As designers we are influenced both consciously and subconsciously by everything we see around ourselves. Still, we always must try to avoid anything that has been defined as the latest and greatest "trend" in design.
Jeff FisherThe K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid) principle was pounded into my head in school and I still follow it today in most of my designs. I know that my most successful efforts are the simplest. I always find myself trying to subtract detail from design concepts in an attempt to distill the idea down to the most basic communication tool.
Jeff Fisher