2019 Design Trends: Flat(ish) Design

Flat design is exactly what it sounds like. Characterized by a lack of dimensionality, simplified illustration, and adherence to grid layouts, this type of design has been embraced by modern web design and UX communities. But flat design finds friends among print designers as well. Read on to learn where flat design comes from and how it’s used today.

Flat Design Isn’t New

Flat design has been featured in print since at least the 1950s. During this period, the Swiss design style was growing in popularity and praised for its minimalism. Flat design borrowed iconic elements from the Swiss Style, including the use of bold sans serif typefaces, mathematical grids, high contrast, and symbols rather than realistic representations. This trend was reflected in the legendary NYC Transit Authority Graphics Standards Manual, first published in 1970, and it’s still going strong today. The Diace Designs team finds flat design especially useful for complex print projects; it imparts a clean and sophisticated aesthetic that helps simplify large amounts of information.

In the digital world, the flat design trend was led by Microsoft (Windows 8 OS, released in 2012) and Apple quickly followed suit (iOS 7, released in 2013). The trend was a response to the skeuomorphic elements originally used to represent familiar physical objects in an unfamiliar digital world. These elements attempted to replicate, in a lifelike way, their real-world counterparts. As we became more familiar with digital tools, design conventions emerged allowing designers more freedom to create less realistic elements. Thus we ended up with flat design standbys like the hamburger menu and the gear icon.

What’s the -ish?

Flat design has been around for nearly a century, but in that time, the trend has evolved. Today, what we see most often is flatish design (a.k.a. “flat design 2.0”). This new species addresses the pitfalls of flat design in user interfaces, such as users’ inability to identify clickable elements, by pulling in techniques from the antiquated skeuomorphism: gradients, shadows, and textures. Creatives are also using these techniques and others to differentiate one flat design from another; non-standard perspectives, distinct stylistic manipulations, and branded textures and color palettes work together to create flatish designs that are less flat and more unique.

Flat design may be a trend, but it’s certainly not a short-lived fad. The Diace Designs team will continue to rely on flat design standards when creating infographics, icons, logos, and complex print projects—essentially, anything that could benefit from a simplified visual language. Sound like something you need for your current project? Let us know. We’d be happy to help.

About Kara Franco
Kara writes copy that speaks. She has a knack for creating clear, compelling messages without wasting words. She is passionate about digital marketing and believes that copy is the cornerstone of user experience.

Copywriter + Content Strategist
Kara@diacedesigns.com