The other night, I was having dinner with my aunt and a few cousins at my mom’s house. Afterwards, we were looking for a movie to watch and as my mom was scrolling, she said “How about Basic Instinct?” I said, “Are you sure?” She thought it was the one with the rabbit, but we all watched it anyway, and we got past the racy scenes by joking through them. One thing that I really noticed though, is that all of Sharon Stone’s clothing was the “quiet luxury” trend that’s been everywhere for the past few years. Except that they didn’t really call it that in 1992. I think maybe they just called it minimalism.

I didn’t really know that quiet luxury was a trend for awhile, it seemed like the absence of a trend. In fashion, it was originally intended to be well-made quality basics that weren’t flashy, without obvious logos and whatnot. Simple lines, neutral colors. Because we’re in an economic downturn, people don’t want to stand out as being ostentatious. Graphic design and fashion are much more related than you might think, as both are linked to whatever is going on culturally at the moment. In branding and web design, this manifests itself in calm serene images, maybe very staged and neatly placed into a very simple evenly spaced framework that (hopefully) lets visitors quickly get the information that they need and then go on their way (maybe to watch a dozen reels or something.) We’ve pretty much reached the saturation point with neutral graphics and template websites, and everything is starting to look the same. (I’m sure you’ve seen those Instagram accounts where every single post is a meticulously curated monotone “sad beige.”) It looked cool at first, but it’s absolutely everywhere, and the trend has been slowly feeling like it’s made by those uninspiring AI robots that we’re all suspicious of.

Minimalism makes a great base, and keeping a certain amount of clean simplicity in mind will give longevity to your brand (and your wardrobe) but there should still be plenty of room for personal expression as well. I would not say that I am obsessed with Demi Moore’s school bus yellow wool coat from The Substance but a lot of other people are. Those stylists probably knew what was missing for the past few years, when they brought some individuality and vibrancy to a classic shape and made it instantly iconic. Few of us have the time, money or the energy to reinvent our brand every few years, so keeping basic design principles that are common sense and appeal to everyone is important. Yet still expressing your own personality and maybe pulling something in that’s totally unique, or even on-trend, is a delicate balance. A designer’s job is to do research and think about what’s current, but to also understand the client’s personality and who their audience is. Trends are a great tool to use, but kept in perspective so that 5 years from now, no one says “That’s so 2025.”

I’m going to be talking a lot more about graphic design and website trends on this blog now, as opposed to focusing solely on technical instructions. For one thing, it’s what I do and it’s still motivating me after 20+ years. But I think you might enjoy hearing a bit about what goes on behind the scenes. I feel really positive about things that are happening now because when I first started designing, websites were more than just utilitarian. The combination of simplicity with creativity, individuality and a few surprises is bringing us around to something called “bold minimalism.” If you have time to explore this amazing site by Dropbox, they have pulled out all of the stops in terms of using ideas that are coming into the mainstream of design and technology. Animation is back, overly big bold fonts are back, unexpected color combinations, custom illustrations, storytelling through text and images, surreal or very imperfect photography, elements not symmetrically lined up on a grid. They’re all back!

So, how do I bring this around to my original point? If your family wants a retro-movie night, you might be better off with Fatal Attraction.

* Photo obtained from GoodFon.com and used under a Creative Commons license.