Who starts graphic design trends?

I often turn to Quora when I am trying to wrap my head around subjects I want to find out more about. I found this answer saying: They’ll either start with something that designers catch and spread, or they’ll start with something that clients love and demand. An addendum here is that technology drives trends.

Graphic design trends or any design use the same basic process as with fashion trends. There’s a life cycle to it and it’s usually set up by the biggest players in the market and the design firms with big budgets. Even though trends are changing, there’s always the classical elements that are more timeless.

This leaves me with the question I occasionally ask myself, should a designer have their own style or be more flexible to be and stay a valuable asset in the business?

Have a look at a blogpost from @99designs where they sampled opinions from their global community of graphic designers.

None of the images is my own and source can be found on 99designs