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Working Through A Design Trend

Patsy Carvalho
5 days ago
2 min read

by Patsy Carvalho

A trend is more than just a pretty design, it’s an expression. Once a trend becomes popular it is easily recognizable. Exploring a trend means understanding the why.

Why does it look the way it does, and why does it resonate?

This article explores the trend of scrapbook design. This design is like a collage with a homey feel. It is a collection of tape, images, typography, and paper organized in a way to “document or portray an idea,” says Jennifer Peterson.

Jennifer Peterson works through the design trend as she demonstrates her process of it effortlessly. She even videotaped herself completing this trend so that I could understand it myself.

First, Jennifer begins by heading to Google and looking up the history of scrapbook design. Rather than relying on only one source, she looks at several. From here, Jennifer moves over to Pinterest where she looks through images of scrapbook design, gaining inspiration for what her project will eventually turn into. She saves references that might be useful, avoiding copying any particular design. This is because she is creating her own rather than imitating.

Next, Jennifer analyzes recurring elements and concepts such as paper textures, tapes, imagery, typography, rough edges, layering, and hand-drawn elements. This is the first part where the project moves beyond just what does it look like? to why does it appeal to us? For the scrapbook design, and Jennifer specifically, nostalgia, individuality, and memory keeping are all components of appeal. This gives the project a deeper connection to the creator.

The next thing that Jennifer does is plan her project. She starts with brainstorming. She collects the images and other materials she thinks she will want to use. Jennifer has one big piece of advice: “Make a plan but keep it loose enough to accommodate changes”.

Now, Jennifer starts compiling the elements individually into Illustrator. From this she is able to see how each addition changes the composition of the iteration. As she adds elements, she works with the saturation and overlays, adjusting each to boost the composition. The project dictates what should come next and what it needs.

Jennifer lets the project rest for a moment before she works through revising. When she is ready, she adjusts for overcrowding and repositions for a better flow between elements. As she works, she is thinking about how the reader’s eye will travel across the project. This step is not necessarily about correcting mistakes; it responds to what the design needs.

Once the design feels like it has reached a point of resolution, Jennifer starts to lay it into the magazine layout. When she does this, she is demonstrating an investigation into a trend, not following one. The process she follows consists of research, collect, analyze, brainstorm, make, iterate, revise, and return. Studying a trend helps designers see why it works instead of focusing on how they can imitate it.