Q:
Where did all the armor design go?
A:
You should definitely start to see some different armor designs by level 30. Each bracket of new crafting armor changes appearance and then there is a design for rare sets (the ingredients of which are made via recipes bought with karma from the armorsmith and other vendors). There are also rewards for karma from the different heart vendors in the zones. I know the human and charr have different designs for theirs. I haven’t looked at the other races vendors. There are also different designs available via drops at the trading post and of course higher level gets you dungeon gear.
There are very less armor skins available during the lower levels. Most of the nice looking armor skins are only available at lvl80.
Thanks a lot for your answers, I have a feeling I’ll need these basic transmutation stones until 80 :P
You will get plenty of them as rewards for zone completion and other things so don’t buy any in the gem shop right away.
Also try the TP low level armor can be really cheap and you may find a “look” that you like.