Every New Year people attempt to improve themselves in some way or another. For many businesses this is a great time to try something new, especially when it comes to design, branding, websites, and other visuals. This helps ensure businesses that they will continue to stay fresh and relevant to their clients. It can be hard to properly predict what trends will have the most positive impact, and which ones may actually hurt the brand image in question. Here are some tips for what design trends may have the most, and least, impact on an existing brand.
What’s Hot
Be Human and Take a Stance: In recent years there has been a massive shift in how businesses present themselves, and in 2019 that will be no different. Every year it becomes more important to have a human element in a business’ identity, and even more so to take a stance about important issues in our society. People want to support brands that support the same things they do, that way they feel like they, and their money, have more of a positive impact on the world without actually doing anything differently than normal.
Engaging Typography: For years now one of the biggest trends in web design has been showing off photography as much as possible. Opening a website to a full screen photo can be a very powerful experience if the photo is perfect. Recently, however, it has become more of default than a well thought out visual element. This year you can expect to see a shift in this trend. Full width photos will likely be replaced with more unique and engaging text. While they will likely often be paired with photos, these photos will most likely be handled in more unique ways as well.
What’s Not
Overpackaging: It can be tempting to design packaging to maximize convenience. However, this occasionally will lead to vastly over packaging the product, and result is much more waste. For example, Keurig K-cups come in a single use plastic container, which makes for an incredibly easy time making coffee. But they also produce a huge amount of waste due to their packaging. In 2019 it will be more important than ever to design in a way that creates the least waste possible, especially when it comes to products that are mass produced.
Minimalism: Minimalism is great. It’s clear, concise, and to the point. But it’s 2019 and we have more tools at our disposal than ever before to create unique designs with their own personality. This sense of personality ties in with the trend of adding a human element to brands. If a company adopts a brand identity that is too minimalist it will make them appear to be boring when compared to eye-catching brands that are emerging today. There is nothing wrong with starting with a minimalist approach to designs. Just make sure to add some sort of element to contrast the minimal design. This will help it pop and not blend into the sea of ads and designs in the world.
2019 will undoubtedly be an exciting year for design. Many of this year’s trends focus more on the personality and sustainability of designs rather than the composition itself. This shows how much attention is focused towards the concept and bigger picture. While engaging designs are important, no longer is the appearance of a design all that matters. People want to be reassured that the products they love don’t come with questionable ethics as well.
