Table of Contents
What Is The Trendy Colour For 2021?
When we enter the second year of the decade, colour patterns for 2021 are intensifying to be a dramatic reaction to many of the trends that were expected to characterise the previous year. In 2019, we predicted that sleek structures and vivid, bold colours would characterise the next decade.
Colour patterns in 2021 will primarily feel relaxing and stimulating. We would not see a flood of neon or extreme comparisons. Instead, the upcoming paint patterns are lighter and seem to have been chosen by people rather than machines. The past year has driven us to reconnect with our humanity, and we will see the results of that interaction visually in 2021.
Consider harmony rather than dissonance. In a nutshell, those are the colour themes for 2021. We can see a variety of single-colour patterns, muted colours, natural colours, and palettes that mix well together. Are you about to see them up close and personal? Check out one of the following top colour trends for 2021:
1. Vibrant, super-saturated colours
Saturated, juicy colours combined with much paler hues in the background to make the vivid colours shine one of the colour patterns we will see dominating designs in 2021. Learn graphic design with Blue Sky Graphics and create your own design.
People are seeking positivity after a difficult year like this one, so designers are providing us with the cheery, vivacious corals, magentas, and oranges we need right now. These delectably juicy and rich hues have a revitalising and uplifting influence. They are wet but not scorching. Not brash, but refreshing.
And the mix of pale pinks and creamy tones provides an enticing contrast that fits well. The pale backdrop is as vital as the focal colour in these designs, grounding it and making it pop.
2. Human skin tones
When we said that the colour patterns for 2021 feel normal, we meant it. Colour palettes based on the elegance of human skin tones are one of the main colour trends going our way. Brands and models are breaking under the skin with human-hued creations in 2021. And not such a small selection of human skin tones, as we used to see on bandages and other items called “nude” or “flesh-toned.” In 2021, projects will use every colour of our organic spectrum, with one or two individual beings often serving as the focal point.
3. Harmonious, analogous palettes
Harmony will be desired in 2021. We would like the warmth that comes from belonging, and that will extend to the colour patterns you will find in new projects. Analogous colour palettes, or palettes that seamlessly blend into each other, are one of the forthcoming colour patterns we can see a lot of.
Trends change over time, and we are currently seeing the gradient trend, which has been common for many years, morph into the analogous palette trend. If you can see, some of these harmonious colour palettes are made up of shades of all the same colours, while others are sets of shades that are adjacent on the colour wheel. In any case, they provide a calming gradient-like effect, but without the perfectly smooth colour transformations that we are accustomed to seeing from gradients.
4. Colour that is surreal and expressionist
A lot of projects that use colours in unconventional, sometimes unreal forms to produce dream-like visuals will be added to the list of harmonious, feel-good colour patterns we will see in 2021.
These patterns make a point by painting items in colours that they would not necessarily be. The aim here is to be playful and create escapist worlds where people can escape from our challenging world for a few moments.
5. Monochrome
Monochrome palettes are not a recent trend; we saw them take off in 2020. The distinction between a 2020 monochrome palette and a 2021 monochrome palette is that in 2020, monochrome designs focused on using more colours of the same hue to create texture and visual suspense. Designers in 2021 are incorporating single contrast colours into otherwise monochrome, greyscale designs to achieve the same effect.
The inclusion of one expressive, bright colour brings the style into the realm of colour without rendering it overly colourful—a modern way of keeping it elegant without not excessive.
6. Colours that are soothing and gentle on the eyes
We spent a lot of time staring at screens during the last year. We used to do a lot of that, but in 2020, the year of Zoom talks and socially distant celebrations, we spent a lot of time staring at windows. And we discovered that some shades are much more pleasing to the eye than others.
Those comfortable, easy-on-the-eyes colours will be common in 2021. In reality, designs for ocular comfort, in general, would be common. That means subtle, simplistic designs and a plethora of cool, natural colours that will keep you watching and scrolling for hours.
7. Worn & faded-looking colours
Colours that are lived-in are another of the forthcoming paint patterns you can see a lot in 2021. What exactly does that mean? Consider your favourite pair of jeans or a baseball hat. Their colours have faded with time, but the tension lines where they match your body are still noticeable. That is precisely what this pattern is catching for designers.
There is more to this pattern than distressing shades to make them seem worn. Designers are now using rugged, frayed textures that render objects and photographs that appear to have withstood the test of time.
8. Organically-shaped colour blocking
Organically formed colour blocking is not just one of the colour patterns that will be common in 2021. It is also expected to be one of the top packaging design trends this year. The colour blocking you will see in 2021 will be different from the colour blocking you saw in the 1990s. Instead of sharp angles and boxes forming a multi-coloured grid, we can see imperfect, textured, squishy, squeezy-looking forms collaborating in complementary colours.
