Stickers. Everywhere you go, artists, businesses, and organizations of all sizes are embracing stickers: branded stickers sit by the register at coffee shops, motivational stickers fill online storefronts, and logo stickers are given out in place of pens and stress balls at conferences and trade shows.
It's clear stickers aren't going anywhere. This is why, as fellow design experts share their trend predictions for 2024, MakeStickers is here to share how these trends pertain to the world of stickers.
After studying design trend articles across several industries, plus looking back at our most recent orders, we present the official MakeStickers Sticker Trend Predictions for 2024:
Creating with AI
The future arrived earlier this year, and it's powered by AI. OpenAI's ChatGPT and DALL-E, Lensa, Google's Bard, Midjourney, and Jasper are just a small sample of the different artificial intelligence platforms, programs, and software to hit the market in recent months.
Our Trending Tip: 5 Ways to Use AI as a Sticker Maker
- Inspiration
- Composition Ideas
- Trending Colors
- Break Creative Blocks
- Alternative to Templates
AI is still new and the technology is rapidly changing and growing. Conversations about ethics and how we use it are important and warranted. But AI is also a powerful and versatile tool that can help artists, creatives, and designers of all skill levels bring their visions to life.
Bold Surrealism & Eclectic Personality
Close behind AI-generated art, this surrealist sticker style radiates through vibrant colors, heavy compositions, abstract and dream-like subjects, and minimal white space. Several sticker artists are embracing the boldness of this style by adding some signature quirkiness, but it's also surging in popularity within the craft brewery, cannabis, and tattoo artist industries.
Our Trending Tip:
Holographic can make surreal designs pop on custom stickers and — new for 2024 — holographic is available as custom labels, too!
Bright Colors & Vivid Candycore
It should be no surprise that after Barbie's huge splash at the box office this past summer, we're not just seeing a resurgence in pink hues, but all kinds of bright colors are taking over sticker designs.
Dubbed names like 'candycore,' 'Barbiecore,' and 'dopamine colors,' this trending design style is filled with vivid gradients, bright pastels, and electric neons: think pinks, yellows, oranges, and greens.
Much like last year's trend of designs recalling childhood nostalgia, this style is centered around colors that evoke joy and creativity.
Our Trending Tip:
The best way to elevate candycore style is by pairing your designs with glossy or holographic material. Glossy features the classic, timeless shine associated with stickers, whereas holographic's iridescent, rainbow-like qualities will elevate any dopamine color palette!
Natural Textures & Neutral Tones
On the opposite side of candycore, nature-inspired sticker design is just as popular. Featuring natural color tones (echoing those found in the great outdoors, like browns, beiges, as well as soft yellows, greens, and blues), nature-inspired sticker designs are reminiscent of natural textures.
This trend is extremely popular with health and skincare products, farmers' markets, outdoor brands, travel influencers, and park systems.
Our Trending Tip:
Matte stickers (and matte labels) and paper labels perfectly encapsulate this style, appealing to health, beauty, and outdoor brands and influencers drawn to earthy tones and soothing palettes.
Motivational Quotes & Distinct Typography
Motivational, encouraging, and often funny and relatable, stickers featuring iconic catchphrases, sayings, and quotes are set to continue strong as we head into 2024.
Beloved by non-profit organizations, mental health advocates, and in literary circles with authors, bookstores, and libraries, these stickers are great for engaging with your community both online and in-person.
Quote stickers also provide an opportunity to play around with emerging or trending fonts. Try modern san serifs like Avenir or Cerebri Sans, lean into fun and funky with Daisy, or embrace the vintage, narrow serifs that dominated 2023 like Myflora and Very Vogue.
Want more font inspiration? Check out this video about what's trending this winter!
Our Trending Tip:
Matte stickers complement designs featuring quotes amazingly well. The texture of matte material is soothing, resonating for messages focused on encouragement, mental health, or self-care!
Trends Returning in 2024
Anyone familiar with design knows trends are circular and are bound to loop back around — just look at current fashion trends, pulling inspiration from the late 90s and early aughts! We're happy to share a few trends returning in 2024:
Hand-Drawn Illustration
Stickers featuring hand-drawn illustrations aren't only showing up in artist's shops, but the trend has spilled over into other areas, like product labels and logo design. Similarly, child-like illustrations are still taking our orders by storm!
Geometric & 3D Shapes
Closely connected to AI-generated art, stickers, labels, and packaging design featuring geometric and 3D shapes will continue into 2024.
Bumper Stickers
We'd be remiss if we didn't highlight one of the biggest sticker trends we're seeing ahead of 2024 with an election on the horizon: bumper stickers! Show your support, speak your mind, and customize these stickers to your heart's content with our free and easy-to-use templates. Bumper stickers get our vote for one of the most accessible stickers to make!
Creative Branding
One of the trends we're excited to see continue into 2024 is how businesses and organizations are getting creative with how they brand themselves. Re-envision your swag stickers and go beyond the logo: showcase your mascot, create a cool illustration with your logo hidden, feature artwork designed by your community, or share a fun, relatable quote. These are all fun and unique ways for your community to interact with your brand beyond traditional logo stickers.
And there you have it — our sticker trend predictions for 2024! Wherever you are in your sticker-making journey, we hope this helps inspire and excite you to keep creating in the new year!
Want to get a head start on your plans for the new year? Start 2024 right by ordering stickers or labels with MakeStickers!
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