Design tips that evoke autumn

For autumn, you'll often see designs that use colors evoking autumn foliage—such as orange, red, yellow, and brown—or colors that bring to mind seasonal foods like the reddish-purple of sweet potatoes. Dark, muted tones like deep green and mustard are also common. The Häagen-Dazs site emphasizes an autumn feel by using deep green and dark red against a pumpkin-themed background.

PANTONE has also announced its recommended 10 colors for autumn 2017 and 2018. They're all calm, sophisticated shades, so why not incorporate them into your designs?

Reference: PANTONE Fashion Color Trend Report New York Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2018

Reference: PANTONE Fashion Color Report, Fall 2017

Häagen-Dazs Pumpkin Pudding & Pumpkin

Source: https://www.haagen-dazs.co.jp/company/newsrelease/2017/0727.html

Many people probably think of autumn leaves or maple leaves as quintessential autumn motifs. Other common motifs include acorns and cosmos flowers, autumn foods like apples, chestnuts, pumpkins, and grapes, and animals like squirrels and deer.

In this KITTE advertisement, illustrations of autumn-flavored foods like persimmons and mushrooms are used, and combined with the color scheme, they create an autumnal atmosphere.

KITTE Autumn Message Festa

Source: https://www.post.japanpost.jp/event/tegami/festa2017fall/

Designs related to autumn events are also effective at conveying a sense of the season. The Horoyoi site uses a Halloween theme for its design. By including silhouettes of pumpkins, castles, and bats in the background, it creates a slightly eerie atmosphere while expressing the season.

Suntory Horoyoi: Horoyoi Erika's Horot Fortune-Telling

Source: https://www.suntory.co.jp/rtd/horoyoi/

Tsukimi (moon viewing), a uniquely Japanese tradition, also evokes a sense of autumn. McDonald's advertisement uses motifs of the full moon, rabbits, and Japanese pampas grass to represent the autumn tradition of moon viewing.

McDonald's Tsukimi Burger

Source: https://www.mcdonalds.co.jp/campaign/

In contrast to summer designs that often feel refreshing, you can also express autumn by adding warmth to designs through expressive textures.

The Itoen site uses a Japanese-paper-style texture as its background, combined with illustrations of autumn leaves, to create the warm feeling characteristic of autumn.

Itoen "TEA SHOP ITOEN": Reservation-Only Mellow Aged Autumn-Season New Tea

Source: https://teashop.itoen.co.jp

Many people sense autumn in the gradually cooling air. You can also convey a sense of the season by designing visuals that evoke this cool autumn air.

In LUMINE's advertisement, falling dried leaves against a screen with reduced warm tones evoke the chill of the autumn breeze.

LUMINE MAGAZINE: Making of the 2017 Autumn Ad — My Voice My Story

Source: https://www.lumine.ne.jp/magazine/

Giving text and illustrations a pencil-drawn or crayon-like texture is effective at conveying the rustling feel of fallen leaves and the warmth of autumn.

The "Autumn Greetings" stamps combine hand-drawn-style text and illustrations of girls with softer touches like fallen leaves, resulting in a design that beautifully captures the spirit of autumn.

Japan Post: Release of "Autumn Greetings" Greeting Stamps

Source: https://www.post.japanpost.jp/kitte_hagaki/stamp/tokusyu/2017/h290823_t.html

Compared to summer with its image of vibrant energy, autumn advertising tends to lean toward a calmer, more mature feel. By choosing Mincho fonts or brush-stroke styles—which feel more refined than casual Gothic fonts—you can create a more composed atmosphere.

The Kirin "Akiaji" site uses Mincho fonts throughout, resulting in elegant visuals fitting for the theme of "autumn for adults."

Kirin Akiaji-na Tabi (Autumn Flavor Trip) Gift Campaign

Source: https://www.kirinholdings.com/jp/newsroom/release/2017/0705_02.html

From now on, you'll likely see more advertisements and products themed around autumn. When you come across something that strikes you as "feeling like autumn," it can be fun to think about exactly what made you feel that way, and what creative techniques the ad uses to evoke the season.
*Please note that some of the source sites referenced are seasonal campaign sites, which may be taken down after a certain period.