The Best Creative Design Trends for 2020
Happy new year! It’s a brand new decade, and 2020 brings with it a lot of expectations. After all, isn’t this the year we become a superpower? We can’t predict whether that will actually happen, but here’s what we do know: the design industry is about to see some real action.
Here’s our list of top creative design trends going into 2020!
1. Maximising minimalism
One of the biggest trends of the late 2010’s, minimalism is expected to become even more common in both digital and print mediums. Specifically for websites, the shift to somewhat minimalist homepages has also been driven by the need for better load times and smaller page sizes. Google rewards pages with fast load times with better spots in the search rankings. This can make a huge difference to newer firms and small start ups.
Minimalism is also expected to dominate logo design. Brands like MasterCard, Uber and Disney Channel did away with fancy lettering and colour gradients and introduced fresh, simple and bold logo redesigns. These branding design trends aim to provide clean, clear brand visuals which are ideal for smaller screens, as 2020 is predicted to see 3.5 million smartphone users. In line with marketing’s ongoing quest for transparency and honesty, creative design will continue to strip away extra flair and embellishment and move toward a much simpler, straightforward presentation.
Flat design, involving primary colours, simple, intuitive two-dimensional illustrations and easy-to-read type, will continue to grow, as it isn’t just about aesthetics, but function too. The main benefit of minimalist, flat design is to allow users to quickly interact with interfaces, and find the content they’re looking for.
2. Abstract 3D visuals and illustrations
In contrast to minimalism, abstract 3D forms and vivid illustrations have also seen a huge rise in popularity over the last year. Over the past few months, most creative designs have shown a 3D feel by combining layers of typography, images and abstract shapes, often reflective of the company branding, to create depth. When paired with bright, vibrant colours and gradients and 3D infographics, they created a lasting impression that other brands were quick to notice and emulate. This is likely to remain a strong trend in the next year too.
3. Typography design focus
Simple, bold typography has been a big 2019 trend, and that’s set to continue in 2020. Over the past few years, minimalist and handwritten fonts seem to have slowly lost their popularity, with heavily weighted fonts being used a lot more frequently.
Heavy fonts are usually a bold or extra bold font, which gives them a “heavy” appearance. They add a a modern and contemporary feel to the design. The use of bold text directs the reader’s attention the main element and message, while also ensuring that they don’t get overwhelmed. They can also become the main focal points of a graphic as well. Especially on social media, this is been used quite effectively, as heavy fonts can make short phrases feel a lot more powerful and get your message across quickly and efficiently.
Predictions for typography trends (both digital and print) focus on Serifs, use of bold font, “hero fonts” (where text replaces images as a main design feature), more “editorial” typefaces and 3D lettering, and short messaging – in short everything that will make brand communication easily digestible for even the busiest of customers.
4. Intense graphic disruption
There has been a recent global trend of ‘graphical disruption’: design that is meant to grab attention and quite intentionally stop you in your tracks. The previously popular trend of calm, considered and controlled colour palettes, refined fonts and negative space is slowly retreating. In its place, intense, almost rebellious hues and juxtapositions, protest-like repetition of messages and bold and dense use of black is setting in. These designs create a graphical sense of urgency and intensity at a level not seen for quite some time.
Experts argue that it isn’t a coincidence that this shift is happening in a time of global political, social and ecological unrest. They predict that 2020 will be the year where imperfection and rawness become a more mainstream vibe embraced by big brands. Global companies will be trying to look more human, adopting an unpolished and almost punk tone of voice, something that formerly was only associated with small rebellious start-ups or fashion labels. This will give designers a chance to experiment with bold, contrasting and unexpected layouts.
5. Focussed branding for consistency
Studies on brand consistency statistics show that consistent branding across different mediums and platforms increase revenue by up to 23%, so a greater focus on brand consistency and compliance across all mediums is a trend that should become practice for any brands looking for business success.
What is brand recognition? It’s the extent to which customers can correctly identify a brand when seeing a logo, a product, or anything under your brand banner.
If your product packaging, social media posts, website, and promotional material send a uniform message about your brand identity and its core values, you are more likely to cash in. The importance of brand recognition is directly related to higher revenue. Some of the best performing brands across industries are ones which invested in and ensured that their branding was consistent.
6. Cause-based branding
The time when brands shied away from making a statement on social and political issues is long gone. And the trend of aligning your brand with a cause is only going to become more marked in 2020, believe experts, adding brands will continue to show they ‘believe everyone is of equal and important value’. The past few years have seen some very impactful social cause related campaigns like Tata Tea’s Jaago Re, KFC’s Plate of Hope and Nivea’s Mom’s Touch. According to Customer Thermometer, 13% of consumers would pay 31-50% more for your products or services if they were under the impression that your business is making a positive impact on the world. 89% of shoppers show loyalty to brands that share their values.
7. Immersive experiences: AR VR
With VR and AR technologies advancing by the day, 2020 will see a continued rise of digital experiential marketing. Giving consumers more options to try out and experience a brand brings extremely exciting and potentially lucrative opportunities for forward-thinking businesses. Alongside design movements in “traditional” brand elements such as logos, colour palettes and fonts, branding trends in 2020 will challenge designers to start thinking in the realms of augmented and virtual realities.
8. Bright, gradient colour palettes
Colour improves brand recognition by up to 80%, meaning choosing the right hues and palettes has long been a key element within corporate identity trends. Unsurprisingly, 2020 will be no different. With the power to evoke desirable emotions, a brand’s defining colour is determined by how a business wants their consumer to feel. Neon and fluorescent colours and bright, vibrant shades will remain fail safes for designers to help design stand out. For both digital and print application, the addition of subtle gradients helps colours feel alive, and give design a youthful and future-facing, optimistic aesthetic, something that is gaining popularity globally.
9. Edgy line art, ultra fine geometry
Since simplicity and minimalism in design will remain a big trend, using plain geometric shapes is likely to be a design plan in 2020. Geometric lines are used to illustrate generally inanimate objects and technological elements, while curvy lines are used for natural and organic forms. 2020, will see designers merge these line styles to achieve impossible shapes. Line art, a simplified illustration style, is great for conveying concepts and ideas. Line art is expected to make big waves in graphic design trends in 2020.
10. Motion graphics and animations
As GIFs continue their rise in popularity across social media, animations have made a mark. They are also utilized even more in email marketing and web page design than ever before. Brands are becoming more aware of how important good motion design is.
Motion design is no longer just about ‘animating the logo’. As our attention spans get shorter and our desire for immediate gratification increases, we’ll see many more brands invest in moving content. As we move into the future, brands will attempt to gain recognition for their style of motion graphic or brand sound.
To sum it up, it looks like 2020 is about to see a whole plethora of interesting design trends. Want to make sure your brand is on top, all the way from brand design, space branding, social media messaging to on-trend creatives and campaigns? Find experts who know how to leverage this insight to give you results!
Get in touch with us, and discover our Uncommon way of making creative design trends that take your brand to the next level!
