The Latest Tech Trends Innovating the Graphic Design Industry

The graphic design industry is an exciting, evolving area in which to work. If you’re a creative person with a strong desire to run your own business, you could thrive as a franchisee in this sector. But first, you’ll need to know how to stay one step in front of the competition. These latest tech trends, currently innovating the world of graphic design, will help you do exactly that.

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One of the best ways to stay up on the latest industry developments and respond to changing customer demands is to keep a finger on the pulse of the latest tech trends shaping graphic design. Trends like digital painting, artificial intelligence and much, much more. Before you make a career change with a graphic design franchise, be sure to fully immerse yourself in the current state of the industry…

When it comes to design, whether it's print or digital graphic design, trends often rule the day and dictate the market. If you're not following or, even better, setting the trends, then you may fall behind in a race that only the fittest survive and the most adaptable thrive in. - Amine Rahal, Forbes

The 5 biggest tech trends in the graphic design industry right now

1. Digital painting

Digital painting has been a popular option among graphic artists and designers for years now, but if you become a graphic designer tomorrow, you might find that the tech in this area is now more advanced and intuitive than it once was. Tools like the Apple Pencil and programmes like Procreate and Adobe make it easier than ever for anyone to start designing, but they’re also so packed with helpful hidden features that they can be extremely useful and time-saving for the pros.

Digitally painted designs will only grow in prominence as time goes on, and if you can invest in learning how to harness these kinds of tools and use all of their many features to your benefit, you and your franchise business will be in a much better position to keep up with your competitors.

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>> Read more:

• Get Creative With These Graphic Design Franchise Opportunities
• How to Become a Graphic Designer
• How to Make a Career Change with a Graphic Design Franchise

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2. Augmented reality

Another of the latest tech trends in the graphic design sector is augmented reality, also known as AR. AR designs combine graphics with real life, enhancing reality in a seamless manner. Numerous apps use AR features - think some of the wackier filters on apps like Snapchat and Instagram. Researchers predict that, by 2022, there will be around 121 million AR headset sales annually [Graphic Art News]. Here are the three main advantages of AR (and the ways in which it might benefit your business):

• It’s more interactive and engaging
• Images are sharper
• It provides modern, different, and out-of-the-box ways to share designs

In the coming years, many predict that print and AR will combine, allowing customers to scan advertisements with their phones and watch them leap off the page. This helps to engage and attract the focus of an increasingly attention-split audience.

3. 3D imagery

One of the biggest advantages of running a graphic design franchise is the technology available in the industry. 3D computer-generated imagery and rendering has, like digital painting, come on leaps and bounds in the past few years. Graphic designers can now make work extremely realistic with the help of software, whether they’re working on web designs, logo designs, animations, or any manner of other projects. Here are a few reasons why 3D design is such a game-changer:

• It makes visualising space requirements far easier
• It improves drawing efficiency
• It saves time
• It enables the use of 3D printing to bring designs to life
• It enhances the quality and depth of product proposals

If you’re looking to incorporate 3D design and deepen your research, check out the following trends gaining traction in this area: Typography, characters, natural and organic shapes, geometric shapes and patterns, visualised data.

4. Motion graphics

If you’re thinking about starting your own graphic design franchise, but you haven’t yet taken the plunge, you might not know that motion graphics are a huge part of graphic design work right now. Long gone are the days when designers only worked on still images, distributed either in print or online.

With motion graphics, generally created using programs like Adobe After Effects, consumers can watch a logo, character or piece of text come to life, providing a greater depth of experience and increasing investment and intrigue.

Using motion graphics will help you to give your clients’ businesses a dynamic edge - an edge that allows them to stand out in their industry, no matter what it is. It’s definitely a tech trend in the graphic design industry that’s worth paying attention to, especially as software advances.

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5. Digital smell technology

Now we’re really getting advanced! It might seem like a distant reality, but sensory design is the future. Design that fully engages customers by appealing to not just sight, but to smell, sound and touch. Digital smell technology, in particular, is currently in the experimental phases. Watch this space, and pay attention to this emerging trend.

Experiments on “electric smell” were conducted in Malaysia in which the researchers inserted electrodes in the nostrils. [...] They were able to evoke 10 kinds of virtual odours. Although the technology is far from seeing commercial applications, industry stakeholders see massive potential in it. - Design 4 Users

An awareness of the latest graphic design trends will serve you well when you’re running your own business in the graphic design industry.

There are so many different franchise opportunities waiting for you in the world of graphic design, and now that you understand that world even better, you’re in the best possible position to find your place. Why not check out franchise networks like Agency Express and Minuteman Press, or look deeper into what a day in the life of a graphic designer entails?

If you’re an artistic, creative person, but you’re not sure graphic design is the right professional path, you should consider browsing Point Franchise’s wider range of art-based investment opportunities(/our-franchises/S2-art-franchises). Perhaps you’d thrive arranging flowers with Endura Roses(/franchise/endura-roses), or taking portrait photographs for Venture Studios?