Let’s face it; in the world of graphic design, it doesn’t matter how good or how creative you are today. What is more important is your ability to learn and progress.

As a designer, your number one concern should be improving your skills and learning new design techniques. Every year, new trends emerge. Some are fads, but others manage to become the norm in just a couple of months. If you don’t manage to keep up, you are doomed.

But you already know this. It’s probably the reason you are reading this article. The good news is that our seven crucial tips for improving your modern designs in 2020 are exactly what you need to get an edge over other designers. Remember, “Every artist was first an amateur” – Ralph Waldo Emerson. The key to success is polishing your skills, learning new techniques, and keeping up to speed with the latest trends. Make sure you don’t fall behind and carefully read every one of these 7 tips. They may save your career!

Learn to Use 3D Depth and Realism

Let’s face it, the 3D trend has been around for quite some time; and it will most certainly continue in 2020. You, as a seasoned designer, know that keeping up with the most important trends is paramount to success. As such, in order to significantly improve your modern designs in 2020, you should focus on learning how to make effective use of 3D depth effects. Creating amazing 3D graphics is not easy, so make sure you start learning ASAP. Note that successful artists also learn how to seamlessly blend 3D and 2D objects into a single graphic design. This technique can yield impressive results if the designer knows what he’s doing.

Realism is another trend that has been gaining momentum in 2019. And we are willing to bet that it will gain even more momentum in 2020. People like real things, period. This is why realism is very important for your designs. If you succeed at making your art look real, you’ll instantly get an edge over the competition. Learning how to combine realism with flat designs is another thing that will give you a significant advantage.

Use Heavy but Simple Fonts

One mistake even experienced graphic design professionals make is to use too many typefaces. This only overcrowds a design. Basically, the end result is something that will be hard on the eyes. The readers simply won’t know where to look. This is why you are strongly encouraged to use no more than 3 fonts – one for headings, one for subheadings and one for regular text. And remember that for a clean, professional design, the best choices are simple fonts like Serif, Arial, Sans Serif, Verdana, Helvetica, or Times New Roman.

Another thing you should learn if you are to improve your modern designs in 2020 is how to use the correct font size and strength. It goes without saying that headings should be larger than subheadings and that subheadings should be larger than regular text. Striking a balance between the various sizes is easier said than done. In most cases, you need to experiment until you find the perfect combination. And remember, using bold type should be reserved only for sections that require emphasis. Using heavy font too much will just confuse the audience.

Don’t Be Afraid of the Minimalist Approach

After years of bombarding their audience with tons of images, text, illustrations, and videos, brands noticed that people have been starting to get tired of it. Consequently, more and more companies are switching to minimalist designs. They are looking for designers who can eliminate the clutter and create a clean, organized and attractive design. The focus should be on just the core elements of the business.

In other words, companies are switching to designs that make their audience – and Google’s crawler – feel relaxed and positive. Don’t fall behind and learn how to make minimalist designs that are not only easy on the eye but also load faster and are more compatible with mobile devices. Studies have shown that Google is putting great emphasis on load times these days. Compatibility with mobile devices has also been shown to play a big role in how Google ranks pages. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to please both the humans and the search engines!

Carefully Select the Color Palette

“Color is a power which directly influences the soul” – Wassily Kandinsky. This quote summarizes everything you should already know about colors. Using the right color palette in your graphic design has the potential to put your audience in the right mood. And when people are in the right state of mind, they usually take the action you want them to take. Whether it’s clicking a button, ordering a product, or just sending an email – colors influence the way your audience responds.

Moreover, specific colors have a psychological effect. For example, blue is associated with masculinity, green is associated with good taste, red symbolizes power or love, white denotes sincerity or happiness, and black is associated with sophistication. Learn to harness the psychological power of color and customize your color palette accordingly.

Learn to Create Simplified Illustrations

Until recently, even seasoned designers had been paying more attention to the graphics in their illustration than to the message. But things are changing in graphic design. Nowadays, more and more designers realize that the messages contained within their illustrations are much more important than the graphics. Not that the graphics are not important too, of course.

Wouldn’t it be great to learn how to make readers focus on the message and not on the art itself? After all, it’s the message that matters. An illustration is basically pointless if its audience can’t remember at least part of the message. Graphics that get all the attention is probably not what you want. Master the techniques used to create simplified illustrations and get your audience to focus on what’s important: the message!

Use Image and Text Masking

Image and text masking techniques are not something new. However, it’s not something that many graphic designers have been using consistently. Image and text masking not only looks modern and stylish, but it is also an increasingly popular design technique. We believe it will be even more popular in 2020. The number of designs that include this technique has almost doubled in 2019.

Don’t know what image and text masking is? To achieve this effect, a portion of the image or text is placed behind something else (a background, another image or a text box). This mysterious look and minimalist approach can yield impressive, fantastic results. Of course, using this design technique depends on other elements of the design. And the good news is that it’s pretty easy to implement and doesn’t require a lot of space. The effects you can achieve with image and text masking is definitely worth the time it takes to learn this technique.

Be Creative, Be Original

Nowadays, everyone wants to be a successful graphic designer. It’s not difficult to learn the ins and outs of the trade. The Internet contains just about everything a novice designer would ever need to become a professional. And this is exactly why you want to stay one step ahead of the competition. The difference between the average graphic designer and a true artist is sometimes a single idea. Watch the market and keep an eye on successful designs. Experiment with new techniques and be creative with your approaches.

Also, be original. As Judy Garland excellently points out, “Always be a first rate version of yourself, instead of a second rate version of somebody else.” Don’t be afraid to experiment with new art techniques. Graphic design is like a game without end. You should be constantly trying to find a new approach to something that has been done before. And yes, you also need to watch the trends – especially those that are increasingly popular. Come up with something original, something breathtaking – no matter how crazy it may be – and you’ll find buyers for it. Why not establish the next big trend of 2020 yourself?

But Is It Enough?

We are 100% convinced that these crucial tips will help you become a better artist in 2020. You will get more jobs. You will crush the competition. But remember, progress takes time. And yes, it takes a lot of trial and error. These 7 tips will help you, but only if you are willing to work hard and come up with innovative, creative designs. Keeping up with trends is not easy. Learning new techniques isn’t trivial either. But you didn’t become a graphic design expert because you though things were going to be easy, did you?

Graphic design is a communication career, so it needs to evolve in the same way that communication between humans evolves and develops. The world of design is ever-changing, and you must be able – and willing – to change alongside it. All the tips and tricks in the world will not make any difference if you are not willing to experiment, practice, and redesign yourself. Our last, bonus tip for you is this: don’t be afraid to fail and never let failure bring you down!