Trend Report 2014
Welcome, welcome, welcome. Gather round artists and customers because here is our yearly Trend Report. We'll be looking at current trends and those trends rising up to become bestsellers of the future. Let's get started.
Trending now and re-capping this years trend setters:
With the explosion of the Collective we have seen a huge influx of art. Ranging from parody brilliance to obscure artistic masterpieces, we have seen it all over the past year.
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Gaming Tees
It is no secret that nerds and geeks are the cool kids of 2014 and with that wave of awesomeness comes GAMING! References to games have been big this year and the trend continues to grow. Retro games, 8-bit art, blockbusters, gaming villains, and obscure references have all been present. This trend will continue, with the ever-popular eSports growing daily and games releasing weekly, you can bet your joystick we'll still be seeing these beauties into 2015.
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TV Show Tees
Where to begin! TV series are becoming as popular as blockbuster movies. Weekend TV binges have never been so good. 2014 saw some crazy good TV series; Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Hannibal, True Detective, Walking Dead and the classic Dr. Who grew even more popular. It's a trend we are all enjoying and with it comes some killer tee designs for every fan to embrace.
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Parody Tees
Parody and mash up tees have been coming thick and fast all year. Everything from Powerpuff Girls/Turtles mash-ups to Star Wars/Van Gogh paintings have appeared. Parody is an imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist, or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect, which is often depicted by mashing two ideas together. These types of tees have always been around. Some are better than others and the trend continues to thrive. Who knows when it will end, if ever?
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Pre-Movie Tees
As movie releases approach people look for tees to wear when they go and see much-anticipated movies. Tees are a good way to show the world you are a fan before the movie kicks off. These are for people who show their support while lining up on release night. This trend has grown and seems to be a pull for movie fans of all ages.
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Minimalistic Tees
Let's break it down. Minimalism is taking an idea and breaking it down to its simplest form. It's a hard thing to do but this past year this area of design has grown and grown. More and more people are looking for a design that is easy to read and symbolize an idea in the simplest of ways.
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Animals in Human Clothing Tees
Yes, believe it or not this has been a trend. We have seen a lot of designs that combine animals heads onto suited human bodies and similar. I blame Jun087 for starting this one with his super popular "The Happy Adventurer" design. It seems wolves; lions and tigers all strike a cord with customers when dressed up in human clothes. Check out the examples below if you don't believe me.
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Rainbow Tees
Rainbows continue to trend even as we head towards winter. Winter is coming but the tees are full of rainbows. This trend is still going strong and it seems to grow in popularity year on year. Get that gradient rainbow flowing cuz this trend is sticking around.
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Emerging Trends into 2015
Let's look into the future and see what trends are destined for big things over the coming months and into 2015. Are you excited? If not, get excited! This is exciting stuff.
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Symbolic Tees
With the minimalism trend seems to also come a symbolic trend. Symbols and signs that either stand out or make you feel like you are a part of a secret society seem to be on the up and up. Read a cool book? There is probably a symbolic tee that represents it. Obscure gaming symbols, eyes, skulls, TV show symbols and religious symbols are all appearing. Pick you fraction and get the symbol tee that shows it!
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Intricate Abstract Art Tees
The boundaries of abstract art have been pushed and the trend is definitely growing. There is a market for people seeking less loud, more thought out tee designs. This art form is difficult but those who have mastered it are reaping the rewards. Cool color combinations and sophisticated compositions are winning all day long in this category.
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Niche Reference Tees
As more and more artists join DBH the audience gets larger and larger, BUT there are always new pockets of niche interests popping up. These are the customers who want to carve their own way and belong to a group of smaller fans who all know and appreciate their fine tastes. Whether it's Bronies or the Insane Clown Posse, everyone seems to want to have their niche group of friends. Don't get the references in the examples? Don't worry neither do I. It's not my niche either but out there somewhere there is a market for it.
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Gaming Tees' New and Old
Gaming has become more and more popular over the last few years and it almost seems like there is a new game released every week. From small indie games to huge blockbusters you can bet your headsets on it that there is a parody tee here for any game, new or old. I predict this trend going for quite some time with the references becoming more and more obscure.
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Anime, Manga, Pokemon, and Dragon Ball Z Tees comeback!
Did this stuff ever leave? I guess not but there sure has been a rise in its popularity. The main characters have been reworked and mashed up to give some truly unique spins on the genre. Some fresher anime characters are also appearing with Japanese cartoons seeing some serious growth in the past six months.
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Slogan and Statement Tees
Got something to say? Well it seems you all do. Slogan tees have seen growth here in the past twelve months. Everything from the poster parody of 'Keep Calm' to the outwardly spoken quotes of movies have been flooding in. Catch that wave right and it's gold dust. Sayings, slogans and quotes are a hot ticket for sure.
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Surreal Tees
Let's get lost in the cool art tees coming in the Fall into the surreal category. These are images that defy reality and make us take a second look. Surrealism in general is becoming popular again and the DBH collective artists are bringing a whole new flavor to this category. Hold on to your melting clocks and elephants on stilts this one's gonna be a bumpy ride.
That's all folks. Remember trends come and go and there are no hard and fast rules. This is intended to inspire and spark ideas. Set your own trend and make a whole new category. Make great art and always thrive to be the next big hit. There are many artists here who have seen great sales and success from discovering the next big thing. That could be you!
Until next time, stay trendy or not'¦
Thanks,
Wotto