January is all about new approaches, new thinking and a fresh batch of exciting opportunities to develop and grow. It’s the perfect time of year to evaluate your brand and consider if there are new styles and visual executions that could benefit your business. We are always observing trends and on the lookout for new inspiration. In this blog post, we will share our thoughts on some of the upcoming digital design trends of 2020 and how they could influence your digital marketing.

Flat minimalism

In the latter half of the 2010s, we saw a rise in simplistic and minimal designs, complemented by a straightforward and instinctive user interface. With marketing’s growing need to portray transparency and honesty towards their product or service offering, designers are stripping back any unnecessary, decorative flair and adapted a much more clean and considered look and feel. It’s predicted that this trend is only going to strengthen in the upcoming year.

Using a selective palette of bold, primary colours, clear two-dimensional illustrations and strong, legible and clear typography, this style of design focuses on purpose and function, as well as aesthetics. It is complemented greatly with the use of intuitive animations and quirky interactions to further support a transparent user experience.

With continued developments in responsive design and mobile being the most popular device for browsing – users are expecting efficiency, clarity and speed; and flat design provides just that. Less visual noise means the user’s focus remains on the content and message as opposed to other elements on the page.

Take a look at some great examples below.

Motion design with meaning

Motion design as a discipline is ever-increasing in demand. Motion design and moving images are becoming more popular than stills, with a particular rise in the use of processing and expressions as techniques, over classic keyframe animation. We’re seeing the never-ending long scroll content take on a new life with beautifully considered scroll transitions, supporting graphics and elements that build onto the page. Take a look at the new Apple AirPods site as a great example of this.

Motion is also becoming an essential part of any digital content marketing strategy. We are all aware that adding visuals to your social content increases interactions online, with Twitter previously sharing that tweets with a gif generate 55% more engagement. It’s the added movement that attracts the scrolling user to look at the content just a second longer than a static image, but every second counts!

Brands are also recognising that motion design is becoming an important element to brand storytelling and that when used effectively can be a powerful tool to convey their unique brand message and help to unify all aspects of their design. It’s not just about animating a logo anymore, it’s about adding motion in a meaningful way to ignite brand recognition and awareness to really add value. Something to consider as part of your approach? Take a look at these examples for some inspiration.

Sustainability and being mindful

Awareness of the impact we have on our planet is building – and rightly so! Brands are becoming more mindful of sustainability, whilst the consumers are getting more knowledgeable and selective of the brands they choose to invest in, craving transparency, openness and authenticity. We’re seeing more and more brands using type, colours, packaging and naturalistic illustrations and icons influenced by this. More brands are making the transition towards the use of sustainable, recyclable or ethically sourced materials.

This overriding theme is also feeding into clothing and lifestyle brands focusing on real, less edited individuals in more natural environments, building on the desire for a relatable, honest, one-on-one consumer/retailer relationship. Could your business benefit from reducing material cost, embracing natural paper stocks and simplified techniques? Here are a few brands that are doing just that:

We hope that these digital design trends inspired you. If you want help defining your visual identity, either for social media or your website – please take a look at our design and creative pages or get in touch!