Over the course of 2018, we’ve witnessed design and branding that is inspirational, fun and exciting. And on the flipside, work that is, well, not so inspirational, fun and exciting. The Paperkite design whizkids have put their minds together to offer up the top branding and design predictions for 2019.
Branding Paired With Social Change
Branding is the foundational bedrock of your marketing and public relations efforts – and to an extent, your overall business operation. While there are new shiny toys to play with like social media and messenger marketing, a solid understanding of your brand, and why you matter to your audience is critical and always a worthy investment, especially if there is any lack of clarity or awareness of who you are and what you do. That being said, brands are expanding their reach and impact on a social level (Toms on gun violence, Nike’s “Believe in Something” campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick, etc.). Whether or not you agree with them, they are deepening their connection by joining the national discussion (while alienating some). In this political climate, we will continue to see brands get off the sidelines and start working towards what matters to them.
Realness
Personalization is definitely a theme that is running through the marketing and product industry right now. And that absolutely applies to designing marketing materials that are specific to your audience. Using more REAL images of your customers is the perfect way to connect with them. User-generated content (UGC) gives your marketing that authenticity and approachability that consumers are looking for.
Print
A great visual catalog, inspiring visitor guide or student brochure are still worthy investments, people still enjoy the start to finish experience of opening a beautiful print piece, thumbing through it, maybe even more today that so much is done online – a well-timed, targeted and designed print piece can cut through the clutter.
Mobile Design
The numbers continue to increase year over year for mobile delivery. Mobile views should now be the first thought for design, not the second. Make sure everything is easy for a mobile viewer to interact with, touch and swipe friendly. Desktop versions still need to be created but you are better suited to design with the most amount of views in mind (mobile).
Interactive Online Content
Using brand-specific or brand-aligned online content is paramount to engaging with audiences. Assets such as animated GIFS, video content, LIVE video broadcasts, and Facebook / Instagram Stories are all super interactive and fun to incorporate. Yet, they still need to have a tie to your overall vision and brand in order to really resonate with your audiences.
