Here at Shutterstock, if there’s one thing we obsess over as much as inspiring imagery, it’s data. Add that to the fact that we license more images than anyone else, and you have a recipe for some pretty insightful trend forecasting.

We created our first design-trends infographic last year; this time, we took things up a notch, incorporating a lot more data, a lot more images, and a more in-depth look at what we see heating up in the year ahead.

Below are Shutterstock’s 10 takeaways along with the informative INFOGRAPHIC:

1. Long Live the Long Tail. Our Top 50 images of the year only accounted for 180k downloads. That’s a tiny fraction of overall downloads, meaning that communicators are looking for diverse imagery to tell stories.

2. If Vector & Camera got in a fight, Vector would win. Sort of. 36 of those top 50 images were vectors; 11 were photos and 3 were illustrations. But before you swap your camera for a tablet, note that photos still account for nearly 2x as many downloads overall.

3. We’re all obsessed with labels. Labels of every size, shape, and style were popular this year, from a retro bakery to Victorian-inspired designs.

4. Textures, patterns, and prints, oh my! Textures, patterns, and prints appeared in virtually every market this year, but were especially prominent in Australia, with retro vintage designs and abstract bokeh among the top downloads.

5. Brazil could be the next design giant. With several abstract and cubic images, Brazil is on the cutting edge of design this year. Take a look at the top 20 downloads for this influential design hub.

6. From Russia with Love. Solidifying its place in the world of fashion and beauty photography, Russia continues to churn out some of the most alluring images in the world. Follow the work of MGV and Serov and you’ll see what we mean.

7. The grass is always greener. “Green” may not be a new trend, but now instead of simply being green, we have more refined terms, from “sustainable” to “eco-friendly.” View a collection of our favorite “green” images.

8. Out with the old, and in with the (slightly less) old. If you combined all the searches for “Cats,” “Dogs,” “Retro,” and “Hipster,” you still wouldn’t beat the number of searches for “Vintage.” Everything from 70s retro to ornate antique imagery will continue to dominate this year.

9. Laws of Abstraction. Geometric and abstract shapes are on the rise, big time. From pixel people to 3D labels, see a few of our current favorites.

10. Less Is More. Germany might be the epicenter for one the year’s biggest emerging trends: minimalism. It’s all about cutting through the clutter with striking imagery to make an impact.

One of the benefits of working in an innovative and diverse corporate office is the opportunity to grab great reading recommendations from my co-workers. I’m always on the prowl for great new material that can broaden my scope in business, strategy and self-discovery. I’m currently pouring through the Steve Jobs bio written by Walter Isaacson – a book I won’t think twice about recommending. There’s so much I hadn’t known about Jobs (right down to his surprising drug abuse), and find his self-made man story to be absolutely fascinating.

Knowing that I’ll soon be done the Jobs bio, I wanted to make sure I had a few other reads lined up. Lucky for me, after sending out an email to some of my closest colleagues, I now have a huge list of books I intend to read this fall/winter. Here’s a few that came my way:

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

In this stunning investigation of success, Malcolm Gladwell takes us on a journey through the world of “outliers”-the best, brightest, and most famous-asking the question: what makes high-achievers different? Gladwell argues that in order to solve this riddle we must focus on the contributing elements around the successful-their culture, their family, their generation, and the idiosyncratic experiences of their upbringing. Along the way, he explains what the Beatles and Bill Gates share in common, the reason you’ve never heard of the smartest man in the world, why almost no star hockey players are born in the fall, and why Columbian and South Korean airplane pilots are more likely to crash.

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire. Just as a single sick person can start an epidemic of the flu, so too can a small but precisely targeted push cause a fashion trend, the popularity of a new product, or a drop in the crime rate. This widely acclaimed bestseller, in which Malcolm Gladwell explores and brilliantly illuminates the tipping point phenomenon, is already changing the way people throughout the world think about selling products and disseminating ideas.

Are You Smart Enough To Work At Google? by William Poundstone

This book guides readers through the surprising solutions to dozens of the most challenging interview questions. The book covers the importance of creative thinking, ways to get a leg up on the competition, what your Facebook page says about you, and much more. ARE YOU SMART ENOUGH TO WORK AT GOOGLE? is a must read for anyone who wants to succeed in today’s job market.

The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, author Stephen R. Covey presents a holistic, integrated, principle-centered approach for solving personal and professional problems. With penetrating insights and pointed anecdotes, Covey reveals a step-by-step pathway for living with fairness, integrity, service, and human dignity — principles that give us the security to adapt to change and the wisdom and power to take advantage of the opportunities that change creates.

How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

For more than sixty years the rock-solid, time-tested advice in this book has carried thousands of now famous people up the ladder of success in their business and personal lives.

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink

Drawing on four decades of scientific research on human motivation, Pink exposes the mismatch between what science knows and what business does—and how that affects every aspect of life. He examines the three elements of true motivation—autonomy, mastery, and purpose-and offers smart and surprising techniques for putting these into action in a unique book that will change how we think and transform how we live.

Descriptions courtesy of Amazon.ca. Special thanks to Bhumika Kapadia, Seema Lakhani, Jonathan Naymark, and Katie Hinks for the recommendations.

How about you? Are there any books you’ll be reading over the fall/winter season? Share them in the comments!