Exploding Topics: A Designer's Secret Weapon for Trend Forecasting

In the fast-paced world of design, staying ahead of trends isn't just about being cool—it's a competitive necessity. Exploding Topics has emerged as an invaluable resource for designers who want to catch the next big wave before it crests. This powerful trend forecasting tool uses sophisticated data analysis to identify emerging concepts across industries, giving creative professionals a significant edge in their work.

Whether you're a graphic designer, UI/UX specialist, or brand strategist, understanding what's about to trend can transform your creative process and elevate your designs from current to cutting-edge. Let's explore how Exploding Topics works and how you can leverage it to revolutionize your design approach.

What Is Exploding Topics?

Exploding Topics is a trend discovery platform that uses advanced data analysis to identify fast-growing topics across various industries before they hit mainstream awareness. Created by Brian Dean (founder of Backlinko) and Josh Howarth, this tool was built to solve a common problem for innovators: how to spot trends early enough to capitalize on them.

Unlike reactive trend tools that simply report what's already popular, Exploding Topics focuses on early-stage trends by analyzing search data patterns, social signals, and market movements. The platform identifies topics in their growth phase—when they're gaining significant momentum but haven't yet reached peak popularity.

The service operates on a freemium model, with a basic version available at no cost and a Pro version that offers deeper insights and more powerful features. For designers who need to stay ahead of visual, technological, and cultural shifts, Exploding Topics provides a data-driven crystal ball into future trends.

How Exploding Topics Works

Understanding the mechanics behind Exploding Topics helps designers leverage its full potential for creative inspiration and strategic decision-making.

Data-Driven Trend Identification

At its core, Exploding Topics employs sophisticated machine learning algorithms to scan and analyze vast amounts of data from across the internet. This includes:

• Search volume data across millions of queries
• Social media engagement metrics
• News mentions and content creation patterns
• Consumer interest indicators

The platform's algorithms are specifically designed to filter out seasonal spikes and temporary viral moments, focusing instead on consistent growth trajectories that indicate genuine trend emergence. For designers, this means the tool can identify aesthetic movements, design technologies, and creative concepts as they begin their ascent—well before they saturate the market.

Categories & Interface

Exploding Topics presents its findings through an intuitive, visual interface that makes trend identification straightforward:

• Growth graphs: Each topic features a visual representation of its growth over time, allowing designers to see exactly when interest began accelerating
• Category filters: Trends are organized into industry segments including design, technology, finance, health, and more
• Time frame selection: Users can adjust their view to see trends over various periods (3 months, 6 months, 1 year, or 5 years)
• Trend collections: Related topics are grouped into collections for easier exploration of movement within a specific area

The clean, graph-focused interface provides immediate visual understanding of a trend's trajectory—something particularly valuable for visually-oriented design professionals.

Exploding Topics Pro

While the free version offers valuable insights, Exploding Topics Pro unlocks features particularly relevant to serious design professionals:

• Trend Score: A proprietary metric that quantifies a topic's growth potential
• Earlier trend access: Pro users see emerging trends before they appear on the free version
• Meta trends: Identification of broader movements that encompass multiple individual trends
• Custom alerts: Notifications when new trends emerge in categories relevant to your design focus
• Database access: Search capabilities across all historical trend data

For design studios, agencies, or independent designers working with forward-thinking clients, the Pro version provides the depth of insight needed to truly stay ahead of visual and technological movements.

Why Designers Should Care About Trendspotting

In an industry defined by innovation and visual communication, trend awareness isn't just helpful—it's essential for creative relevance.

Design Moves Fast

The visual landscape evolves at breakneck speed:

• UI design paradigms shift dramatically (consider the rapid transitions between skeuomorphism, flat design, material design, and neumorphism)
• Color palettes cycle through popularity (like the rise of millennial pink, neo-mint, and digital lavender)
• Typography trends emerge and saturate quickly (variable fonts, kinetic typography, brutalist type treatments)

According to research from Dribbble's Global Design Survey, designers who stay ahead of trends are 38% more likely to report client satisfaction with their work. Being early to recognize these shifts gives designers a critical window to incorporate fresh elements before they become visually ubiquitous.

Influence on Creative Direction

Trend awareness empowers designers to guide projects with informed confidence:

• Steer brand refreshes toward emerging visual territories
• Recommend UX patterns that feel fresh yet intuitive
• Suggest typography, color, and layout approaches that feel contemporary
• Balance timeless design principles with forward-looking execution

Many design leaders at companies like Adobe note that the most successful creatives don't simply follow trends—they anticipate and selectively incorporate them while maintaining brand integrity and usability principles.

Competitive Advantage

In a crowded marketplace, trend foresight creates tangible business advantages:

• Win pitches by demonstrating market awareness and forward thinking
• Command higher rates for trend-forward expertise
• Attract clients looking for cutting-edge visual approaches
• Position yourself as a thought leader within the design community

For freelancers and studios alike, the ability to present concepts that feel simultaneously fresh yet proven by data creates a compelling value proposition that distinguishes you from competitors.

How to Use Exploding Topics as a Designer

Exploding Topics wasn't created specifically for designers, which is precisely why it offers such valuable cross-pollination of ideas. Here's how to apply it to your creative process:

Spot Aesthetic Trends

The platform excels at identifying emerging visual movements:

• Search for terms like "design style" or "aesthetic" to uncover rising visual approaches
• Track specific elements like "typography trend" or "color palette 2023"
• Monitor material innovations like "sustainable packaging design" or "biodegradable materials"
• Identify emerging platforms where design skills are needed (like "NFT design" or "AR interfaces")

By identifying these trends early, you can experiment with new styles before they become commonplace, giving your work a distinctive edge when presenting to clients or updating your portfolio.

Inform Branding & UI Decisions

Trend insights can directly influence strategic design choices:

• Understand broader cultural movements affecting consumer psychology
• Identify emerging interface patterns before they become expected
• Spot new technology adoption that will require adapted design approaches
• Recognize shifting color preferences across demographics

For example, a designer who noticed the early rise of "dark mode" through Exploding Topics could have prepared clients for this shift, positioning their brand interfaces ahead of the widespread adoption that followed.

Inspire Content and Portfolio Work

Proactive trend research empowers designers to create showcase work that demonstrates foresight:

• Create speculative designs based on emerging technologies
• Develop sample projects incorporating trending aesthetics
• Prepare case studies showing how you've applied trend insights
• Build thought leadership content around visual trends you've identified

These self-initiated projects not only keep your skills sharp but serve as powerful portfolio pieces that show potential clients your ability to work at the cutting edge.

Explore Cross-Industry Inspiration

Some of the most innovative design work comes from unexpected intersections:

• Apply fintech innovations to healthcare UX
• Borrow from sustainable fashion trends for packaging design
• Translate gaming interface elements to productivity apps
• Incorporate wellness aesthetics into corporate branding

Exploding Topics excels at showing trends across diverse categories, helping designers make these creative connections that lead to truly distinctive work.

Best Practices for Getting the Most Out of Exploding Topics

Like any tool, Exploding Topics delivers the best results when used with intention and strategy.

Set Weekly or Monthly Review Habits

Consistency is key to effective trend monitoring:

• Schedule dedicated time each week to review new trends
• Create a personal framework for evaluating which trends merit attention
• Document patterns you notice over time
• Maintain a trend journal with screenshots and notes

Many successful designers report that just 20 minutes of weekly trend research dramatically improves their ability to anticipate client needs and market movements.

Cross-Reference with Pinterest & Behance

Validate data-driven trends with visual confirmation:

• When Exploding Topics identifies a trend, check its manifestation on design platforms
• Search the trend term on Pinterest to see how it's being visually expressed
• Check Behance projects featuring the trend to understand its application
• Look for early adoption in agency and studio work

This cross-referencing process helps translate abstract trend data into actionable visual direction for your design projects.

Use in Team Brainstorming

Trend data provides valuable structure for creative sessions:

• Open brainstorms by reviewing relevant Exploding Topics findings
• Use trend graphs as stimulus for ideation
• Challenge teams to respond to emerging topics with design concepts
• Evaluate concepts against trend growth trajectories

Leading design thinking firm IDEO advocates using trend research as a collaborative framework, noting that teams generate more innovative solutions when working with shared trend intelligence.

Pair with Keyword Tools

Combine trend and search insights for comprehensive understanding:

• Use identified trends to inform SEO for design-related content
• Align UX copy with emerging terminology
• Understand how users are searching for new concepts
• Create content that bridges current terms and emerging concepts

This integration creates a powerful feedback loop that informs both visual design and the language that surrounds it.

Limitations and Considerations

While Exploding Topics offers tremendous value, understanding its limitations ensures you use it effectively as part of a balanced design process.

Not Design-Specific

The platform covers all industries, requiring designer interpretation:

• General trends need translation into design applications
• Some trending topics have limited visual implications
• Design-specific terminology may not always appear in the database
• Creative interpretation is required to extract value

This limitation can actually be beneficial, as it forces designers to think laterally about how broader trends might manifest visually.

Requires a Strategic Eye

Not all exploding topics deserve your attention:

• Some trends are irrelevant to your specific design niche
• Certain trends may conflict with established brand guidelines
• Some fast-growing topics prove to be short-lived fads
• Ethical considerations might make some trends problematic to adopt

Successful designers develop a filtering system to distinguish between trends that deserve adoption and those best observed from a distance.

Pro Plan Cost

Budget considerations may affect access to premium features:

• Free plan offers limited historical data and trend visibility
• Pro plans start at $39/month (annual billing) or $49/month (monthly billing)
• Teams may need to justify ROI for subscription costs
• Smaller studios might need to be selective about subscription length

For many professional designers, however, identifying even one significant trend ahead of competitors can easily justify the investment.

Alternatives to Exploding Topics (and How They Compare)

While Exploding Topics offers unique benefits, understanding the alternatives helps designers build a comprehensive trend-spotting toolkit.

Glimpse vs. Exploding Topics

Glimpse offers a slightly different approach to trend discovery:

• More consumer-focused than Exploding Topics
• Offers a Chrome extension for trend notifications
• Provides more social media trend integration
• Less historical data than Exploding Topics
• Similar pricing structure

Some design teams find value in using both tools, with Glimpse providing consumer insights while Exploding Topics offers broader trend trajectories.

Google Trends

The free Google Trends platform offers complementary insights:

• Shows search interest over time with more granular geographic data
• Offers longer historical view than Exploding Topics
• Less effective at identifying early-stage trends
• No curation or categorization of design-relevant topics
• Lacks the predictive scoring of Exploding Topics

Google Trends works best as a verification tool once you've identified potential trends through other means.

Pinterest Trends + Behance Search

For purely visual trend spotting, design-specific platforms offer direct inspiration:

• More immediately applicable visual examples
• Design community validation of trends
• Limited to what's already being created
• Lacks the data-driven growth metrics of Exploding Topics
• Better for execution ideas than early trend identification

These platforms excel at showing how trends are currently being expressed but offer less insight into what's coming next.

FAQ: Using Exploding Topics as a Designer

Can I use Exploding Topics for free?

Yes, Exploding Topics offers a free version that provides access to trending topics and basic growth graphs. However, the free version has several limitations:

• Trends appear after they've already gained significant momentum
• Limited historical data access
• No meta-trend identification
• Limited filtering and sorting options
• No custom alerts or notifications

For casual inspiration, the free version offers value, but professionals seeking true competitive advantage typically benefit from Pro features.

Is Exploding Topics good for branding work?

Absolutely. Brand strategy requires balancing timeless identity with cultural relevance, making trend awareness crucial. Exploding Topics helps brand designers:

• Identify emerging consumer values and interests
• Spot visual language shifts before they become mainstream
• Understand how terminology and communication are evolving
• Recognize new platforms and channels where brands need presence

The most successful rebranding projects often incorporate subtle nods to emerging trends while maintaining brand heritage.

How often are trends updated?

Exploding Topics updates its database weekly, with Pro users gaining access to new trends before they appear on the free version. This regular refresh ensures that users have access to continuously current data.

The platform also maintains trending topics for extended periods, allowing designers to track how interest evolves over time and make informed decisions about which trends have staying power.

How does it compare to Google Trends?

While both tools track topic popularity, they serve different purposes:

• Google Trends shows what's already being searched
• Exploding Topics identifies what's beginning to grow
• Google offers more geographic specificity
• Exploding Topics provides better categorization and curation
• Google shows longer historical data
• Exploding Topics offers better prediction of future growth

Many designers use both tools in tandem—Exploding Topics to identify emerging movements and Google Trends to validate their regional relevance.

Final Thoughts: Should Designers Use Exploding Topics?

In a profession where timing and relevance are everything, Exploding Topics offers designers a significant competitive advantage. By providing data-driven insights into emerging trends across industries, the platform helps creative professionals spot opportunities before they become obvious.

For individual designers, studios, and agencies alike, the ability to present forward-looking concepts backed by growth data creates a compelling value proposition that can win pitches, command premium rates, and position your work at the cutting edge.

While the tool isn't exclusively design-focused, this cross-industry perspective often leads to the most innovative applications—allowing designers to draw connections between seemingly unrelated trends and create truly distinctive work.

Whether you're creating brand identities, user interfaces, packaging, or illustrations, incorporating trend intelligence into your creative process elevates your work from reactive to predictive.

Ready to transform your design approach with data-driven trend insights? Explore Exploding Topics today and discover the emerging concepts that will define tomorrow's visual landscape.

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