INFOGRAPHIC ARTIFACTS

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Many have said that Design is communication. Typically designers are trying to express elements of a brand’s values, or communicate a device’s functionality or proper method of use, or weave a narrative about the relevance of the object in a person’s life. Sometimes, “because it looks cool” is as deep...
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WELCOME TO AWOL TRENDS!

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The world’s first open-source design trend database, made by designers for designers. Brought to you by AWOL Company, this free site is a database of our curated design trends that we’ve been tracking for several years, looking at viable aesthetic trends across all design disciplines. Pull down the TRENDS tab...
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VICTORIAN 2.0

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In Fashion, style is mostly cyclical (with repeating themes currently on a 25-year cycle). In other design categories, however, the wavelength has been a bit longer. Roughly 150 years ago, some clever folk called the Victorians set about changing the world with their Industrial Revolution and, among other things, their...
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VISIT OUR NEW SITE

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AWOL Company, the curators of AWOL Trends, has a new website! Visit AWOLcompany.com to learn about who we are, what we do, and our unique perspectives on design and the creative process. ShareTweet...
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PRIMITIVES

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Form has traditionally been one of the most creatively stressful parts of the design process. Designers, marketers, and consumers put such a premium on unique, iconic, and novel forms that a disproportionate part of the creative process goes into exploring and refining them. But in the last few years, designers...
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PANELED SURFACES

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Traditionally in design, an object’s form takes priority. Once a form is finalized, then it is subsequently broken up into pieces for production, via parting lines, panels, segments, or assemblies. With the Paneled Surfaces trend, the construction methodology becomes the aesthetic: arrays of discreet panels interlock to define a surface,...
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O21C ORANGE

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As colors go, orange (specifically Pantone O21c) has had a good run in the design world. Despite taking a back seat through antiquity to various golds, blues, reds, and whites, it would seem the visual merits of the color were finally recognized in the mid 20th century. As the legend...
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HALFTONE RE-IMAGINED

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The halftone pattern has been a staple of the graphic and print disciplines for over a century. It is typically defined by a repeated geometric dot pattern that fools the human eye into perceiving a gradation of color or value. In its purest use, the halftone pattern is meant to...
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EPHEMERA

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We are surrounded by objects that are constantly fighting for our visual attention. From consumer electronics like TVs and smartphones, to consumer packaged goods like cereal, detergent, or soda, from fashion to furniture, the products we depend on in our lives are always shouting “Look at me! Pay attention to...
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FORM REINTERPRETATION

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In keeping with the Reinterpretation theme’s principle of modifying a single aspect of a design, the Form Reinterpretation trend focuses purely on…FORM! This general stylistic mode seeks to present familiar cultural icons back to the consumer in fresh ways that create both a sense of familiarity and surprise. In these...
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