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Art Source: Design Predictions
Trend Tracking A reaction to hyper-digital perfection, rebellious pattern clashes, maximalist 80s joy and fierce iconic females, are just some of the trends predicted by some leading artists agents to be reflected in greeting cards over the coming year. PG serves up a feast for the eyes as a trio of experienced aesthetic bellwethers cite what they believe will be the cultural drivers of our creative tastes for 2025 as well as the design trends that will shape our interactions. Left and below: Creative Playground art from Abigail Sammonds (left), Jesuso Ortiz (below) and Alice Mole (bottom), who are part of The Artists Collective.
Soula Zavacopoulos, director of The London Studio (who through its Artists Collective represents a great number of designers and makers for licensing) shares what she feels will be the aesthetic drivers in 2026: “A key driver of our aesthetic tastes in the coming year is the shift we are seeing in consumers’ values, partly driven by the Above: Come rain or shine, Soula Zavacopoulos, director heavily digital age we are in, the influence of The London Studio is there of social media and the growth of AI. for artists. Below: Emotion over AI from In this digital age consumers are Australian artist Susie Esse, (part of The Artists seeking more personal and meaningful Collective). ways of connecting and communicating. There’s a growing reaction against hyper-digital perfection and younger generations have been embracing ‘old school’ aesthetics on social media and viral nostalgia trends have been growing on TikTok and Instagram. There’s a greater leaning towards authenticity over perfection and a counter-response to rapid digitisation and AI design. These shifts and influences are one of several drivers of our aesthetic tastes in the coming year and it is something that many of the independent artists in our Artists Collective have already been exploring in their work.”
of expressing and communicating that they are seeking – cards that are as individual as they are. Experimentation is a feature of this trend, from experimentation with media – such as using spray paint, paper cut, collage and the juxtaposition of 3D and 2D elements – to experimental expression with illustration, such as playing with scale, using bold colour palettes, creating quirky characters and finding more personal and individual ways of connection through contemporary sentiment and captions.”
Maximalism Creative Playground “One of the artistic trends born from this, is what our in-house illustrator Jaimee has named Creative Playground. It's a trend that embraces all that is weird and wonderful. It features quirky and characterful designs with a human, handmade feel – a counter-response to rapid digitisation and AI design. There is a focus on self-expression, relating to designs that are unconventional and unique – helping to give consumers the more personal way
“This is another trend we think will grow as a reaction against hyperdigital perfection and a quest for more personal self-expression. As consumers strive to find ways to express their individuality and uniqueness, we see the growth of ‘dopamine décor and dressing’ trending on social media, enabling consumers to express their individuality and rebel against the norm. This translates onto card design as pattern clashing and vibrant colourways which break the rules. It may include modular patterns, graphic layered frames and energetic hand-drawn text. Or layered pattern and maximalist illustration which pushes back against the clean, quiet luxury minimalism of recent times. Rebellious clashing is the name of game, so you may see circus style patterns like harlequin diamonds, checkerboard and carnival
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