Hey First name / friends!
When it comes to trend forecasting, I'm always looking at lots of different industries to spot what's popular. And you know what's having a huge moment right now? Ladybugs! And the place I started spotting them was in nail art! 💅🏻
Nail art might seem like a random place for a surface designer to be looking, but that's actually why I like it. Nail trends move fast because they're cheap and quick to try. So when a motif starts showing up on nails, it's usually a sign that it's about to spread into slower-moving categories like stationery and home decor.
So I went digging to see if it was more than just a beauty thing, and sure enough, Pinterest searches for "whimsical ladybug" are up over 1,400%. 🤯
It makes sense when you think about it. Ladybugs are adjacent to the water garden trend that gave us frogs and snails and all those dreamy little pond scenes. And they're also a key icon in 90's nostalgia.
(Anyone else have notebooks filled with doodled ladybugs from 2nd grade? Just me? 😅)
They're also a sign of good luck, which we're seeing as a theme in other design trends like charms and lucky cats. The connection to the good luck message means these are great for products where you want to cheer someone on and congratulate them. Think graduation cards, new home, new job — the options are endless!
And all those product categories are great because they sell all year long.
