The Covid-19 pandemic has surrounded humankind with a huge amount of content. In times of self-isolation, leisure time is most often reduced to watching TV or surfing the internet. In such a noise, the brand’s task of being visible becomes vital. In order to be unique and not to repeat oneself, it is necessary to rely on current trends and understand the rules by which they emerge and develop.
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Ecology
We are already used to using paper bags for packaging and the “Made from recycled materials” label. In 2021, the trend of fighting for the environment will continue to grow. Thanks to the lockdown, many people are developing the habit of sensible consumption. When they are at home, they organically stop spending the amounts of money that were once the norm.
People adapt the very way they consume to their new lifestyle and reconsider the need for impulse purchases. Brands will also act on this trend, seeing environmental concerns as an opportunity to build audience loyalty. That’s why ideas of naturalness will be popular for a long time.
The visual code of the trend: the use of green and yellow colors, warm shades, images of nature.
Natural Beauty
Inclusivity has long been promoted by many brands around the world. This trend conveys the idea that everyone is beautiful in their own way, and that beauty is expressed not only in appearance but also through inner qualities.
Inclusiveness is the concept that people with different looks, body types, sexual orientations, and people with disabilities feel equally comfortable.
In 2021, we will see similar solutions in the visual communications of many representatives of the beauty industry. For other areas of business, this trend provides a huge field for creating metaphors.
The visual code of the trend: the use of images of people with different appearance types; the low amount of editing.
Cyberpunk
The popular cyberpunk aesthetic came with the release of Blade Runner 2049 and developed with Cyberpunk 2077. The concept demonstrates a reflection on the importance of computers and technology in human life. The trend will continue as long as artificial intelligence technology is not a part of everyday life. Until then, we will be recognizing a lot of different visual references to cyberpunk.
The visual code of the trend: cyan-magenta tones, night-time city atmosphere, neon lights.
The 20s And 80s Aesthetics And Art Deco
Art Deco (from the French art déco – “decorative art”) is one of the directions of development of the Art Nouveau style, prompted by the industrial revolution at the beginning of the XX century. Art Deco is characterized by strong clean lines, hinting at technological progress, elements of fine arts of Egypt, antiquity, and Aztec culture.
The Values Of Generation Z
Generation Z is people born from the late 1990s and early 2000s to the present day. They have been actively interacting with mobile devices, computers, and other technologies since childhood.
The free access to a large amount of information and the lack of the need to memorize it create a fixed mindset in Generation Z. Whereas for adults consuming large amounts of information is something new, today’s teenagers were born and bred in this environment.
Every day surfing the endless internet, they pick out the brightest, most outstanding, and extraordinary things. A picture is more compelling than text. A short text is more appealing than a standard long-read. Easy and quick to read wins out over complex concepts that need to be absorbed. Such content becomes valuable, engaging, and immediately shareable.
The more your audience is close to Generation Z, the more effective it will be for you to make sense of this trend.
Trend formats: meme and post-irony. Bright, unusual, ironic, funny, and even weird meme-generative constructions that you want to send to your friends. Such communications wear a concise format. The confusion as to whether the author is being ironic, the stark contrast of emotions, and the mixed feelings from the content are all appealing to teenagers.
Animated abstractions. Textures that deform, change, move, flow into each other.
Editing and collages. Complementing images and videos with various animated elements: strokes, imitation sketches, strips, lines, strokes, texts. To do this, you need to know how to trim video in VLC Media Player.
Personalization
A logical consequence of increasing the overall volume of content is the creation of solutions for its personalization. One of the clearest examples is the Netflix service and its advanced algorithms. Depending on the content of previously watched films and TV series, the user is offered content with specific covers. And the cover of the same movie can adapt several times for the same user.
Sincerity
The time of half-talking and “acting” with your audience is over. Now less want to hear about the mystical infinity of possibilities and the need to just do it, learn the story of the hero-traveler, reaching out from the TV screen, and talking about already irrelevant truths.
Sincerity in communications involves reducing the distance between the brand and its audience. It is important for the consumer to see a real person in front of them, with the same weaknesses and problems as they do.
Trend formats: UGC (user-generated content – content created by the brand’s audience); showing real life, backstages; inclusivity (using images/stories of people with different looks, physiques, skin colors, sexual orientation, etc.).
Community
The desire to connect people and draw attention to the fact that we are all in the same boat is the most logical and human reaction in the current circumstances. However, many brands, even with the purest of intentions, fail to do so convincingly. They are copying the same message in their advertising communications all the time.
Conclusion
In order to create visual content that will truly become a powerful tool for improving business performance, you need to apply marketing strategies comprehensively. In doing so, it is very useful to experiment, constantly looking for new cases and tips, and most importantly, to regularly analyze the work done and make it more effective and uncomplicated to implement.
If you are interested in even more design-related articles and information from us here at Bit Rebels, then we have a lot to choose from.
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