# Morose Dour Decals These Mats Ottdal T-Shirt Designs are Humorous By Josh Triantafilou | Published 2012-05-22 | Art & Design Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/mats-ottdal References: [characterdesignserved](http://www.characterdesignserved.com/gallery/Character-Illustrations/655263) & [jeksel](http://www.jeksel.com/) Oslo, Norway-based Mats Ottdal describes himself on his Behance page as a multidisciplinary designer and art director who is passionate about illustration and typography. Judging by his recent series of T-shirt decals, this description is well earned. The decals are all rendered with rather dour colors, sharp lines and a muted sense of depth that would work equally as well on t-shirts as they would in frames. One design features a slew of mustached police who stare blankly at the viewer from behind aviator sunglasses. Another depicts an orange-clad family who look like they just got back from a less-than-relaxing vacation and aren't too happy to be around one another. Although some may find these illustrations morose, it would be hard to deny the humor in them. ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 4.0/10 - Popularity: 55% | Activity: 56% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Gen Z, Millennial - Top markets: Europe ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Art & Design](https://www.trendhunter.com/artdesign) ## Key Themes ### What Makes This Trend Stand Out - **Multidisciplinary Design:** The trend of combining various design disciplines such as illustration and typography to create unique and impactful visuals provides opportunities for disruptive innovation in the creative industry. - **Humorous Art Decals:** The trend of incorporating humor into art decals, like the dour and comedic designs by Mats Ottdal, presents opportunities for disruptive innovation in the fashion and accessories industry. - **Muted Color Palette:** The trend of using dour colors and muted tones in design, as seen in Mats Ottdal's T-shirt decals, opens up opportunities for disruptive innovation in the graphic design and printing industry. ### Sectors Adopting This - **Creative Industry:** The multidisciplinary design trend can disrupt various segments of the creative industry, including graphic design, illustration, and typography services. - **Fashion and Accessories Industry:** The humorous art decals trend offers disruptive innovation opportunities in the fashion industry, particularly in the production of unique and playful T-shirt designs. - **Graphic Design and Printing Industry:** The use of a muted color palette in design, exemplified by Mats Ottdal's work, presents disruptive innovation opportunities in graphic design, printing, and packaging sectors. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Illustrated Streetwear Capsules](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/wasted-youth-x-tappei.md) - [Vibrantly Bold Wallpaper Collections](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/otto-studio.md) - [Maximalist Norwegian Design Rooms](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/visdal-transformed-le-fumoir.md) - [Cheekily Creative Bookmarks](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/illustrated-bookmarks.md) - [Redesigned Father's Day Cards](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/fathers-day-redesign.md) - [Expressive Beer Packagings](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/buqui-bichi-brewery.md) - [Graphic Motif Textiles](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/the-art-of-jacquard.md) - [Vibrantly Artful Graphic Collections](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/sabine-finkenauer.md) - [Luxe Cartoon-Adorned Apparel](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/moonmin.md)