Capture your audience’s attention with on-trend designs inspired by the very best re-emerging trends from the ‘90s.
As a decade renowned for its innovation and boundary-less approach to creativity, it’s probably not a surprise to hear that the creative industries of 2018 are drawing inspiration from the 1990s. With the first ever version of Photoshop launched in 1990 (exclusively to Mac, of course), coupled with the milestone invention of the world wide web, the decade was set up to experiment and advance with design in a way that was never possible before.
The result? Creative Director Lyndon Thomas sums it up nicely:
“The 1990s posed two very different attitudes. But both were underpinned by a common theme – experimental.
The 80s had a powerful visual style, confident, brash and colourful, and some of this continued into the ’90s. Then there was the anti-design approach with its rule-breaking slant and grunge came to the fore. This produced a more handmade, gritty feel that was quickly adopted by film and music.”
Don’t get me wrong, there are some disastrous elements of the ‘90s (like my Dad’s shell suit!) that need to remain firmly in the past. But in the decade of innovation, fun and expression, there’s a whole load of thanks owed to the designers of the ‘90s.
Why are 90s’ design trends coming back in fashion?
The best trends have a habit of resurfacing. Whether you’re in the or are an interior design expert, the chances are that you’ve encountered trends going in and out of style over the years. We draw inspiration from past successes and combine it with the current skills and knowledge we’ve acquired to create something new and innovative.
It’s been building over the last couple of years, but the 90s’ resurgence is now well and truly in full swing! Everywhere we look there’s a tutorial on or a new app that’ll transform your iPhone into an old-school camcorder. There’s a growing desire across the world for content that evokes the ultimate ‘90s nostalgia. And for younger generations who are seeing these trends for the first time, it’s not even nostalgia they’re looking for, this is just ‘on-trend’. The creative world needs to meet the demands of its audience and we’re here to help you do just that with your designs.
The 90s’ design trends you need to watch out for
Like any other decade, the ‘90s had its own unique look and feel. To help you create the perfect 90s-inspired designs for your audiences, we’ve spoken to 3 industry professionals – Graphic designers Jordan Dicks and Muhannad Mahayni and Creative Director Lyndon Thomas – to bring you valuable insight into ‘90-s design.
3 key principles of 90s’ design that are making a comeback
- Bright bold colours, colour contrasts and neon everything
- Fun, playful fonts with a crisp, clear finish
- A simple, easy-to use interface for your audience
Colours
Drawing inspiration itself from the previous decade (the ‘80s), the ’90s is renowned for featuring an abundance of colour. From vibrant, neon graphics to bold designs that made solid use of the primary colours, these strikingly colourful designs are back in demand.
Here’s our colour guide for the ultimate 90s’ design:
The primary colour palette – the primary colour palette for the ’90s is made up of the CMYK, excluding black. So, the core colours to kickstart your design are cyan, magenta and yellow. These vibrant, eye-popping colours were all the rage in the 1990s, with their popularity demonstrated by Pantone’s labelling of Cerulean Blue as the ‘Colour of the Millennium’.
The secondary colour palette – just as important as the primary colours, the secondary palette consisting of turquoise, red, green and purple makes up the swatch collection. Not forgetting that white plays a huge part in holding the wonderfully vibrant shades
Don’t forget: white is just as important as all of these colours. Create a striking visual contrast by setting bright, bold colours against a white background.
Typography
Comic Sans: the one to avoid
The old-school classic. Created in 1995, Jordan describes this font as “truly the wrong step in design” – and I can’t say I disagree. Admittedly, it made my school essays look a bit less dull, but apart from that, the potential of this font to aid the appearance of a design is pretty minimal. Thankfully, it’s not making a comeback.
Now, onto some fonts that you definitely want to include in your designs this year:
Thunderstorm
Here begins the era of ‘playful’ font types. For just £11, this bold, handwriting-style will transform any heading or TV title sequence into a thing of the past.
Novanta
Did you dream of having perfect rounded handwriting?…
This rounded font has a childish feel to it, but it’s easy and fun to read. It costs around £10, but including this font in your designs will immediately take your audience back a few decades.
Childish Reverie
The dream font for any patchwork lover! Childish Reverie truly incorporates the playfulness of the ‘90s with its collage-style lettering, reminiscent of the blanket your Nan knitted you as a child!
Simple user interface
With minimal scope for creativity on a web page back in the 90s, things were kept pretty simple. And this minimalistic simplicity is back in fashion!
There is plenty of content out there that describes the benefits of a minimalist layout, and it’s bang on trend with what the next generation are looking for. Think big font, minimal words and eye-catching imagery. Simple, to the point, easily scannable within a few seconds –
It’s not only the layout of a design that users are craving simplicity from, but the typeface itself. If you’re trying to achieve a less playful design, combining popular ‘90s colours with a modern-day font that oozes class with a crisp, clean finish, can give your audience just what they’re looking for. I love , but there are plenty of others out there that fit the bill.
An extra benefit of simple, clean layouts is that they adapt well to mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. With now in possession of a smartphone, and a whopping 69% of all media time spent on smartphones, this is a massive plus as mobile optimisation becomes the main focal point of designs. What’s more, Google is now basing its SEO ranking on mobile first, so it’s more crucial than ever that you provide a seamless mobile experience.
Some extra tips to achieve the ultimate 90s-style design:
- Use colour to highlight and bring out shapes – colour contrasts work well, especially bold, neon colours set against a white background
- Choosing a typeface that connects will help to give the impression of a story being told through adjoining lines and shapes
- Make the most of shadow effects to really highlight your typography! No 90s’ title is complete without shadowing to emphasise it!
- Don’t forget illustrations! You can find loads of great illustrations in our collection that are perfect for adding a subtle 90s’ touch or a full-on 90s’ statement to your designs
Examples of brands taking on the principles of 90s’ design successfully
A great rejuvenation of this decade has been created by , with their 90s-themed box design. Created using graphics and illustrations with bright pastel colours, they have beautifully recreated the much-loved 90s’ style.
In a similar way, online have begun using bright contrasting colours to enhance the images and text overlays they use on their websites. It’s attention-grabbing and it draws the reader’s eye immediately to that section of the site. In the case of ASOS, they already have the font nailed – it’s plain, rounded and easy to read – and they’ve taken inspiration from the ‘90s by adding plenty of colour to promote their fashion items with a nice mix of 90s and modern-day style.
Not only is the music industry being influenced by the , but we’re also seeing elements of 90s’ design on recent album covers. Check the design on the (2018). I’m excited to see what else is to come throughout 2018!