10 Trends Creatives Are So Over In 2026

Creative Boom: Insight Creative Industry 10 trends that creatives are so over in 2026 We asked you what you're tired of seeing. Your answers were passionate, funny and occasionally furious. Written By: Tom May 21 April 2026 Image licensed via Alamy There's a particular kind of weary expertise that only comes from spending years steeped in visual culture. You develop an eye not just for what works, but for the precise moment something stops working, when a fresh idea curdles into a cliché. Usually, there's a bit of a time lag issue here. We creatives are, by nature, early adopters.

We spot a new visual language before most people have noticed it exists, use it with skill and purpose… then watch helplessly as it gets flattened and mass-produced. Until, well, it means nothing at all. This sucks, but it's the occupational hazard of working at the leading edge of culture. We live with trends in a way that most people simply don't, and the fatigue that comes with that is real, specific, and sometimes quite visceral. Our State of Creativity survey asked you: what's one creative trend you're already tired of? Your responses were candid, specific and, at times, genuinely funny. Here's what you told us. 1.

AI slop "AI slop" is shorthand for the vast quantity of AI-generated content, particularly imagery, that currently floods social feeds, client decks and marketing materials. It's typically technically accomplished and visually consistent, but also devoid of thought or personality. Let's be clear, though: it's not AI itself that's the problem. It's the laziness it enables and the homogeneity it produces: an endless scroll of competent, hollow, interchangeable output.

You said you hate: "The 'look at what I made in just two clicks thanks to AI' type of work." "Things that are polished with AI and templates but lack any sense of intention or perspective." "[That] every trend-based image always has this overused yellow hue. Makes me feel sick." 2. AI caricatures and portraits Here's a more specific AI grievance: the recurring waves of people using AI tools to transform their photos into Pixar characters, action figures, Studio Ghibli illustrations or whatever the trend of the moment dictates. Each new variant spreads virally, peaks within days and disappears, only to be replaced by the next.

You're finding it shallow, derivative and, by now, extremely tedious. You said you hate: "The AI portraits on LinkedIn." "Any trend that involves an AI caricature." "Pointless and personalised generative AI trend of the week (e.g. caricatures, action figures) which reach the general public." The LinkedIn observation is particularly pointed. Nothing says "I've run out of things to post" quite like a portrait of yourself as a Marvel superhero. 3. Glassmorphism and liquid glass Glassmorphism is the design trend characterised by frosted-glass panels, blurred backgrounds and translucent, layered UI elements.

It emerged as a major aesthetic a few years ago, popularised partly by Apple and widely adopted across app design, web interfaces and branding. This style creates a sense of depth and softness, which is why designers often reach for it. But like most trends, it's spread far beyond the contexts where it made sense, and things have got messy. Apple's 2025 announcement of its Liquid Glass design language turbocharged the aesthetic at exactly the moment the backlash was already building. You said you hate: "Liquid glass." "Glass everything." "Holo and bubbles." Glassmorphism. Image licensed via Alamy 4.

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The article addresses significant trends in the creative industry and emphasizes the need for authenticity in branding, making it relevant and impactful for brand strategy professionals, though the concept of trend fatigue is not entirely new.