By: Yehudis Blicksilber, Bespoke Design

If you’re anything like me, you’ve been googling Graphic Design Trends 2024 on repeat since about halfway through this year. We’ve seen hyper neon brights, outsize, squishy-looking typography, jarring glitch effects and dizzying whirls of colour. 

Maybe you’re also wondering how these new looks are going to appear in our magazines or when they’re going to become more “wearable.”

So I’ve dived into some trends happening in the frum design world and rounded them up.

Let’s go.

Thinking Macro

Everyone seems to be in a collective backlash against minimal and bland.

The frum design world is going with it cautiously, throwing in little pops of edge and personality. It seems like the quirky, maximalist weirdness of post-Corona is filtering into Jewish design - but more controlled, more elegant, and toned down by dusky palettes, refined shapes and, of course, the familiar whitespace-minimalist-one-object-per-ad format.

Trend 1: Interestingly Shaped Placeholders

Stepped corners and zig-zagged edges together with curves, frills and notches (see below) are giving ads punch and elegance.

I’m spotting them teamed with outline-only effects and against whites and bare pastels. There are plenty of arches and vitamin-capsule shapes around, too, though they’ve been going for a little longer. 

Vibe: Sharp and edgy (no pun intended)

MicroTrend: Notches

They’re having a big moment right now.

Trend 2: Next Generation Font Play

The wonky serifs of ‘21, ‘22, ‘23 are starting to feel a little too familiar.

Not that that means quirky type is out of the window - far from it.

There’s been a wave of spunky sans serifs, as well as gently handled, subtly tweaked letters making an appearance; with careful craftsmanship that’s precise enough to let you know they care, stand out a bit, and still charge a current of understated, sophisticated fun.

See these subtle bubble serifs from Bleuline Design’s ad for Elyon Seminary or the character-loaded calligraphy of the Malon Resort, courtesy of Samkup.

Vibe: Cool screams quietly.

Trend 3: Blocks

Clean without being plain, elegant but not overdressed, the trend of composing an advert of one or two squares is exquisitely simple. Here, images or blocks of colour are placed directly onto the ad and the ad features very little else.

There’s a kind of raw sophistication in it  - as the edges of the picture structure the advert, no frames or embellishments are needed and the effect is quite literally cutting edge.

Vibe: Wow doesn’t need pretty.

Trend 4: Wacky Product Shots

This trend is emerging more slowly: a grittier, off-the-wall approach to product photography.

The Freepik vibe is getting a little tasteless. When pics of clothes draped elegantly on hangers are starting to feel stale, hang the dress from a chain. No photographs of a danish and coffee neatly ensconced in a swath of fabric - take a bite out of the danish, plonk it on the cup and snap one like that.

Deliciously weird.

Nostalgic flash lighting and jarring colours also get thrown in the mix. 

Vibe: Lusciously gritty.

Trend 5: Logos Oozing Personality

A cheeky retort against ‘blanding’, logos are emerging with a craft, special-edition vibe. Heritage, double-exposure, sophisticated doodle, custom script…

See Milk Crate from Ptex’s Rosemary supermarket, with barely formed letters composed of what looks like grass and daisies. 

Vibe: Own your stuff.

Trend 6: Text-Based Ads

A profusion of gorgeous ads composed entirely of copy have been emerging in Jewish print design. In these pieces, the graphics subliminally power the words and the result is not only striking but incredibly persuasive.

Trend 7: Two-Tone Ads

The little black dress of ad trends, limited colour isn’t going away anytime soon.

These designs pop with just one or two hues and the effect is at once bold and sophisticated. Medium-bright, highly saturated colour values go hand in hand with the vibe. 

Putting colour front and centre also supercharges ads for brand recognition: think Simpatico, Breadberry, Gemberry, Mauve.

Honourable Mentions

These ideas are absolute gold, but it’s a little too early to see a pattern emerging in the frum publications. 

Watch this space for the trends of 2025 ;)

• Childlike illustrations with obvious outlines

• Strange textures and colours

• Collage effects and controlled clutter

• Unusual image-text combos

So here it is. The next time you’re working on a design that needs that elusive something fresh, something trendy; not too out of the box but not too overused (yet;), I hope there are one or two trends here that you can reach for to inspire your creations.

Happy designing!

Yehudis Blicksilber

Bespoke Design, perfectlybespoke@gmail.com