Top 7 branding design anti-trends 2023
(I warn you — it’s gonna be a very geeky text)
Yes, this is the time of year when the house smells of tangerines, and LinkedIn is filled with all sorts of 2023 trend reports and predictions. Guys, this Christmas, I want to be unfashionable and even a little bit Grinchy and predict which trends will die in the future. Some of them were my favourites, and some of them might not die at all. So, I invite you to raise questions and object to my thoughts.
Photo frames
Still alive, popular and most likely — overused. My experience shows that visual content which is more integrated into the native feed of the platform works better. For example, plain photos on Instagram or short, stupid videos on Tik Tok. The use of graphical elements alienates the content, makes it outlandish and fake and can lead to rejection.?
Pantone red
I don’t know if it will catch on in other areas of design, but in graphics, I predict a quick and painless death of the Pantone red. It’s just that with this colour, designs seem to be hanging on by a thread. It has no positive connotations, and it’s very difficult to combine with other colours.
Modernist grotesque logos
Over the past few years, we have seen the market taken over by minimalist and modernist logos. Both the fonts and the icons have become clean, abstract, and rather monumental. Let’s say goodbye to the style of the fifties and seventies and give a chance to another, even older style. The time has come for the design fundamentals and logos to emerge, similar to what we saw between 1980 and 1940. We will see more detail, typefaces and illustrated logos.
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“Startupy” illustrations with a small head and long leg characters
Yes, the illustration style should be both gender and all-size-inclusive. The thinking itself is correct and welcomed. It’s just that it has been overused. No matter what kind of genre startup or tech company it is, all their landing pages are overloaded with illustrations like these. I predict that this year, it’s going to take a turn because everyone will eventually be saturated with this style of long-legged characters.
Static social media
This is how movement changes sadness. Moving graphics are pushing out boring static graphics to the margins.
Serifs in tech brands
A trend born in trendy London branding firms and Silicon Valley design studios as a backlash against the cold and sharp sans serif fonts has again been nibbled and overused in recent years. The alternative and rebellious direction that was supposed to humanise brands has become mainstream, and I suspect it will fade out in the year 2023.
Crypto projects looking like crypto
Saturated colours, 3D elements, and an overall futuristic look dominated the blockchain category. In my belief, this technology is so common that it no longer has anything to do with the future feel. On the other hand, the sceptical crypto audience started to recognise these graphics and avoid such projects. So, in my opinion, we will see more web3 projects looking like every other tech company.
Co-owner at Unconditional.agency and evolvery.io | Ecommerce Consultant | CRO Strategist | Speaker | I Help Businesses Understand Their Web Visitors.
2 年Be fair, Augustinas, some of these are just the ones you wish would go away. The last one is my favorite to get rid of as soon as possible. Blockchain projects have to stop positioning themselves by stating the tech their using. And therefore only compete with their micro-niche. New shiny thing syndrome has passed. Now let them compete on equal terms with established brands. If the ""Startupy" illustrations with a small head and long leg characters" trend comes out to be true - you will need an update too.