Top 10 Trending Keywords in the Marketplace This Summer

If you started your own Artist Shop with the goal of growing your art business, the Threadless Marketplace will help you get discovered. One way to attract new customers is by creating designs around search terms that are currently trending. To help you with this strategy, we’ve gathered a list of trending keywords this summer that are popular in the Marketplace.


Before we dive in, here are a few things you should know about the Threadless Marketplace:

It’s curated by our community. Members score designs, and Threadless selects the highest-rated ones for the catalog.

You have the option to be considered for the Marketplace. In your shop settings, turn on “Allow my shop’s products to be considered in the Threadless Marketplace” if you’re interested. Please note, opting in does not guarantee inclusion in the Threadless catalog.

DON’T FORGET to tag your designs with relevant keywords every time you add new designs to your Artist Shop. This makes it easier for Marketplace shoppers to find your art when they enter related search terms. Learn more about tagging your designs.

Now, onto the top 10 trending keywords in the Marketplace this summer. These popular search terms will give you a sense of what Threadless shoppers are looking for during this time of year. Tailoring your designs to their preferences and browsing behavior could help your shop get more traffic and potentially increase your sales. If you already have designs in your shop that fit these keywords, go back and make sure they’re properly tagged! Without further ado…

10. Cute

Design inspiration/related keywords: cartoons, kawaii, animals, animals acting like people, kittens, puppies, puns, playful humor, rainbows, unicorns, love, falling in love, family, babies


9. Typography

Design inspiration/related keywords: motivational, inspirational, mantras, slogans, activism, humor, edgy, political, calligraphy, cursive, bubble fonts, retro fonts


8. Food

Design inspiration/related keywords: ramen, pizza, hot dogs, cheeseburgers, beer, fruits, veggies, pineapples, mushrooms, dessert, cupcakes, birthday cake


7. Retro

Design inspiration/related keywords: ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s, vaporwave, movie posters, travel ads, old technology, glitch art, children’s books, muscle cars, pop art, retro comics, pinups


6. Animals

Design inspiration/related keywords: cats, dogs, birds, fish, foxes, unicorns, wolves, squirrels, raccoons, opossum, sharks, penguins, dinosaurs, cryptids, mythological, octopus, bears, kaiju


5. Nature

Design inspiration/related keywords: landscapes, forests, beaches, mountains, rainbows, ocean, camping, hiking, outdoors, cottagecore, mushrooms, plants, trees, national parks


4. Cats

Design inspiration/related keywords: kittens, black cats, black magic, Lucky Cat, purring, meowing, kneading, grooming, batting around yarn, litter boxes, cat memes, introvert, goth


3. Abstract

Design inspiration/related keywords: geometric shapes, glitch art, trippy, psychedelic, symbolism, minimalism, surrealism, cubism, dadaism, fauvism, patterns


2. Space

Design inspiration/related keywords: astronauts, planets, moon, sun, constellations, space travel, retrofuturistic, sci-fi, aliens, extraterrestrial, future technology, terraforming, travel ads


1. Funny

Design inspiration/related keywords: dark humor, internet humor, dad jokes, puns, wordplay, one-liners, comics, political cartoons, satire, memes


As you’ve probably noticed, many of the top trending keywords this summer are broad themes. If you target those alone, you’ll be facing a lot of competition from similarly themed designs already in the Marketplace. This makes it difficult to stand out to customers. So, when you target a broad keyword like “funny,” also tag your designs with more specific keywords like “dad jokes” or “internet humor.”

Most importantly, ensure your keywords are relevant to your designs. Using random keywords that don’t make sense will negatively impact the shopping experience, and that doesn’t help anyone!

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