Branded content, aesthetically pleasing Instagram profiles and impressive websites are everything for businesses right now. We live in a visually inspired and motivated world.
Before the internet, prior to digital marketing holding the power to influence our consumer activities, humans have always preferred visual information. According to the online publisher Medium (2018), people only process 20% of what they read but 80% of what they see. The human brain processes visual cues better than written language.
The only difference now is…we’re monetizing it. Marketers are very clever and know the best ways to capture the visual attention of the public. Here are some of the design trends we are currently experiencing and are set to see further into 2022:
Custom illustrations, animations & fonts
The key word here is custom. We’re going crazy over customizing everything right now, even down to the small details.
Everything is themed with company branding, custom single-line illustrations and even custom fonts! Things that are straight out of the box or a part of a standard theme are just don’t cut it anymore. This design trend is definitely here to stay.
Responsive logos
This is a logo which can be adapted to suit its purpose and to match the digital landscape I.e. choosing designs that are as simple and minimalistic, so they are suitable to become an icon or app size picture. Take a look at the apps on your mobile phone or device, you’ll often be able to recognise iconic logos from just one letter. Alot of businesses are re-branding or having a brand refresh solely down to this design trend.
Movement and animation
For many years these have been a no-go for most businesses as they just slowed down websites and made them clunky, most people’s devices weren’t powerful enough to load them either but now with 5G and super-fast fibre broadband accessible to most, this isn’t really a problem anymore. Businesses are taking advantage of this design trend by adding lots of videos and particularly showreels to websites to showcase their projects.
Minimalism & scaling it back
The age-old saying, less is more, still rings true. People don’t want to trawl through heaps of texts and a mass number of pages. Large images, clear project showcasing, a simple and small amount of text with a colour palette containing one or two bold colours is the best choice right now.
Branded memes
This design trend is a clever one. You’re all familiar with memes I’m sure, a branded meme is simply a meme created by a business with their logo or brand colours present on the image or GIF. If the meme goes viral then so does your brand and company logo. Free marketing and humanizes your brand too!
3D characters
Creating anything in 3D is expensive but you’ll find a lot of companies who have the cash to splash are converting a lot of their website graphics into 3D format. 3D characters are a stand-out piece, creating a wow factor and unique personalisation to business websites.
Nostalgia and Trippy Type
Hallelujah! 70’s, 80’s and 90’s – Big thank you to Stranger Things. The TV programme has influenced much more than just fashion. Its effect on graphic design trends is phenomenal. Retro is cool once again and lots of businesses, particularly start-ups, are using nostalgic fonts and sending a nod to 80’s graphic design but with a modern twist. Trippy type is on the rise and looks super effective in our opinion.
Y2K – Year 2000 nostalgia
Not as strongly identifiable as 80’s and 90’s but nonetheless, an increasingly popular design trend and aesthetically pleasing when done well. Lots of fashion brands are jumping on this one and you can see it featured not just on their company branding but on their product designs too.
Eco- everything! – natural coloured recyclable packaging.
Green, brown and neutral colour pallets are super popular lately and it goes hand in hand with brands’ pledges to be more environmentally friendly. Practising sustainability is on the rise and many consumers are being selective over their purchase choices based on the economic footprint of the business they are purchasing from. Having products in recyclable brown paper packaging with green logos and branding is an instant identifier to a brand that is environmentally conscientious and increases sales.
If you’d like any more information on graphic design, design trends, or would like to discuss your own branding with us, get in touch.
