Design Trends for Businesses in 2020

Whilst every designer has their own creative processes, it is still important for them to stay up to speed with current trends from a marketing perspective. 

What is currently working well for clients in terms of engagement rates and ultimately profit, relies heavily on up to date design and marketing techniques in order to achieve optimum results; with 75% of consumers admitting to making judgements on a company’s credibility based on the company’s website design (sweor.com). 

Below are some of the most popular and groundbreaking trends as we approach the middle of the year.  

Abstract illustration

Illustrations have been a mainstay within the world of digital design and marketing for a while now as they have proved to be more visually effective than the use of stock images. But its overuse has caused designers to become even more imaginative and abstract with their illustrations to ensure that their work stands out. Whilst this is an exciting trend for designers, as it allows them to push their creative boundaries, it is still important for them to keep the designs on brand, and this can sometimes prove a challenge. It has been suggested that if the client in question is only just introducing abstract illustration into its branding, then they could benefit from a marketing campaign in order to gradually accustom the designs to the brand.

Muted Colours and Minimalism

Overuse of bright colours, which initially worked very well until it became too popularised, has caused the use of muted colours to have more effect during 2020. To ‘mute’ a colour scheme doesn’t necessarily mean to use fewer colours, but is more to dampen the colours in order to make them more relaxed on the eye.

The pairing of this with the return of minimalist design has added more emphasis on the beauty of simplicity. With encouraging, to the point messages in heavy, direct fonts (another trend in itself) over sparse backgrounds, it creates a hierarchy within the design. This proves to be a highly effective approach for boosting engagement rates and delivering the brand's message clearly.

Animation

A trend which seems to be continually brought up is the use of animation within web design. The increased popularity in GIFs has made the audience much more reactive to this. Whilst GIFs themselves are losing their novelty as something of a social media gimmick, companies will always benefit from their own well designed, branded GIFs that uniquely represent them. 

Whether it be in a logo, an infographic or any other website action, the best results have been found when animation has been used with micro interaction to stay in the users memory and encourage engagement. It’s important not to get carried away however, as maintaining a good page loading speed is essential. It is worth sticking with the aforementioned theme of minimalism when inserting animations in order to keep the site flowing well, whilst still keeping it simple and effective.

Outlook for the future

Of course, 2020 has been no ordinary year so far, as we have all been forced to conduct our businesses and our lives around a worldwide pandemic. It has been a very testing period for us all, but to look on a brighter side - it will definitely be interesting to see how designers have adapted to it, and whether trends within design and marketing will have some correlation to this very unique situation. 

In the wake of the pandemic, many businesses have used this time to reflect on their businesses, and rebrand enquiries have increased massively for us here at Statuo. This increase in demand, and change in direction for many brands should spur on designers - who have no doubt been trying to keep busy with their work throughout this period - to convey the message that has always rung true; creativity will always refuse to be boxed in.

Get in touch if you’d like to chat about your brand, and how we can help.