PSA: I think the 'clean' design trend is getting boring

Last week I was working on a flyer for a local music festival in Austin, and my first few drafts were all super clean, lots of white space, simple fonts. It looked fine, but it felt dead. Then I remembered a project from about 3 years ago for a skate shop where I went nuts with grunge textures and hand-drawn type. That flyer got way more attention. I think we're stuck in a loop where 'good design' just means minimalist. My buddy who runs the shop said, 'This actually looks like us,' when he saw the messy one. I'm starting to push back on that clean look for clients who want to stand out. Has anyone else found that a little controlled chaos works better for certain projects?

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3 Comments

gonzalez.anna6mo ago

What's the best way to convince a client to go for that messy style?

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olivere306mo ago

Totally get the "messy style" question, @gonzalez.anna. I show clients a few photos side-by-side, one super neat and one with that lived-in texture. I point out how the messy version feels more relaxed and easy to keep up. That usually helps them see it's a style, not just undone hair.

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william9176mo ago

Showing them a messy version next to their boring old logo usually does the trick.

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