Cluttercore nostalgia, AI fueled art, dark baroque, Asian harmony concepts, and aerial photography are among the top visual trends of 2025, based on trending search queries of the Depositphotos image library.
With the new year just around the corner, it’s time to take stock of the past year and look ahead to the future. Are you ready to breathe new life into your content and graphic design with a visual refresh?
The team from Depositphotos has just revealed a Design Trend Report 2025 that can be your guide to advanced marketing and design decisions in the next months.
The report is based on top searches of the Depositphotos 300M+ library of images and videos, monitoring major events in marketing, creativity, art, and science, as well as interviews with leading designers and marketers.
The major outcome is that in order to stay relevant, you should balance playful, AI-inspired visuals with more traditional, Wabi-Sabi aesthetics. Appeal to Gen Z with friendly, behind-the-scenes content, while engaging Millennials with darker, edgier themes like gothic or punk.
💬 To help you start your first experiments with trending aesthetics as soon as possible, we have added dozens of image, audio, and video collections on the topic of each trend to our report.
Here are the top creative graphic design trends of 2025, according to Depositphotos.
7 creative design trends of 2025
1. The new contemporary
This trend blends highly detailed, realistic imagery with loose, expressive sketches and unconventional color schemes – all designed to attract attention with brightness and unusualness.
The new contemporary involves mixing techniques such as hyperrealism and sketching, as well as using custom color palettes.
2. Cluttercore nostalgia
Minimalism is out, and maximalism is in. Today’s audience, especially Gen Z, craves individuality and authenticity. They prefer a cluttered, nostalgic aesthetic over a minimalist one.
Brands should embrace eclectic designs, vintage-inspired visuals, and a touch of quirky charm to resonate with this generation.
3. Sentiment over actual needs
💬 What is behind the popularity of search queries such as “romanticism art” or “romantic couple hugging” in our stock library, which have almost doubled recently?
With the growing audience interest in sentimental narratives, campaigns that emphasize customers’ emotions over their actual needs are more likely to succeed.
4. AI fueled art
A search query “AI art” increased in popularity by over 1600% in 2024 at the Depositphotos. AI art can generate incredibly detailed images of things that don’t exist in the real world. It can also combine multiple artistic styles, such as realism, impressionism, and cubism, within a single artwork.
The trend is popular because AI art is pushing the boundaries of creativity, because it can combine diverse artistic styles to create stunning and unique visuals.
5. Crafted harmony
Next year, brands will tap into ancient wisdom to offer modern solutions. By embracing Asian concepts of harmony and balance, such as Wabi-Sabi and Ikigai, they aim to inspire audiences to live more peaceful and fulfilling lives.
💬 Brands will try to inspire audiences with time-tested ideas on how to make their everyday lives more calm and comfortable and be optimistic in their campaigns.
6. Embracing the dark
Gothic, dark baroque, punk, and post-apocalyptic—all of these recently revived styles embody a sense of mystery, feature a dark color palette, and revolve around the theme of transformation.
Get ready to see dark mysticism becoming an increasingly prominent theme in visual brand communication – but isn’t this trend too pessimistic?
💬 No way! Color palettes built around purple and blue; sounds of the night, church organs, or heavy rock; and a grunge industrial image background—all to show the audience the way to the light.
7. Look from above
In 2025, there will be a growing demand for images captured from elevated viewpoints. These images can provide valuable insights into spatial relationships and environmental impact.
💬 Photos of the planet from space, reportage photos from drones, and flat lays were the forerunners of this trend in terms of technology.
In 2025 you can elevate your brand’s perspective and show the world in a way that allows each detail to unfold and tell a story.
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Depositphotos is a stock photography and vector graphics platform that offers a vast library of high-quality images, illustrations, and videos for creative projects. Founded in 2009, it caters to designers, marketers, and businesses by providing affordable licensing options.
The report is associated with infographic, shown below. Click on the visual to see it in full resolution. Make sure to visit the original post on the Depositphotos blog, to read the entire article and download the report.
Source: Creative Design Trends 2025: From Wabi Sabi to AI-fueled Art – Depositphotos Blog / Via: Social Media Today
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