5 amazing design trends for 2019

Design trends play a major part in shaping how successful brands promote themselves.

But what will design bring us in 2019? We asked Phil Cleaver, professor in Creative Industries at Middlesex University and Yellow Pencil winner, to predict his five biggest design trends for this year.

1. Experiential branding

Experiential branding has brought businesses to life in recent years.

The concept is all about interacting with people on a sensory level. Swap traditional advertising for immersive experiences to inspire consumers to invest in your brand.

This can take many forms, from interactive campaigns to creative showcases – anything where your consumers are actively engaging or taking part. Get to the heart of what motivates your target consumer and attempt to develop a positive emotional attachment.

Phil says: “A strong brand identity can no longer exist purely visually. An effective brand targets as many of the human senses as possible to root themselves firmly in our memory. Ultimately, the brand has to exist beyond the logo and take on forms that transcend its visual approach.”

2. Animation kinetic branding

Animated or kinetic branding has countless design possibilities in the digital era.

Like experiential branding, kinetic pushes the boundaries – this time by using moving images and animations in logos and advertising. These lifelike representations of a brand aim to capture the consumer’s attention.

Kinetic design is in its infancy and is yet to be widely adopted. Getting ahead of the trend can help your brand stand out against competitors.

Phil says: “The screen is how most visual media is consumed. You have a matter of seconds to show how you move. This might be how the logo introduces itself and how the type appears. It may also be that if your logo depicts something that can move, that you introduce that visually.”

3. The symbol

The symbol or logo is arguably the most important aspect of any brand. The best ones stick in customers’ minds and are the first thing they picture when thinking of that brand.

Symbols are becoming increasingly important in modern branding, to communicate the brand messaging with minimal – or sometimes zero – words.

“When a brand has a mark that so successfully represents them, it achieves a virtuosity that transcends language,” says Phil. “No further context is needed, and it is always undeniably associated to them.”

Organisations can amend their symbols to appeal to a whole new audience. For example, a political party rebrand can refresh their image and change people’s perceptions of them, simply by redesigning their logo.

4. Social media platforms

Social media is going to become even more integral for brands in 2019.

That’s according to our expert Phil Cleaver.

It’s no surprise. Social media is the most effective way to connect with consumers today, either through targeting new demographics or increasing awareness to existing customers.

In 2018, over 83% of UK residents owned a social media account and this number is set to rise further in 2019. The scope of social media is limitless, and all these design trends can be introduced and implemented through it.

“Facebook and Instagram are only ever growing in their consumption by the general public,” says Phil. “The marketing potential in these spaces is therefore gaining in value. Intelligent mobilisation of branding and campaigning on social media platforms gives a brand much more reach, particularly to younger consumers.”

5. Custom typefaces

Custom typefaces, or fonts, are fast becoming an important tool in creating a unique brand personality. Major companies such as Netflix, Apple and Google have already developed their own custom typeface. Why?

They bring your brand personality to everything you say. And, once established, can become the core of your branding – against your symbol, communicating your beliefs and values not in what you say, but how you say it.

Phil says: “Owning a typeface is like owning a tone of voice, particularly when the forms of the letters have been crafted to carry the message you particularly want it to express.

“It also means competitors cannot adopt this visual language as their own. Much like the symbol, the typeface should be designed and assessed against the projected qualities of the brand”.

2019 provides the perfect opportunity to re-evaluate your branding design. Get your new designs out there with business cards and letterheads from Solopress.