Many accounts (real or not) on Instagram and Linked in share condensed logo design videos.

It’s always one email, one idea and maybe one amend. Underline a few words, wave a finger and then share 20 seconds of mock ups.

It feels like this over simplification of the process misses out a lot of, well, the process. When I present three ideas in a logo design project I know we will not use two (or three).

And when we don’t give visibility to the full process we devalue it. The depth of research, the books of unused sketches, the presentation and discussion of ideas.

Celebrate the death of the graphic design ego.

• “How I would fix this logo design”
• “Graphic designer fixes broken logo”

Were you in the room when it was briefed? If not how do you know it needs fixing?

Don’t find a logo aesthetically pleasing to your style? That doesn’t make it broken.

Hopefully this year we can get away from this good design = my taste focus on social media. Taste is important, but when we focus on aesthetics and personal taste in a 30 second reel, we sell ourselves short.

It gives the impression that graphic design / logo design is only surface deep. And this fuels the fires of AI logo design and free logo design tools which leads us on to…

Celebrate graphic design perspiration.

Show your damn work. Really. Be proud to say the research was tough.

• “We presented three concepts, discarded two, and then the third when a better idea came along.”
• “Once we have an approved concept we developed over ten iterations.”

I get that we sell commercial services, but showing the hard work elevates the value to the client as not every job is a one idea home run.

It also shows that you are prepared to work with people, challenge their ideas, let them challenge ours, compromise, and put in the hours to hit the brief.

Celebrate the client, not just the graphic design.

We never make enough of the fact that great work owes a lot to great clients and their businesses. They aren’t a sounding board for ideas, they should be an active participant in any design project.

I know there’s not always room in a post to do this, but where possible shout them out and acknowledge their contribution to the project. Even if their contribution was to trust you to do your thing.

Recently, somebody was very kind about my logo work. I thanked them but added that at least 50% of the success and good feeling towards a logo / identity is down to the business itself.

The core of what makes something a great logo is the business itself and the good will it imparts to a visual identity.

So yeah, without a great brand great design is made good, and becomes window dressing (even if you are on-point with all the graphic design trends 2026 has to offer).

Celebrate the graphic design people want.

Finally, I wanted to emphasise the commercial nature of what we do. This taps into the death of ego.

As the artist you are satisfying your inner self. As a commercial graphic designer you are there to satisfy the client’s needs.

With that in mind, I’ll let my ego step aside and actually share some places where you can satisfy the need to browse the graphic design trends 2026 promises to plaster our eyeballs with:

• The Graphic Design TRENDS That Will Define 2026 (which heavily references)
• 2026 Graphic Design Trends You Should Know
• Kittl Graphic Design Trends 2026 Report

Also don’t be afraid to go to the source and search Behance for “graphic design trends 2026” and see if you can find some undiscovered gems yourself to feed into your visuals this year.

But remember, as I said at the start: gather, then lean away from and reinterpret trends to stay ahead and unique in a competitive market.