Stop Scrolling! This is All You Need to Know About Neon Design in Graphic Design

July 17, 2023

The futuristic concept is all about the future and technology. When we talk about futuristic style, we can’t easily get rid of the concept of neon design style as well. This design style has specific fans with its iconic design works. With the fascinating play of the colors, this style can effortlessly stand-out in the crowd. But, do you know the origin of this design style? What should you do to make your design even more glow-up? Well, in this article, we will share the origin of this design style and what makes it different from the others.

The Origin of Futuristic Neon Design

The origin of neon design style comes from the late 18th century when the creation of neon lamps itself. Sir William Ramsay and Morris Travers, chemist scientists, made an experiment to find out the gas made by Henry Cavendish—who worked with this experiment before. The experiment led them to discover three new noble gases, neon, krypton, and xenon. Then, in 1902, a Frech engineer, Georges Claude, adapted Moore Lamps to use noble gases. This invention successfully created the first neon lamp that we know today.

This successful invention made neon lights become popular. They were favored for advertising purposes along the famous street in Europe and the United States like New York and Las Vegas. Later on, neon designs not only served as advertising tools but also became symbols of modernity. They represent the advanced technology that brings a sense of excitement and optimism in the future.

How to Glow Your Neon Designs

The neon design is one of the designs that can be easily recognized even at a distance. It stands out with vibrant color schemes, glowing aesthetics, and sleek forms that offer a futuristic look that captivates the eyes. There are a couple of things that you need to take note of before creating this design style as listed:

Pick a Vibrant Color Palette

The neon design has a captivating and striking visual with its iconic glowing color plays. Using some bold and vibrant colors is the perfect option when you want to go with this design style. Some colors like shocking pink, luminous green, and sticking yellow will rock your design. They have a captivating visual impact that brings optimism and high-spirit energy. Whereas other colors like, intense purple, electric blue, and glowing red never fail to make your design glow up. These colors can easily scale up modernity and futuristic concept in your design. That’s why they are always chosen to represent technology brands.

Vibrant Color Palette for Neon Design
Vibrant Color Palette for Neon Design

Add Illuminating and Luminous Glowing Effect

The neon design will never look like a neon design without the glowing effect. Use lighting and glow effect to enhance the overall look. Add subtle, gradients, shadows, and highlights for the illumination. As a result, you need to consider the light source direction to get the perfect shadows for the elements that get the neon lights. Along with the illumination, glowing effects become the key to making the design look more alive. Set the right amount of inner and outer glow effects, as well as the glow gradients to create a smooth transition of the light and glow within the element.

Make a Distinctive Contrast and Composition

Besides the use of bold and vibrant colors, neon design is also known for its high contrast and composition. To make your design, even more, stand out, don’t hesitate to create a contrast within your design. Thus, use a dark background like black or navy blue, and place neon elements against the background to make them pop. Aside, you need to pay attention to the vocal point of your design which you want your audience to pay attention to. Place the most important element in the center and give a touch of neon accent there.

Choose Playful and Lively Typography

The neon design not only depicts a futuristic concept but also works pretty well in a design targeting teenagers. Thus, to create this kind of cheerful sense, you might consider bold and futuristic fonts as well as some script or handwriting fonts. Those fonts can give you a touch of whimsy and make your design even more personalized. Other than that, retro-inspired fonts can be another option to bring you back to the 80s and 90s.

Best Neon Design Ideas for Any Graphic Design Purposes

The neon design has a captivating look that is perfect to apply for any graphic design purpose. From branding to marketing, you can nail your visual appearance materials with this design look. This style—especially for marketing—can be an excellent option to steal the spotlight and promote your business. Ever since this design style has been used for centuries to promote many businesses in the form of billboards or signs if we look back at its history. Besides, you can also adopt this concept in other marketing kits like posters, flyers, digital banners, and many more.

Some businesses that are in entertainment, lifestyle, and technology will be in line with this design concept. Nightbars and music entertainment, for example, offer excitement and a lively atmosphere to their target market. And neon designs can deliver exciting vibes through visual design.

Dark Violet Neon Party Rave Promotion Instagram Template with Violet Deep Blue and White colors
Neon Instagram Stories Template

Final Thoughts about Neon Design

In summary, the neon design style speaks futuristic and offers excitement within the concept. It has a natural charm to catch people’s attention. Some techniques are required to create an amusing neon design that you need to deal with. Pay attention to the color palette, illumination, contrast, and composition, as well as typography to nail this design style. In the end, with its eye-catchy design look, you don’t have to work the extra mile to seek the spotlight, let this design style do the job for you.

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