presentation design trends 2021

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10 Top Presentation Design Trends 2021, Bye Minimalism!

Ulfah Alifah

• Published on January 21, 2021

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Presentation design trends for 2021 will be experimental and sketchy. It adopts the rebellious design of the 1960s by applying non-conventional elements. While at the same time, previous trends were futuristic tech, monochromatic backgrounds, and minimalists were getting tweaked to make their looks not so generic.

The changes happen not only through aesthetic style innovation but also through technological evolution. Nowadays, technology is more than just a tool; it is no longer smartphones and machine-learning algorithms; it now embodies the human aspect that carries emotions. Technology has entered our lives thoroughly and become our vocabulary–which is later intertwined with human creativity and the way they are interpreting art and design.

When do you have to follow the presentation design trends in 2021?

Before we go further into the listicle of presentation design trends 2021, we must consider the so-called “3B”. Please check:

It would be best to prepare some accounts to keep up with the trends that constantly change. The funding means you may need to update old software, invest in research, or hire new talents. That is why you need to consider the impact of following design trends so you not to ruin your cash flow.

If brands are keeping up with trends, they certainly can uplift more awareness. Remember that some brands don’t benefit from using trends, such as banking or security brands, which users may expect more usability and stability. So you need to understand the needs of your brand beforehand.

What motivates a person? What do they truly value? Are there any factors that play out in their lives and impact their experience? Those are things you have to answer so that your decision to follow the trends will not be biased, but it is fundamental to putting your user’s behavior.

See also: 8 Possible Presentation Design Trends 2022 We Need to Prepare

A brief history of graphic design trends.

Knowing design history can help us to understand how trends evolve. It teaches us the fundamental, timeless principles of design. It makes us know how one thing at a particular time in a specific place influences each other.

Further, it helps us appreciate changes and lets us see patterns that last beyond our lifespan. So here, we put a brief history of graphic design trends. 

1750s – 1850s

During this Industrial Revolution era, design could quickly be produced in large numbers by workers with lower skills and costs. One example is the lithography concept, which is the first printing method on a flat surface.

1850s – 1914s

“The Great Reform Movements” was described when the Arts and Crafts movement was sprung to give a reaction to industrial and city development.

At that time, the practitioners were responsible for designing art and products such as jewelry and furniture like an electric vehicle, the bright light bulb, the microphone, the household sewing machine, and the telephone. The halftone screen was invented in this era, and it allows photos to be printed in a range of shades.

1900s – 1945s

During the first half of the 1900s, political and economic turmoil destroyed Europe and China. Art Deco continued between the 1920s and 1939s as an intricate decorative art style that influenced various fields and materials.

We can call it “Modernism to pre-war luxury and prestige.” It emphasized experimentation, formalism, and objectivism—the famous Times New Roman typeface developed in this era.

1945s – 1970s

During the post-war period, European countries and Japan were recovering from the war, and the United States could suddenly establish itself as a leader in economy and design.

The “Good Form” principle also remained between the mid-1950s to 1968s, and it covered functionality, durability, and clarity aspects. Swiss style, which embodies asymmetric layouts, precise grid systems, sans-serif typefaces, and a clear hierarchy of content, were arisen in this era.

Memphis Style was a high reputation in the postmodernism era for liberating from the soulless and good taste between the 1976s to 1988s. Subcultures and anti-authoritarianism often influence this trend. New design movements focus on experimental works, production, distribution networks, mixed styles, irony, and provocations from this era.

The more we dig the history, the more we know that trend is a constant evolution, not graphic design. While the changes have many benefits to offer modern designers, it also comes with their share of unique challenges, too, for us as a presentation agency to stay updated with seeking the trends.

10 top presentation design trends 2021

This is the reason why you are coming here. To make this list, we tried to comprehend what people look for in creative marketplaces and do research on several platforms like 99designs, Behance, and Dribbble. Without further ado, please take a look at the best PowerPoint presentation design trends 2021.

Nowadays, social media platforms, print photographs, and mobile screens are rising, and people will undoubtedly deliver a presentation using those media. No wonder the 4:4 aspect ratio will be applied more often than before. Because 4:4 is more compact than 16:9, it fits well with the carousel or microblog format.

To make 4:4, we should understand aspect ratios. It is a crucial part of the design because we need to upload images at different aspect ratios for other utilities.

Nonetheless, an image’s aspect ratio will change depending on the platform to present, like desktop vs. mobile or blog vs. social media. It ensures our photos are displayed as intended without stretching or resolution loss when using the correct aspect ratios.

Anti-design or brutalism

There is currently enormous interest in retro trends or pop culture, especially from the 1990s, when brutalism and anti-design began. Modernist objects generally use a muted color palette like blacks, whites, and greys, while anti-design embraces all colors.

Anti-design value is to embrace the nature of pop and consumerism. This style also means including decorative elements, kitsch, irony, and distortion in scale.

In the past, some designers were becoming bored with polished and straightforward designs, and Anti-design brings them some “freshness.” The main reasons designers use anti-design are to get attention for being humorous, edgy, and provocative.

The designers often created this trend as an inside joke and perceive it as ironic. Although it is considered a trend, we can use anti-design in everything. The contexts that supported anti-design use are: 1) If our audience is designers, illustrators, or artists. 2) If our presentation is meant for non-formal occasions.

3D Illustration

3D will substitute the flat design, and it will go further not only to 3D objects but also to 3D color schemes. Working in 3D is creating something realistic but fictional. Rendering 3D effects to a design has been a work in progress for a while now, and it seems this trend will continue to spread its charm in 2021.

The 3D design trend is not exactly new, but it’s getting fresher. This design trend has made the most of modern technological advances and software abilities.

The rise of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in high-performance UI design, increased internet and technology speeds, and unique ready-made template design. All of those things mean that designers are raising their 3D games.

We predict that these 3D visuals will be amazingly impactful, not just pushed as a secondary element but taking center stage, even dominating the whole page. The trend of combining photographic images with illustrative elements is also influencing 3D.

Others are adding movement and animation to make the site stand out from the crowds. Thanks to all the extraordinary developments in the design world, 3D compositions are here to stay much longer than before.

Neomorphism

Neomorphism, as one of the newest trends for presentation design, brings a breath of fresh air to user interface design and looks soft, and easy on the eyes. And people seem to like it. But keep in mind that it has to be structural and cleverly executed to ensure smoothness and usability.

Where does neomorphic come from? To understand neomorphic, we first need to understand some history between skeuomorphism, flat design, material design, and Neomorphism. Skeuomorphism started in the 1980s. It had its time and place in the first iOS version designed by Steve Jobs until the 2000s.

The concept was that the skeuomorphic interface design would provide users with graphical objects, shadows, shapes, and details to a hyperreal degree.

In 2007, Forbes declared that skeuomorphism is gone like a past life thing. This report was received six years later after iOS had been redesigned with a flat style in 2013.

Since then, Apple has resolved flat design with a minimalist and classically digital aesthetic. Google, in its turn, had set up material design offering minimalism, convenience, and personalization.

Then, the rise of Neomorphic as the hottest UI trend marked 2019, changing the ‘super flat and minimal’ vector to something midway to realism. It brings clean interfaces to life by adding a physical element to the flat UI pattern.

Neomorphism is a visual way that combines background colors, shapes, gradients, highlights, and shadows to assure graphic emotional buttons. All those elements will achieve a soft, extruded plastic look and almost 3D styling.

Isometric is also 3D, with the X, Y, and Z axes adding up to 120 degrees. The technique is strict with the grid and can’t include converging lines. We can apply Isometric icons in any number of ways and have varying visual properties.

The Isometric design is merely a way of creating a three-dimensional object in two dimensions. Isometric icons expand this design system and the place where this trend seems to be choosing up the most pressure.

The Isometric design combines the simplicity of flat design with the feeling of depth and “reality” hinted at by skeuomorphic design.

The realistic-looking center of such icons, along with their clarity and simplicity. Isometric techniques are excellent in marketing, but they are also instrumental in medicine and many other fields, for example, presentation template design.

Isometric design is advantageous wherever clear information is needed. As with all trends, though, the Isometric design should not be overused.

Specifically, Isometric design is perfect for infographics, logos, and icons. It just knocks the spots off flat design, with its illusion of depth and fresh, modern look.

Isometric design is a great way to deliver such information, making much more sense to your customers than a 2D plan. Secondly, infographics adapt brilliantly to isometric techniques.

The added depth and perception of 3D make them more attractive, meaning that the viewers will make more clicks. Moreover, isometric techniques allow 3D hero images to design playfully and with simple colors.

Techno-dystopia

What is techno-dystopia? Techno-dystopia is similar to Cyberpunk. Cyberpunk is often defined as “high-tech low life.” It is primarily a modern technology world occupied by people who can’t afford luxuries.

As with all design trends, the Cyberpunk aesthetic has enjoyed an excellent renewal for the last few years.

Historically, people generally started to look towards the future and imagined a world where robotics inventions became more advanced. This innovation inspired a generation of sci-fi writers and artists to predict the future, starting with a science fiction novel by Philip K. Dick: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (1968).

It would also be impossible to mention every original piece of Cyberpunk art for a better understanding of its development through the decades in modern design; they are Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner (1982) , William Gibson’s Neuromancer (1984) , Akira (1988) , Snatcher (1988) , The Matrix (1999) , and Mondo 2000 magazine (1980-1990) .

When you think about the Cyberpunk trend, you probably visualize neon lights, skyscrapers, and dystopian decorations. Those are all true, but Cyberpunk is more than that. It is a decadent cultural movement covering film, fashion, and design—all born from a sci-fi sub-genre.

The colors associated with cyberpunk are usually dark with light colors to give designs a futuristic glowing touch. The main options are pink and blue with various combinations of neon colors, terminal colors (classic phosphor green/amber on black), golds/yellow/oranges with blue/violets, hints of greens, and greyscale.

Retrofuturism

Retrofuturism is a term that refers to how predictions of design from the future were standing in the first era and how some modern-day aesthetics combine futuristic technology and retro design.

Also, around this time, retrofuturism began to develop its second interpretation: the intentional use of old-school designs in contemporary aesthetics to create entirely new genres.

Traditionally, This era was full of many artistic movements of what the future would hold regarding technological improvements. Science fiction, as a genre, had only become popularized in the 1940s and 1950s.

Writers and artists directly inspire the first trend of retrofuturism by making filmmakers in the pre-1960s and 1970s (e.g., in magazines like Science and Invention), science fiction, novels, and stories. Steampunk, a term applying both to the reprojection of futuristic technology into an alternative Victorian age and applying neo-Victorian styles to modern technology, is a highly successful version of this trend.

By the 1970s, this design trend had progressed quickly, as phenomena like the first test-tube baby and the personal computer’s popularization forced society to ponder these aggressive and technological changes.

Retrofuturism turned around earlier eras making predictions of future technology. Now, time also includes new design aesthetics combining past design trends. Retrofuturism creates a very stiff contrast that points to many exciting opportunities.

This trend has so many characteristics, like retro or classic design touches, grungy, faded aesthetics, futuristic design touches, rounded geometric shapes, energetic colors, and the appearance of machines and technology.

The HUD Design

In video gaming, the head-up display (HUD) is the design by which knowledge is visually related to the player as part of a game’s UI. The HUD is what’s presented on the screen while the player is in the game.

In World War II, Head-Up Displays (HUDs) were designed originally to present the common viewpoints of the pilot the primary sensor data during aircraft missions.

Placing instrument information in the forward field of view can increase pilots’ ability to use both instrument and environmental data simultaneously. Time by time, this trend is increasingly spreading to the world of design and entertainment, such as Iron Man and Star Wars.

Every day that passes, screens of every shape and size are more and more visible in people’s lives. This trend also alters movies, television, and advertisement since these screens become necessary for telling a story.

In the presentation design trends 2021, HUD can show charts, statistics, and diagrams. This is just a prove that HUD design can be implemented not only for video games.

Sayonara, Minimalism! In 2021, let’s leave white space at the door and kiss Montserrat goodbye. Now is the time for clashing color patterns and mesmerizing motifs with their extravagance to take over the trend.

Maximalism leaves our personality and experiences to reflect much more quickly than in a minimalistic space.

When it turns out to identify a maximalist space, some key aspects, such as layering, repetitive patterns in prints, rich and bold colors, mixing and matching textures and colors, have multiple items like books, statues, artworks, classic and eclectic styles combination.

“Maximalism is much more personal than minimalism, and this style is complicated and multifaceted decoration,” says Nicole Alexander, the principal interior designer behind the firm Siren Betty Design .

Maximalism is a noisy style that composes of mixed patterns. It is strongly contrary to minimalism which puts everything down to its simple minimum, and it encourages utilizing our space in the most striking way possible.

3D Emojis are the now-universal pictographic style that allows designers to add emotion to their projects. The designer’s tone of voice at the end of the sentence is more popular.

Mainly, not only on social media like Snapchat, but Instagram emojis also encourage interaction. Nowadays, the use of 3D Emojis creates a reaction. They lighten the mood that all people need, and they communicate the primary feelings.

On those grounds, using 3D Emojis in design is possible to speed up over the next few years. It is time to get creative when something is universal. We need to be different from the creative and imaginative use of 3D emojis. We have the benefit that people know them and like them. Now, designers need to strain themselves outside their comfort zone but still keep the message clear.

Why do you have to follow those presentation design trends in 2021?

Maybe you have never known why we should craft a presentation design seamlessly as professionals make it. Here we come up with the answers:

You will stand out

Agree that a great design is just as important as your suit in a presentation. It brings more confidence! Hence, once you can create the presentation design in its most legit way, you will present it 5 or 10 times better.

You will stay relevant

Who wants to watch something that is out of date? Showing that you care about design trends for presentation will build credibility. Picture yourself when you are still using the old format presentation; people will doubt your competency, for sure.

You will be remembered

People do forget easily about ordinary things. Also, you get to know that people will always crave something fresher and better by nature. Your audience will eventually recognize you by following those trends, and you will feed their shifting expectations.

There is nothing wrong with riding the wave of a trend! It is like supplying great design for your audience. However, the bottom line is back to your skills and expertise to present something. It is useless to neglect other factors like public speaking, mannerism, and mentality when performing in front of people.

See also: 2020 Best Presentation Design Trends

Graphic design is all about developing the ordinary into something special. In those listicles, you might find presentation design trends 2021 that is not entirely accurate. In our opinion, it is not incorrect to predict what will be trending in 2021.

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Top 7 Biggest Presentation Design Trends 2021

2021 is the year of presentations.

With the global pandemic continuing to disrupt lives and work-from-home being the new normal, effective presentations are the only way to collaborate and communicate with teams.

This means, knowing the latest trends that the global workforce is hooked to is a great way to ensure your next meeting becomes a success. But the thing about trends is that they are not sustainable and change before you realize.

This means if you have to be efficient yet sustain the performance of your presentation, you need to mix your take with what is trending amongst the global workforce community. This will make your presentation stand out in no time.

In this post, we get into the details of every design trend that you can make your own in 2021.

7 trendsetters in presentation design that you need to know in 2021

Design is the silent yet powerful conveyer of communication. What we fail to say by words, the design does. This is exactly what today’s design presentation is doing.

At the core, our presentation designs echo our current state of mind.

The trends of presentation designs of 2021 are highly influenced by global circumstances. The where, when, and how we work have created a shift in how we present our messages. Right from colors to content layout to our choice of tools, everything has changed.

However, if you are still confused about how to approach your presentation, here is Pitch’s guide to presentation design that can simplify your journey.

In the following section, we have curated the top 7 trends to watch in presentation design in 2021.

1. Go beyond PowerPoint

Gone are the days when PowerPoint was the only presentation tool people used. With the competition of the SaaS market reaching new heights, you have a host of tools that can help you create the best presentations of your professional lives.

Tools like Envato, Canva, and many more are powerful, intuitive presentation tools that you can use today. These tools offer a range of pre-built templates that you can customize and used readily. But that’s not all.

They also have shareable links for easy collaboration and access.

2. It is all about visual storytelling

Images can convey a thousand words and this year’s trends proves that rightly. We see a meteoric rise in visual graphics-heavy presentations this year. If you did not integrate high-definition visuals in your presentation, you need to do it now.

When you’re presenting a slide, it’s very easy to go overboard on the words you use. Make sure that you’re using images to add emphasis to your points, and then you’ll start seeing a lot more people watching the presentation.

Text vs. image? In 2021 Images are dominant. This style is inspired by scrolling features while using social media.

For example, if you’re presenting the results of a survey, and you’re going to have a section of your presentation focused on why it was important to take the survey, make sure that you’re showing an image of what the survey accomplished.

If you aren’t already using responsive design for your images, you really should be. Responsive design means that the presentation is optimized for any viewing device, including mobile. Once you start using responsive design, you’ll start realizing that it makes the presentation look and feel a lot better.

That’s a basic example, but you can see how images can make a presentation more engaging.

It also makes the presentation much easier to view for your audience. You should be using responsive design to deliver a presentation more regularly than you are now. Responsive design is the future of presentation design.

While using the image and graphic design makes your presentation responsive. Making your presentation responsive allows you to increase your audience reach. Using social media platforms on mobile is a great start.

3. Content is the ultimate king

It seems pretty basic, but a great presentation starts with great content. It is the star of the show, rather than the design. The design is just a tool to make the content more engaging.

The key is to make the content so engaging that the design is completely unnecessary.

Make sure that you know what the content of your presentation is going to be, and then it’s interactive. That’s how you’ll end up with a great presentation. Also, ensure your content gains the spotlight. Going simple is a good idea to play with, but it can be dangerous too for you. Better play safe side and use color contrast. If your background and text color are blending, give a highlight by using stroke and bring your hero in the pitcher.

4. Don’t underestimate the power of serif

You may find this contradicts with trends. Design and font go hand in hand. You may urge to use fancy fonts, but they will create a negative impact and make your audience lose interest in your slides.

Why? Because fancy fonts give your presentation a modern look, but it reduces the readability rate of your content.

Looking at these things, 2021 will be a serif year. The Serif font family has been between us for a long time, and it is expected that they are going to be around us.

Why are they still in trend? The answer lies in their age; serif gives us a feeling of retro. The feeling of old, warm, which we all were craving for in 2020.

5. Keep it simple

Keep it simple and stupid. The straightforward rule of KISS is to hold upright in this year’s presentation trends. If you’re still in the habit of going over the text limit, you’re making a really bad habit of yourself. The good thing is that people are starting to become a lot more aware of that in today’s presentations.

Don’t make the mistake of filling your slides with lots of content. You will use your audience’s attention. Make your presentation design appealing to your audience. Glue them with your right voice modulation and engaging design.

Of course, some people love to go over text limits, but most people hate it. A presentation that is full of content is going to feel like it’s boring to them. Don’t let that happen to you.

Pro Tip: Get a hold of your content and let your design make noise.

6. The dark background rises

With the pandemic creating a shadow in our lives, dark backgrounds have made a come back too. But a presentation doesn’t need to look monotonous. You can use different colors and choose the colors that you use in the presentation wisely. A presentation that doesn’t use different colors is going to look stale and boring.

It’s easy enough to use different colors, but you need to make sure that every presentation is unique. You can’t just use the same colors all the time.

What puts the base for presentation? Background! Going with a dark background will give you an ample amount of opportunities to spotlight your content. 2021 is the year of presentation design painted with dark and neon colors. You can use multiple ideas and pattern blends with a wide range of colors.

Different colors depict some feelings. Using a dark color background such as black gives you a feeling of seriousness, bold on the other, and sad, lowkey. The perfect definition of emotions we went through in 2020.

Play with variants, go neon and blend things to create 2020 inspired presentation design in 2021. Neon acts as a booster, and we often see them used with retro themes.

7. Being human

The year of the pandemic has been everything but human. If there is one thing that the world craves, it is the human touch. This year’s presentation designs loudly reflect this craving. This means the best thing that you can gift your audience is the warmth of human emotions. But how?

Enter doodles. No wonder why these hand-drawn illustrations are becoming rapidly popular in the presentation world. Inspired by DIY areas created by using different graphic tools, the central idea behind doodles is to showcase creativity with color and graphics. Does Google Doodle ring any bell?

Google doodles prove that gigantic cooperation can also add doodles to create friendly and interactive elements in their slides. Doodles are always a right-minded idea to add in slides. They can act as side heroes or can be introduced as main heroes.

Presentations are all about impactful expressions. This means if you have to truly stand out, only following trends will not make it a success. You need to go deeper.

Be authentic in your presentations. Be bold and show your style. Let open your creative outlet and bring the best versions of you. Sure, you can use the above design trends to set the mood board but always take into account your context and target audience.

The more aligned each of the elements is, the better is your end output.

So now, when you know the trending presentation designs of this year, there is just one question left to answer.

Which design trends are you thinking of implementing in your next presentation?

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