Inspiration is a vitally important element in every designer’s work. Without the variety of fonts to inspire you to be more creative, your work is likely to become boring and flat.
It is common to see numerous similarities between the current works of various graphic designers, to such an extent that it seems to you are always seeing the same design. This happens because they all drink from the same sources of inspiration and recycle the same work on multiple occasions.
But the truth is that inspiration can be found in many places, especially in artistic currents, both ancient and modern. They are important references where you can look for those muses that you have lost and that we rarely resort to.
In this article we show you 8 artistic trends that you should know, whether you are starting out in graphic design or are an expert in the sector.
What are artistic currents?
Artistic currents or movements are aesthetic trends that are manifested in a given context through art in its different branches. They are governed by their own characteristics determined by a unique philosophy or style and represent a specific era.
Its most visible expressions are found in the visual arts such as painting, sculpture, and the performing arts, although they also have a great impact on music, literature and philosophy.
They constitute artistic and cultural trends framed in a specific era, so they are often considered in themselves, artistic periods. It is important not to confuse them with schools, in which, in addition to sharing the same philosophy, they subscribe to a specific geographical region and bring together a group of specific artists.
8 Types of Art Movements: Sources of Design Inspiration
The different examples of artistic currents not only have the function of reminding us of a certain era or serving as inspiration for plastic artists or sculpture.
They are also important references for modern design or any work that demands such a level of creativity, given the great influence that many of these artistic movements still have.
Here are some examples of artistic trends that can inspire you for your next design work.
1. Artistic current – Realism
Realism is an artistic trend that began in France in the mid-nineteenth century. This movement began as a rejection of the current of Romanticism, so Realism artists concentrated on depicting more contemporary and everyday scenarios.
At that time this was a very revolutionary movement, given the naïve nature of the previous proposals.
In the same way, Realism became for artists a way of competing with a new artistic expression: photography.
2. Artistic current – Impressionism / Post-Impressionism
The novelty that this artistic trend brought to French society in the second half of the nineteenth century was to look for sources of inspiration outside the studios where artists worked. The objective was to transmit emotions through light and movement.
For their part, Post-Impressionist artists added a plus of color to the movement and added other types of art or techniques such as pointillism.
We are sure that you know the greatest exponent of this trend. Vincent vang Gogh is one of the best-known Post-Impressionist artists. His work is characterized by reflecting one’s mood and emotions instead of highlighting the beauty of the artistic piece as such.
3. Artistic current – Cubism
We dare to say that Cubism is one of the most important artistic currents of the twentieth century. With Pablo Picasso at the head, this movement was characterized by an artistic expression fragmented by geometric elements that together made up the work.
It was at this time that abstract began to break with previous artistic patterns, thus opening the doors for the emergence of currents such as surrealism or abstract expressionism.
4. Artistic current – Surrealism
Surely you remember the work of Salvador Dalí or at least you have heard of him at some point. Dalí is one of the most representative authors of Surrealism, one of the artistic currents that influenced graphic design due to its creative and imaginative power.
Reality was distorted in these works that were born from the total liberation of artists, creatively speaking.
5. Artistic current – Abstract expressionism
Abstract expressionism was the first artistic trend to gain international fame after World War II. With this movement, the central stage of modern art was transferred to New York, a city that became the cradle of later artistic currents.
His main source of inspiration comes from Surrealism to which he adds more heartbreaking touches of emotion disguised as black humour, inherited from the war.
One of the most representative techniques of this trend is drip painting and gesture painting.
6. Artistic Trend – Pop Art
We are in the presence of one of the artistic movements with the greatest impact on graphic design. It marked the beginning of modern art and its most prevalent scenarios were Great Britain and the United States in a post-war context.
Among its distinctive elements are the use of everyday objects, advertising, comic book figures and banal elements that were considered as a movement of reaction against abstract expressionism.
It is an artistic trend that contributed to turning art into a product of mass consumption.
7. Installations as works of art
Three-dimensional works began to have a greater presence at the beginning of the twentieth century. The possibility of carrying artistic expressions and transmitting emotions in striking and spacious pieces in space was an important boom at that time.
Although to this day, it is still an artistic representation of great presence in the spaces intended for it.
This movement was characterized by large-scale installations and the assembly of site-specific works. Museums, galleries or open-air parks were some of the scenarios in which we could frequently see this type of installation.
The movement serves as an inspiration to numerous graphic design artists, when working on three-dimensional projects.
8. Memphis Group
On this occasion, the artistic current of modern art does not originate in New York, but is born in Italy in the 80s.
Although it started out as a trend in furniture construction, visual artists transferred their philosophy to design and other expressions.
Its main characteristics are the use of striking colors in fluorescent tones, the use of geometric shapes to create more complete representations (something that reminds us of cubism), as well as a marked retro style for which it is easily recognized.
More than an artistic current, this was a school founded by the Italian designer Ettore Sottsass. And although it was only successful for the first 6 years, it still serves as an inspiration for design artists in its different areas.
Conclusion
These are some of the most important artistic trends that you can draw inspiration from to create your designs. Each one offers different creative potentialities so the source of inspiration is practically inexhaustible.