Sticker design trends for 2025
Posted by Sticker Mule on
Custom stickers are a powerful medium for branding and creativity, bringing joy to people of all ages. As we move into 2025, stickers are set to play an even bigger role in both business and personal branding.
This evolution goes beyond aesthetics—it's about how businesses and individuals are using stickers in innovative ways to connect, promote, and express themselves.
The rise of e-commerce and social media has transformed stickers from simple decorations into impactful marketing tools. Brands are finding that a well-designed sticker, especially on premium material, can become a keepsake, cementing brand loyalty, enhancing unboxing experiences, and driving social media engagement.
At Sticker Mule, we work with some of the world's most talented sticker designers every day. Here are the top sticker design trends we’re seeing for 2025.
Top sticker design trends for 2025:
1. Retro revival
After all these years, retro-inspired design can no longer be called just a trend. Its recognizable characteristics have become a staple in graphic design, evolving into a timeless style. While its popularity ebbs and flows, drawing inspiration from multiple eras, retro designs are here to stay and are unlikely to fade away anytime soon.
The beauty of this style lies in its versatility, offering a wealth of elements to choose from. If asked to name a "retro color palette," most people could respond without much hesitation.
The same goes for typography, illustration styles, shapes, patterns, and more. Rather than leaning into clichés, designers have embraced a hybrid approach, blending modern, contemporary elements with retro-inspired aesthetics.
In the world of stickers, retro characters remain incredibly popular, serving as a valuable asset for brands looking to enrich their branding toolkit. Similarly, 70s-inspired typography is another widely used and beloved element in retro design.
2. Halftone patterns
Halftones have evolved far beyond their printing origins to become a dynamic design element that adds depth, texture, and a distinctive visual appeal. This technique—creating gradients and shading through patterns of dots—has been embraced by designers for its ability to infuse designs with vintage charm or a contemporary edge. In 2025, halftones are being used not just as subtle textures but as bold, primary design elements that can transform simple illustrations into striking works of art.
In sticker design, halftones offer unique advantages. They can serve as a unifying feature, linking individual stickers into a cohesive set. By incorporating halftone patterns into each sticker, the designs feel instantly connected, creating a sense of continuity and harmony. This makes halftones a powerful asset for adding depth and cohesion to your designs.
3. Holographic magic
Holographic stickers are becoming increasingly popular, adding a mesmerizing, eye-catching dimension to any surface. Their shifting colors make them ideal for product packaging, laptop decorations, and brand promotions. Many businesses are already using holographic stickers to create memorable experiences and provide an extra touch of uniqueness.
Industries like online retail, fintech startups, and luxury brands are especially drawn to holographic stickers for their ability to enhance the perceived value of products. A badge or label on holographic material instantly feels premium and special—something a plain white sticker struggles to achieve.
It’s no coincidence that gradients have become more prominent in design recently, and holographic stickers are a perfect way to bring a digital, futuristic feel into physical stickers. Their ability to blend aesthetic appeal with functionality makes them a standout choice in 2025.
4. Hand-drawn illustrations
In contrast to the rise of AI-generated designs, hand-drawn illustrations stand out for their unmistakably human touch, which is exactly what makes them special. These authentic, artistic creations offer a personal touch that resonates with customers seeking a genuine, heartfelt connection. Many businesses are commissioning artists to create unique sticker collections that tell their brand story through original illustrations.
The charm of hand-drawn stickers lies in their imperfections and character. Each design reflects the artist's unique style and personality, creating a connection that perfectly polished vector designs can't match. Small businesses, in particular, are embracing this trend to highlight their artisanal nature and support local artists.
Collaborations between brands and artists are becoming increasingly popular, resulting in limited-edition sticker collections that generate excitement and become collectible items. To complement these designs, die-cut stickers are an excellent choice, allowing the sticker's shape to seamlessly match the illustration.
5. Minimalism
Minimalism is a broad term in graphic design, but a specific trend gaining traction this year is the use of simplistic, single-color designs. These include illustrations, typographic pieces, and minimalist logos transformed into stickers. By keeping things simple, designs often deliver a stronger message and leave a lasting impact.
While adding details can enhance designs in some cases, removing clutter is a powerful way to sharpen your message. For example, turning a black-and-white version of your logo into a sticker can be an effective way to promote your brand or cause.
As designers, it’s easy to fall into the trap of overloading a design with elements, thinking that more detail enriches it. However, avoiding dense layouts can be a refreshing change for viewers. To stay on-trend with minimalism, focus on simplicity—keeping it clean and "minimal," quite literally.
6. All that glitters
Glitter stickers are making a dazzling comeback in 2025, turning everyday items into sparkling statement pieces. These vibrant designs add a touch of shimmer to laptops, water bottles, phone cases, brand materials, and more. Much like holographic stickers, their dynamic appearance changes as light hits them, creating an eye-catching, rainbow-like iridescence that demands attention.
One of their standout features is the ability to apply the sparkle effect selectively—whether it's highlighting specific elements of a logo or creating bold, fully glittered backgrounds. This flexibility allows brands to maintain their visual identity while adding just the right amount of shine to make their designs stand out.
Brands worldwide are leveraging glitter stickers to elevate their packaging and promotional materials. Their attention-grabbing nature makes them ideal for special edition products, seasonal campaigns, and creating share-worthy moments on social media.
7. Putting your face on it
Personal branding is taking center stage in 2025, with entrepreneurs and businesses putting their faces front and center through custom stickers. This shift from traditional corporate logos to personal representation is redefining how brands connect with their audiences. By literally "putting their face on it," business owners convey confidence in their products and services while building trust with customers.
This trend aligns with a broader push for authenticity in business. Whether it’s a chef featuring an illustrated portrait on product packaging, a realtor using face stickers in marketing materials, or a content creator adding their likeness to merchandise, these personal touches help create immediate emotional connections. Die-cut stickers work particularly well for maintaining the natural shape of the image, while sticker sheets showcasing different expressions allow brands to convey various moods and personalities across touchpoints.
This approach highlights the real person behind the brand who believes in what they’re selling. It’s especially impactful on social media, where followers can match the face on purchased products to the person they’ve been engaging with online, bridging the gap between digital and physical brand experiences.
To make the process easier, our free tool, Print, quickly transforms your image into a printed product without the need for professional software. Need to remove a photo background? Try our Trace tool—it gets the job done in seconds.
8. Gradients
In 2024, we saw gradients make a major comeback, appearing across all types of design touchpoints—from illustrations to websites. They’ve even re-emerged as integral elements of brand identities, not just temporary campaign visuals. It’s clear that gradients are here to stay for the foreseeable future, and likely well beyond.
It’s fascinating to see how widely used design elements can fall out of favor, becoming almost "taboo" in the design community, only to return after a hiatus feeling fresh again. This cycle has happened with sans-serif typography (still a go-to for many designers), isometric elements, flat design, low-poly visuals, and more. While gradients never fully disappeared, their resurgence has been undeniable—and we expect them to become even more prominent in 2025.
Although gradients work beautifully in digital designs, they can also enhance print projects. A gradient often adds depth and excitement to a design, making it far more dynamic than a flat, solid color. Incorporating gradients into your work can breathe new life into your visuals—you might be surprised by the impact they can have!
9. Custom typography
Typographic stickers, mostly produced as die cut stickers, are popular as always. From vinyl lettering to rounded corner stickers featuring unique fonts, businesses are using custom typography to make bold statements. These designs range from minimalist to elaborate, offering versatile options for brand expression.
The trend extends beyond simple text, with letters incorporating illustrations, patterns, and textures. Some brands are even creating custom alphabets that can be mixed and matched, allowing customers to craft personalized messages. The resurgence of hand-lettering and calligraphy has further influenced this trend, adding an artistic and human touch to text-based stickers.
Hand-drawn lettering has been a favorite for years, and when executed well, it continues to be a powerful tool for businesses and personal brands to communicate through typography.
Retail spaces are using large-format letter stickers for floor graphics and wall graphics, while small businesses are creating custom lettering stickers for packaging and promotional materials. And don't forget about front adhesive stickers, which are perfect for applying to the inside of windows for a clean, professional look.
10. Kawaii
The rising popularity of Kawaii-style stickers highlights how this adorable Japanese aesthetic has become a global phenomenon. Characterized by cute characters with exaggerated features—such as large eyes, tiny mouths, and rounded, baby-like proportions—Kawaii designs have grown far beyond their anime and manga origins.
What makes this trend remarkable is how brands and creators, even those outside traditional Kawaii circles, are embracing and adapting it. From corporate mascots to food items, everything is being transformed into charming Kawaii characters, each with its own personality and universal appeal.
In the sticker world, Kawaii designs have proven to be incredibly versatile. Their cheerful and relatable nature makes them perfect for personal projects and brand assets alike. Small businesses are leveraging Kawaii mascots to make their brands more approachable, while tech companies are using these cute characters in product stickers to add warmth and personality to their corporate image.
The trend has also taken off in the planner and journaling community, where Kawaii stickers help users stay organized while adding a playful touch to their daily routines. What's particularly exciting is how Western designers are blending Kawaii elements with their own cultural influences, creating unique hybrid styles that retain the essential "cute factor" while appealing to a broader audience.
The Future of Sticker Design
These trends reflect broader shifts in consumer behavior and marketing strategies. The increasing demand for social media-worthy moments, unique materials, and personalized experiences is reshaping sticker design and its applications. Businesses that embrace these trends thoughtfully can foster stronger connections with their audiences and stand out in an increasingly visual world.
Ready to make your mark with custom stickers? We’re the printing company that kicks ass—stickers aren’t just in our name, they’re what we do best.
While die-cut stickers remain the most popular choice, specialized options like holographic, clear, and glitter stickers are rapidly gaining traction. Whatever your needs, we’ve got the perfect solution to help your brand stick. Literally.