Etsy 2021 trends – What you need to know for your design ideas

The New Year has finally arrived and with it comes the opportunity to add fresh products to your inventory to keep your sales going strong post-the holiday season.

Every so often Etsy comes out with a trends report, letting sellers know the types of products and designs customers have been eager to buy.

Recently, Etsy published a trends report for 2021, which you can check out here.

It’s useful to review these reports because it isn’t easy having to guess what customers might be interested in.

When you follow what’s trending, you can have a more targeted approach to your design creation, which will hopefully result in more sales and repeat business.

The trends you can see happening now and expect to see more of in 2021 include the following:

• The color sky blue
• Anniversary celebrations
• Outer space
• Politics
• Cityscapes
• Positive affirmations

Below, I talk about each of these trends in greater depth. Then, I share design ideas for each trend along with a social media post template that you can use to promote your products.

Let’s dive in…

Sky blue

According to Etsy, the color of 2021 is sky blue, which conjures thoughts of peace and tranquility after a very rocky 2020.  Etsy has seen a 39% increase in customers searching for sky or light blue products so there’s definitely a demand and this is a super simple trend to incorporate into your designs.

Design ideas

Think of anything having to do with the sky… birds, nature scenes, including trees, grass, the ocean, et cetera. Or, to keep things really easy, take a few text-based designs and either make the font sky blue or put the text against a light blue background.

Here are a few examples I found after running an Etsy search for “sky blue mugs”:

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NOTE: You, of course, aren’t limited to mugs. You can create sky blue face masks, shot glasses, pillow cases — any product you want.

Social media post example

#SkyBlue is the new black. It’s the color of 2021 and we just added a bunch of new sky blue-colored #gifts to our store (#mugs, #facemasks, and more). Shop now: [insert link]. Save 10% when you use promo code FEELINGBLUE

Anniversary celebrations

Many couples were unable to have the wedding celebrations they’d planned for in 2020 due to COVID-19-related restrictions. As a result, Etsy predicts people will want to celebrate their one-year anniversaries in a bigger, more significant way (provided conditions improve as the year progresses), and that means more anniversary gifts.

Design ideas

To help couples celebrate, you can create a variety of “Happy Anniversary” designs. They can be funny. They can be poignant and sweet. Or they can relate to the pandemic. You can create designs for…

• husbands to give to their wives
• wives to give to their husbands
• husbands to give to their husbands
• wives to give to their wives
• other family members and friends to give to newlywed couples

These types of designs also open the door to personalization options, which customers love.

Here are some examples I found on Etsy after searching for “anniversary mugs”:

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Social media post example

Celebrating a special #anniversary this year? Show your loved one how much you care with one of our shop’s fantastic #giftideas. We’ve got #coffeemugs, #shotglasses, #pillowcases, and more. Shop now: [insert link]. Use promo code LOVE and get 10% off your order

Outer space

Especially for products aimed at kids, outer space is predicted to be a popular theme in 2021. Etsy says it’s seen a “63% increase in searches for space-themed wallpaper and an 89% increase in searches for space-themed kids or baby items.”

But adults are interested in outer space too. NASA is gearing up to have a busy year as it prepares to conduct flight tests and to send the first woman to the moon in 2024, and people are taking notice.

Design ideas

Outer space as a design theme offers a ton of inspiration for new design ideas. Just think of all of the elements that exist in space or relate to space travel…

• planets
• meteors
• asteroids
• comets
• black holes
• galaxies
• stars and constellations
• astronauts
• spaceships
• NASA
• and a whole lot more.

There’s a lot of potential here for both image- and text-based designs. You could create simple images of well-known constellations like the Big Dipper or Orion, the Hunter. Or, you could come up with text-based space-related puns.

Here are a few examples I found after searching on Etsy for “outer space mugs” and “constellation mugs”:

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Social media post example

There’s nothing cooler or more intriguing than #outerspace! And we just added a bunch of new space-related #gifts to our store. We’ve got #coffeemugs, #facemasks, #shotglasses, and more. Shop now: [insert link]. Use promo code NASA to save 15%

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Politics

Last year was pretty crazy in terms of politics, and the craziness isn’t over yet. Some people are thrilled that Trump will no longer be president while others aren’t ready to concede. No matter what your political affiliations might be (if any), the current trials, tribulations, and triumphs offer a wealth of design material for your products.

Design ideas

If you want to go the political route with your designs, I would suggest putting aside your personal feelings and opinions and create designs representing a variety of points of view. That way, you don’t alienate any customers.  You provide something for everyone and thus optimize your sales potential.

Having said that, there are a few angles you can take with your political designs along with examples from Etsy.

You could make pro-Trump designs…

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You could make designs about being happy that Donald Trump is no longer President…

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You could make pro-Biden designs…

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Or you could make designs focusing on Kamala Harris making history as the first woman and first woman of color to become Vice President-Elect…

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Social media post example

The craziness in #politics is still going strong. If you’re looking for a funny #giftidea for the political wonk in your life, look no further: [insert link]. We added a bunch of new items to our store. Shop now and get $5 off with coupon code AMERICA

Cityscapes

We’re still unable to travel, but even so, people love cityscapes and skylines and they enjoy seeing them on products. A recent BuzzFeed article offered a list of Etsy items their readers loved, one of which featured famous buildings and monuments from major cities around the world.

Design ideas

You can come up with a list of popular cities to travel to, such as Paris, London, Tokyo, New York, et cetera, and use their skylines as image-based designs. You could also use images of major tourist attractions from popular cities, like the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, the Colosseum, or the Space Needle. And if you’ve done some traveling yourself, you could even some of your own travel photos as designs.

Alternatively, you can take the easy route, and make simple, text-based, city-inspired designs that say something like, “I love [city name].” Or, you could create a word cloud by listing different attractions found in a particular city, state, or country. You can learn more about creating word cloud designs here.

Here are some examples of city-inspired designs I found on Etsy when searching for things like “cityscape mugs” and “city mugs”:

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Social media post example

Traveling may be off the table, but you can still experience your favorite destinations with our new collection of products and #giftideas featuring #travel designs. Shop now: [insert link]. Coupon code CITY gets you $7 off

Positive affirmations

This trend is especially timely for New Year’s when many people have made resolutions and are approaching the new year with a fresh mindset and renewed hope and energy.

Design ideas

Designs based on positive affirmations can be extremely simple. You don’t need anything more than a few inspiring words — for example…

Nothing can dim the light that shines from within.
I am enough.
Inhale peace. Exhale joy.
Happiness is a choice. I choose happiness.
I am my own hero.

You can do a quick Google search for “positive affirmations” and find a bunch of lists from which you can draw inspiration.

Here are some examples of products I found after searching Etsy for “positive affirmation mugs”:

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Social media post example

Everyone could use a pick-me-up now and again. Check out our beautiful new line of #mugs and #facemasks. These #giftideas will make you feel uplifted and inspired! Shop now: [insert link]. Coupon code POSITIVE saves you 15%

What do you think of these Etsy design trends for 2021? Leave a comment below with your thoughts and insights. Also, if you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends and followers!