Not just another design trend list
Welcome to my first blog post of 2020! 🍾
As I said in my last blog post (all the way back in Feb 2019!) I don’t really like to focus too much on design trends; so it may seem a bit backwards to start 2020 with a post about them.
Don’t get me wrong, when I say I don’t like to concentrate on design trends what I really mean is that although I think understanding design trends is very important, I think there is a danger of the emphasis being placed more on them than on the needs of users.
Following trends without understanding the intention behind it or what it signifies about the direction the industry is taking is just lazy design. Great for Dribbble but not so great for clients or users.
So out of all the recent articles and think pieces about trends I have read these are the ideas that I am actually curious about. They are the ones that can and should have an impact on the way we design for users in 2020. Here are my 2020 design trend highlights…
Trust and transparency
I think as designers, colour trends are the most obvious ones we look to because these are the trends that could have the most visual impact on the work we create. In 2020 brand colour palettes are diverging and seem to be becoming either wackier and more vibrant and luminous or more muted and neutral depending on the ethos of the brand.
“2020 will feature brighter & bolder colors than ever before! As the value of design rises, brands are going crazier and wackier than ever with colors to attempt to stand out from the crowd.”
Source: Shutterstock
However, the theme highlighted by both Pantone’s colour of the year selection and Shutterstock’s colour trend predictions is that brands need to better convey trust and dependability. A more sophisticated core colour will become key for brands looking to communicate these values.
The key takeaway: 2020 has trust issues.
Eco awareness and activism
Consumers are waking up to the moral and environmental implications of their purchases and they will potentially abandon brands who don’t show the same level of concern and action.
Source: Creative Bloq
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics medals are made of 100% recycled electronics where the 2016 Rio medals were only 30% manufactured from recycled sources. This shows that what might be seen as an anomaly is actually part of a longer term push towards sustainability.
“As designers take more responsibility for the collateral they help create, the desire to find sustainable materials, techniques and finishes are at the front of mind when every new brief comes in.”
Within digital experiences sustainability may be hinted at with hand rendered techniques, such as collage and hand lettering, and the use of earthy tones to appear closer to nature.
The key takeaway: Brand loyalty shouldn’t be taken for granted in 2020.
Human centred design
Although I would never call ‘human centred design’ a trend, I am interested in new ways designers choose to express it.
In 2020 we will see more expanded character illustrations for products and websites, including race, gender, age, religion, disability and orientation. Designers are recognising that they need to make a conscious effort to represent all users and break stereotypes.
Source: Creative Market
“The practice of designing experiences to be as useful, usable, findable, credible, accessible, desirable, and valuable as possible for any user, regardless of their identity.”
The key takeaway: Designers need to take responsibility and advocate for equal representation.
Accessibility will finally get its moment!
This is potentially the trend I am the most excited about. Although I do have to caveat that with ACCESSIBILITY IS NOT A TREND!
Source: Webflow
This illustration highlights the wide range of contexts that accessible design in any medium can help solve.
A lot of websites are not designed with accessibility in mind. However, in this drive to make human centred design and inclusivity mainstream, designers will finally have to get to grips with accessibility.
Starting small is probably the right idea here as it’s super easy to get lost in the weeds of accessibility. For a broader understanding check out my introductory blog and for a practical guide for designers this checklist from Vox Media is a must read.
The key takeaway: WCAG… Read it and weep. Then read it again.
Disruptive design
From protesting against governments, institutions and global crises, people are becoming less content with maintaining the status quo. This is unlikely to stop anytime soon, with major elections coming up in 2020 and the never ending environmental disasters.
Aside from being more conscious about the environmental repercussions of packaging and ensuring that equal representation is always achieved in character illustrations and photography, how can we as designers embrace this spirit as a design principle for 2020?
One example is the recent poster design for GoCompare. With a brand persona that most either love or hate, it was refreshing to see a more anarchic application of their visuals. It definitely cuts through the usual corporate design language.
Source: Ads of the World
The key takeaway: This is an unexpected prediction but I would love to see more brands push the boundaries of what their visual identity and positioning usually allows for.
Type-led design
For me this is a continuation of the disruptive design trend as designers are beginning to strip away visuals and rely only on typography to cut through the noise. Repetition, strong font weights and use of animation create impact.
Source: The New York Times Food Festival
“It’s a good technique for brands that are straight-talking and to-the-point.”
This looks like it will diverge into two opposing styles; super minimalist or super maximalist with both aiming to convey a straight-talking, no nonsense ethic.
The key takeaway: If an image speaks a thousand words... that might be too many words.
Motion with purpose
Last year I advocated for motion to be used to better bring brand identities to life in digital. This will continue. What is developing in 2020 is the use of motion as a brand storytelling tool.
This can take many forms. At one end of the spectrum there are the looping GIFs that convey short bursts of brand personality then there are the functional micro interactions and transitions. At the top end of the spectrum the sky is really the limit in telling a brand story in a sophisticated way. A good example of this is the scroll/user triggered product page for the Apple AirPods Pro.
Source: Apple
The key takeaway: Tell your brand story with motion.
This is an evolving list so I’d love to know what you think. Are there any others that you think I should have considered? What do you think about design trends in general?