If 2025 was the year that AI, bold type, and sustainability went mainstream, 2026 is where brochures fuse print + pixels into one seamless brand touchpoint. Below, we unpack the Brochure Design Trends that stand out in 2026 and how they build on graphic design trends 2025 while pointing to the future graphic design trends shaping brand storytelling next.

1) Print that behaves like digital

Expect brochures to act like microsites in your hand. Designers are pairing editorial layouts with scannable triggers, QR, NFC tags, and AR markers to deliver video demos, 3D try-ons, and dynamic price or inventory states. This mirrors social media design trends 2025 short-form video, shoppable content, and creator-led demos brought into print so your brochure can launch an interactive journey with a tap.

2) AI-assisted craft, not AI-looking layouts

AI continues to accelerate concepting and personalization, but the winning look in 2026 is human confident grids, expressive type, and tactile finishes. Adobe’s 2025 trends flagged AI as a creative co-pilot alongside bolder minimalism and type-driven storytelling; in 2026, teams use AI to generate variants, while designers refine hierarchy, rhythm, and print polish for a premium feel.

3) Tactility with conscience

Clients want luxe and a lower footprint. You’ll see recycled and FSC stocks, soy/veggie inks, mono-material bindings, and finishes that feel rich without excess matte soft-touch, blind emboss, and micro-deboss textures. Many studios highlighted eco materials and textured finishes as must-haves in 2025; in 2026, they’re table stakes, often called out transparently in the brochure itself to signal values.

4) Editorial boldness: macro type, micro details

Trends design 2025 popularized big, characterful typography and refined minimalism; 2026 brochures push that further: oversize display type for scannability, condensed subheads to pack value props, and generous white space so AR or QR anchors are unmistakable. Expect modular grids to adapt across formats (tri-folds, gatefolds, slim booklets) and quick-scan “TL;DR” strips for time-poor buyers.

5) Data, but delightful

Sales teams want proof points. Brochures in 2026 borrow from dashboard thinking, clean infographics, tiny animations unlocked via AR, and narrative captions that explain why it matters. This extends the print design trends 2025 toward “next-level data visualization,” now optimized for both ink-on-paper clarity and mobile augmentation.

6) Nostalgia reimagined

Nostalgic textures and retro motifs keep rising, from vintage florals to 70s serifs used sparingly against modern grids. The point isn’t kitsch; it’s emotional warmth. Fashion and interior cycles already telegraphed this drift in late-2025; brochures echo it with heritage accents plus clean contemporary structure.

7) Social-to-print storytelling

As social media design trends 2025 emphasize creator POVs, lo-fi authenticity, and agile content, brochures borrow that voice: candid photography, annotated product shots, UGC snippets, even “creator quotes” with scannable proofs. This narrows the gap between what buyers see on feeds and what they hold at events or retail.

  • Design once, deploy twice: Build your brochure as a system with both print and digital states, consistent type scales, AR-ready placement, and a motion plan for what scans unlock.
  • Specify sustainable tactility: Choose recycled or FSC stocks and elevated but efficient finishes (blind emboss > heavy foils) to align with sustainability KPIs. (Sustainability choices reflect 2025 print guidance
  • Prioritize accessibility: High-contrast palettes, 12–14 pt body type, and alt text for AR assets keep experiences inclusive across print and mobile.
  • Turn stats into stories: Convert features into outcomes using compact infographics and scannable case-study clips. (Data storytelling trajectory from 2025 trends.

Prototype with AI, finish by hand: Use AI to generate layout options and image variations, then refine kerning, rhythm, and tactile details to avoid the “AI sheen.” (AI-as-copilot trend baseline.