9 tips for creating clean contemporary sign designs

You don’t have to look very far these days to see the latest trend in graphic design. You’ll find very clean, very simple designs on everything from packages to t-shirts to signage. It’s a minimalist look. Everything goes but the essentials. It uses few colors, simple typefaces and minimal graphics but is cool and inviting.

The look has been increasingly popular over the past few years, especially with the under-30 set. It seems to follow a trend in decorating that gets shared a lot on social media. It’s not bold or high impact but rather more “soft sell.”

This approach delivers simplicity but is anything but easy. It’s a big change from mainstream sign design. It helps to study signs like those seen here as well as the examples you see in package and advertising design.