The dystopian future is already here: from the imperfection of the human to Artificial Intelligence

Freepik Company, a Spanish technology company specialized in the production and distribution of graphic resources, which sets global trends thanks to its 134 million monthly visits from all over the world, presents its Visual Trends 2023 report, a guide to the main aesthetic and visual trends in photos, icons, vectors and mockups that will have an impact on visual communication in 2023.

The report shows how this almost dystopian reality in which we live, where things happen that we could never have imagined, influences design, which explains the social and cultural context in which we live and reflects not only the mood of the planet, but also our desires and expectations for the future.

In Visual Trends 2023 coexist from the most natural trends that want to capture the most everyday reality, with retro elements that take us to the 90’s and with the rise of the most avant-garde 3D designs, all this, seasoned with a layer of Artificial Intelligence that will open a world of infinite possibilities.

As Carlos Cantú, Chief Marketing Officer of Freepik Company, says “Visual Trends is a one-year visioning exercise in which, thanks to our experience providing graphic resources to the entire planet, we elaborate our projection of the visual trends for the new year. We have been publishing this report for 4 years now with the aim to inspire designers in their visual communication actions but also to help content creators understand what designs will flood social networks, street posters, advertising or even their own t-shirts.”

Visual Trends in Photography: The Imperfection of the Human

We are increasingly aware of how human beings impact the environment around them and how that same environment leaves its own imprint on each of us. Photography trends in 2023 will be marked by our desire to capture simple, imperfect but beautiful moments, highlighting natural bodies and putting ourselves and our loved ones in the spotlight.

This translates into the imperfection of the human, where we transmit without fuss key messages such as integration and inclusion. This trend puts us in front of a mirror where we see real humans in photographs, honest and pure portraits that convey emotions at first sight. You can see The Human collection here.

Visual Trends in Mockups: Eco to Support Humans

If the human and our family is going to be what we will see in the photographs of 2023, a trend attached to it will logically be the care of its environment. Thus, for society, the fight against climate change has become a priority and, therefore, the trend towards eco-responsible products is on the rise. As a result, society is dragging the brands themselves to share these values of sustainability and they are increasingly venturing to create mockups with colors and textures that reflect nature in their packaging.

The idea is to convey a strong and committed message through natural elements to show the way to a greener future to take care of what we love the most. You can see the Eco Mockup collection here.

Visual Trends in Illustrations: Reality Bites of nostalgia

It is curious that the iconic grunge movie of the 90’s was called Reality Bites, as it encompasses the trend of showing the most stark and beautiful reality of 2023, with another trend that we will live this year: the nostalgia of the 90’s and the return to its style icons like grunge and pop and even the Y2K and vaporwave style of the early 00’s.

Thus, vectors will be filled with this retro style and illustrations, stickers, labels and a multitude of graphic formats such as posters, logos and banners will reflect this trend.

Being nostalgic is the new cool thing. These graphic effects with strong colors, childish patterns and a very direct aesthetic give a strong visual identity. After all, it was all foretold in the pages of Seventeen and Teenpeople. You can see the Retro and Nostalgic collection here.

Visual Trends in Templates: Vintage is going to flood even the forefront of social networks.

As we were saying about vectors, the nostalgic style has reached all kinds of resources and templates are a good example of this. Especially interesting are the mockups for social networks, the vanguard of current communication, which add eye-catching graphic elements to posts, which help to capture the attention of users, but with that vintage point that can be even contradictory in such a tech environment.

Thus, this retro trend, adapted to different topics such as music or food, creates emotions related to memories. It never goes out of fashion, especially because it touches the sensibility of the viewers. Who said that retro style was only acceptable in the 90’s? You can see the Retro Style collection here.

Visual Trends in Icons: The technology of the small

The smallest design unit is the icon, which in 2023 will integrate motion technology to add even more meaning. Thus we will see linear and refined icons where color change and movement of the elements will be fundamental.

Movement will transform the icon and create a more effective communicative result. Animated icons will be very present in the development of interfaces and videos, since screens are our main means of interaction. You can see the Animated Icons collection here.

Visual Trends in 3D Objects: Tech floods reality

Objects with 3D aesthetics are going to gain popularity in 2023, outside the field of video games. They are small objects with cartoon-like aesthetics, in which realism is left aside. They bet on cheerful colors, flattened and nice shapes and seem to be taken from a console or a children’s channel, offering cheerful and attractive content for the user to interact with them. You can see the 3D Objects collection here

Artificial Intelligence: The real revolution is just around the corner

Artificial Intelligence is going to be the true revolution in all aspects of our lives and, in design, it is going to open up unexplored worlds of possibilities, being able to obtain all kinds of resources in which the only limit is our imagination: that of a human being.

According to Iván Prado, Head of AI at Freepik Company, “a symbiotic process will be established between the content creator and the AI, giving rise to a virtuous circle that will give rise to levels of creativity never seen before. The personalized creation of resources will become widespread and will generate new and exciting creative paths to explore.”

Thus, Visual Trends 2023 presents itself as a bridge between mostly human-made design and AI-based design.