Visual Trends Forecast for 2018
Discover 10 trends shaping visual communication in 2018
Images resonate with us long after words disappear off the pages. What we shoot, the images we choose and how we use them influences our audience from year to year. It becomes important to keep track of new formats, emerging technologies and trends that determine how we communicate.
We analyzed data from the Depositphotos search algorithms and collaborated with our top photographers to predict the main visual trends for 2018. Let’s find out what’s waiting for us in the coming year.
1. Impact Photography
According to Statista Research, the number of smartphone users will raise to 2.7 billion by 2019. The accessibility of cameras is going to inspire people to not only document their daily life but also shine light on important events.
Impact photography is concerned with the truth, these are images that are going to resonate with us all and highlight the events that will shape the coming years. Amateur journalism is also starting to develop social awareness around the world, battling fake news in the process.
2. Perfect Strangers
We’re seeing a new approach to selecting models where ordinary people make for compelling subjects that are more relatable. Gap, Eileen Fisher, and Modcloth have recently started using real people to promote their brands. It goes to show that we crave something more personal, and sometimes these perfect strangers are ideal examples of what we’d like to see reflected in the modeling industry.
3. Artistic Expression Through Travels
More and more people are prioritizing travels. When exploring remote places, people are documenting their travels and promoting a new lifestyle through their photography. Instead of dreaming about travels and indulging in adventures on holidays, people revolve their lives around travel, becoming the main heroes of their visual storytelling. These images narrow in on the importance of nature, a simple life and the much-needed getaways from busy city life.
4. Deadpan Photography
Deadpan photography, popular in the 50’s, has made a big comeback and is reverting back to the truth-telling capacity of photography. This style of photography is clearly influencing users around the world. It’s also become a very simple way to illustrate something just as it is, right in front of us. Deadpan photography is a cool, detached form of art. We’re noticing a tendency to value unfiltered and raw photos much more than the glossy, picture-perfect opposites.
5. Video As a Tool Of Communication
Although Instagram stories were launched 1,5 year ago, it feels like this became a distinct form of communication that shaped the way we capture and share stories about our life. Rather than downloading a recorded event, people prefer to feel “in the moment” and watch livestream videos. It is also influencing commercial videos and the shooting style of stock footage because in many ways, we depend on this format to quickly digest information.
Explore more visual trends for the next year on our website.
