10 Spooky Designs to Get You Inspired This Halloween

Wdd Logo.
October 15, 2019

Is the eerie spirit of Halloween haunting your designs? Find spooky inspiration in these ten ghoulish illustrations, videos, and photos.

10 Spooky Designs to Get You Inspired This Halloween.

From Polish artist Piotr Jabłoński’s off-kilter and unnerving fantasy paintings to Caley Hicks’ cutesy take on Halloween themes, you’re sure to find something here to get you in the spooky mood.

Looking for spine-chilling photos, graphics, and video clips to use in your projects? Don’t miss our ultimate curated Halloween collection.

1. Día de los Muertos by Shutterstock contributors

Taking place just after Halloween on November 2nd, 2019, Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a Mexican holiday held to remember the deceased.

Viewed by Mexicans as a day of celebration rather than sadness, colorful costumes, parades, and sugar skulls are prominent features of the holiday. Families gather at the grave of the departed to leave offerings and say prayers, aiding their loved one in their spiritual journey.

Imagery surrounding Día de los Muertos is vibrant and theatrical, giving Day of the Dead-themed designs an otherworldly feel.

Explore the Shutterstock contributors’ Día de los Muertos video collection.

❤️ Celebrando a nuestros amados (celebrating our loved ones) • #DíaDeLosMuertos #ItsShutterstock _ [Link in Bio] _ #sugarskulls #dayofthedead #tradicionesmexicanas #cultura

A post shared by Shutterstock (@shutterstock) on Sep 25, 2019 at 7:41am PDT

2. Fantasy Dreamscapes by Tithi Luadthong

Inspired by horror, fantasy, and science fiction, illustrator Tithi Luadthong conjures up immersive and deeply compelling dreamscapes that tell intriguing stories.

The digital impressionist injects his images with a sense of dynamism and movement, transporting the viewer to a multitude of action-packed horror-themed scenarios, from a zombie apocalypse to a cave inhabited by a horned demon.

Read more about Tithi’s creative process in this interview with the Bangkok-based artist.

Explore the artist’s full collection of horror- and Halloween-themed content here.

shutterstock_695511787

Image by contributor Tithi Luadthong.

shutterstock_454095508

Image by contributor Tithi Luadthong.

shutterstock_478671148

Image by contributor Tithi Luadthong.

3. Halloween-Themed Curated Collection by Shutterstock

Whether you’re planning a Halloween party, creating a seasonal social media post, or designing a hair-raising webpage, the Shutterstock Halloween curated collection features everything you could need to realize your petrifying project.

From trick-or-treat portraits to ghostly collages, discover a wide range of images to suit every mood and every design this autumn.

Curated-collection

4. Animal Halloween Portraits by Kimberly Petts

Horror isn’t for everyone when Halloween rolls around. The holiday is just as much an excuse for indulging in some fun and frivolity.

Shutterstock contributor Kimberley Petts loves to give her animal portraits a spooky yet light-hearted twist. With an air of old-world painting styles, her images manage to balance a somber setting with witty subjects. We especially love her Rembrandt-influenced portraits of her two German Shorthaired Pointers, Branston and Twiglet.

Discover more portraits of pets getting into the Halloween spirit.

shutterstock_1143058070

Image by contributor Kimberly Petts.

shutterstock_1304287465

Image by contributor Kimberly Petts.

5. Supernatural Concept Art by Piotr Jabłoński

Polish concept artist and digital painter Piotr Jabłoński has a cult following for his beautiful yet often disturbing images. His expertly executed digital illustrations see him turn his hand to depicting dark forests filled with mystical creatures, fantastical battle scenes, and freakish humanoid characters.

With a meticulous eye for detail, Jabłoński’s images explore themes of horror, the supernatural, and general weirdness. His ability to blur the lines between normality and fantasy in his subject matter makes his images not only unnervingly beautiful to look at, but unforgettable too.

Pietr4
Pietr2
Pietr3

Images by Piotr Jabłoński.

6. Cutesy Spooks by Caley Hicks

Florida-based illustrator Caley Hicks, aka There Will Be Cute, looks to vintage children’s illustrations to inform her adorable, retro-tinted drawings and patterns. Influenced by the golden age of Disney, Hicks applies her cute and perky drawing style to a range of seasonal subjects. With Halloween a favorite subject, Hicks depicts black cats, pumpkins, and headless horsemen in a midcentury-inspired palette of burnt orange, cream, and charcoal black.

With fans able to purchase cushions, phone covers, and even shower curtains from her online shop, this talented artist has honed a versatile style that works just as well in the home as it does on screen.

Caley-Hicks1
Caley-Hicks2
Caley-Hicks3

Images by Caley Hicks.

7. High Fashion Halloween by SunCity

Halloween is a great excuse for getting dressed up and transforming yourself into a vampire, witch, or black cat. For the more fashionably-inclined, it’s also the perfect occasion to showcase your fabulous makeup skills.

Shutterstock contributor SunCity takes an ultra-stylish approach to the Halloween theme, casting his subject in dramatic colored lighting and experimenting with skeletal makeup, shadows, and blurring. The final result is a high-fashion take on the spooky holiday. These photos would be perfect for giving a Halloween-themed magazine layout or poster a high-fashion twist.

shutterstock_1168514197

Image by contributor SunCity.

shutterstock_1168512631

Image by contributor SunCity.

shutterstock_1168517116

Image by contributor SunCity.

8. Carved Vegetables by Tough Slate Design

Who knew a fig could be so frightening? Kiev-based creatives Tough Slate Design gave this Halloween promo campaign for Le Silpo Specialty Grocery store a quirky twist using that most humble of foods — fruit and vegetables.

Carving frightening faces into turnips, peppers, and olives, then photographing them against a seasonal orange background, created a foundation for their “Treat-or-treat!” campaign. The idea behind the posters? With Le Silpo offering a wide range of delicacies in-store, it seemed bland and unoriginal to use a traditional Halloween pumpkin.

Striking the perfect balance between cute and creepy, the final poster is a lesson in discovering an unusual and offbeat angle for a seasonal campaign.

Treat-or-treat3
Treat-or-treat2
Treat-or-treat1

Poster design by Tough Slate Design for Le Silpo Specialty Grocery store.

9. Wall Art by Syda Productions

Simple cut-out shapes made from paper or card can be transformed into stylish and striking works of art with the right concept in mind. Here, Shutterstock contributor Syda Productions turns his hand to collage-style displays of swarming bats. Set against a minimal backdrop, the result is perfect inspiration for style-conscious decorators looking to add a touch of seasonal spirit to a home or office setting.

Why not try creating and photographing your own Halloween collage creations? Decorate a lonely wall with a flock of black crows or flurry of spider webs to conjure a spooky spirit on a budget.

shutterstock_702950767

Image by contributor Syda Productions.

10. Contemporary Tarot Cards by Theo Boquet

Fortune-telling is deeply connected with the Halloween season. A display of tarot cards across a dining table at a Halloween party is not only a decorative flourish, but is a lovely way of bringing a touch of mystery and spirituality to your event.

These modern and minimal tarot cards by Lille-based graphic designer Theo Boquet offer an ultra-stylish alternative to traditional tarot cards. The collage style mixes black-and-white figures from popular culture and artistic masterpieces with pops of vivid blue and yellow ink.

Boquet’s design is a great example of applying contemporary style to traditional subject matter, to create a hip fusion of old and new.

Tarot1
Tarot3
Tarot2

‘Tarot de Marseille’ card designs by Theo Boquet.

Creating a Halloween-Themed Design?

Discover frightening photos, kooky graphics, and supernatural video clips to use in your projects with the Shutterstock curated Halloween collection.

Curated-collection

This post originally appeared on the Shutterstock blog.

[-- This is a sponsored post on behalf of Shutterstock --]

WDD Staff

WDD staff are proud to be able to bring you this daily blog about web design and development. If there's something you think we should be talking about let us know @DesignerDepot.

Read Next

3 Essential Design Trends, November 2024

Touchable texture, distinct grids, and two-column designs are some of the most trending website design elements of…

20 Best New Websites, October 2024

Something we’re seeing more and more of is the ‘customizable’ site. Most often, this means a button to swap between…

Exciting New Tools for Designers, October 2024

We’ve got goodies for designers, developers, SEO-ers, content managers, and those of you who wear multiple hats. And,…

15 Best New Fonts, September 2024

Welcome to our roundup of the best new fonts we’ve found on the web in the previous four weeks. In this month’s edition…

3 Essential Design Trends, October 2024

This article is brought to you by Constantino, a renowned company offering premium and affordable website design You…

A Beginner’s Guide to Using BlueSky for Business Success

In today’s fast-paced digital world, businesses are always on the lookout for new ways to connect with their audience.…

The Importance of Title Tags: Tips and Tricks to Optimize for SEO

When it comes to on-page SEO, there’s one element that plays a pivotal role in both search engine rankings and user…

20 Best New Websites, September 2024

We have a mixed bag for you with both minimalist and maximalist designs, and single pagers alongside much bigger, but…

Exciting New Tools for Designers, September 2024

This time around we are aiming to simplify life, with some light and fast analytics, an all-in-one productivity…

3 Essential Design Trends, September 2024

September's web design trends have a fun, fall feeling ... and we love it. See what's trending in website design this…

Crafting Personalized Experiences with AI

Picture this: You open Netflix, and it’s like the platform just knows what you’re in the mood for. Or maybe you’re…

15 Best New Fonts, August 2024

Welcome to August’s roundup of the best fonts we’ve found over the last few weeks. 2024’s trend for flowing curves and…