One of the most exciting experiences of going back to school is purchasing cute or cool stationery supplies to flaunt in class. From flashy book covers to complex stationery sets, the stationery industry now has seasonal trends. School stationery trends usually focus on the graphics or their unique shape, and several stationery items have famous entertainment franchises on their covers. Students put a lot of effort into picking their stationery items because it reflects their identities and tastes and is an outlet for self-expression. Stationery manufacturers are aware of this concept and try to represent as many designs on their products as possible to appeal to all tastes.
STATIONERY DESIGNS TRENDING THIS SEASON
This season, the trends are all about minimalism and neutral shades with bold and eye-catching designs.
The Pastel Revolution
The word pastel might reflect a sober and dull colour, but the range of pastel stationery is a stark contrast to that misconception. Pastel stationery items come in vivid colours like mint green, lilac, powder blue, baby pink, subtle Fuschia and more. These items are by no means simple, as they come with minimalistic art and patterns that make them stand out. For example, a notepad with a baby blue border can have a minimalistic floral design on it in white. This aesthetic is highly appealing as it is simple yet elegant. Pastel stationery items include a range of stationery, but the most preferred are notepads, staplers, highlighters, binders, binder clips and pencil cases.
The Colourful Gradient
A gradient is a strip of cohesive colours that seem to flow into one another; this could be monochrome or polychromatic. A monochromatic gradient bar in green colour, for example, would show a transition of the different shades of green on a space creating an illusion of movement. But this trend is about using bold colours that result in dynamic gradients, like from hot pink to hot purple. This gradient appears only on borders or in central positions and is almost minimalistic. For example, a black book cover with a fluorescent gradient border at the bottom.
‘Aegyo’ and ‘Kawaii’
While western influences were the norm, more eastern and oriental influences exist in global trends today for various consumer products. The term ‘Aegyo’ is a Korean word meaning cute, and ‘Kawaii’ is ‘cute’ in Japanese. The ‘cute’ design trend comes alive in minimalistic designs with a cute character taking centre stage, as a humanistic bunny or bear. These items include pencils, pens, eraser covers, stationery sets, notepads, sticky notes and more.
The Bohemian Still Lives
Boho trends took the world by storm a few years ago and still exists today. Dreamcatchers, fancy fonts, feathers, and arrows; the bohemian aesthetic speaks of delicate elegance but conveys strong spirits and tribe belonging. This aesthetic appeals to a vast portion of the population worldwide, and its themes are a popular trend on stationery items. Notepads with dream catcher holograms, sticky notes with owl designs, aesthetic mandalas on book covers and more, these items are still in trend.
The Memphis Movement Comeback
The Memphis art movement had its beginnings in Italy and was a school of art that was a stance against the contemporary expectations from the art of the time. The art movement essentially encourages breaking the rules. Today, the Memphis art theme is a more subtle version of its original and includes some contemporary influences. These designs come with splashes of colour, creating aesthetic patterns and graphics. The choice of colour reflects today’s minimalistic influences with its pastel and subdued hues contrasting with the bold ones. People can find Memphis art on book covers, notebooks and other writing stationery.