What consumers expect from the brands that interact with is constantly evolving, presenting eternally shifting goal posts for branding execs to aim for. While this means that a brand designer’s job is never done, it also ensures that innovation, creativity and industry-redefining risks are always on the horizon. Let’s take a look at some of the top branding trends we can expect in 2023.
What consumers expect from the brands that interact with is constantly evolving, presenting eternally shifting goal posts for branding execs to aim for. While this means that a brand designer’s job is never done, it also ensures that innovation, creativity and industry-redefining risks are always on the horizon. Let’s take a look at some of the top branding trends we can expect in 2023.
Animated logos
It’s now cheaper and easier than ever for even the smallest brands to embrace the exciting, innovative and engaging medium of animation. By adding a little movement, even the most basic animation is able to deliver more information than a static image. This helps to tell a story, evoke a certain emotion, or even just catch the eye in an overly saturated media environment.
In particular, animated logos will become more prevalent in 2023, adding novelty to well-known brands that have begun to fade into the background, and giving new names an exciting platform to capture the imagination of a receptive audience. With short-form video content such as TikTok ruling the internet, short bursts of animation are a cost-effective way to break through the monotony without demanding too much of that important commodity: attention.
Vintage design inspiration
In a similar vein to last year, brands are continuing to embrace the design visions of a more optimistic past. While we saw a lot of ’80s and ’90s nostalgia in 2022’s branding, we’re stepping even further back in time this year, with everything from Victorian-inspired illustrations to ’50s-style Hollywood glam.
As well as offering a comforting nod to simpler times, this allows brands to present classic styles and concepts to new audiences. Tapping into over a century of graphic design makes it easier to create an identity that stands out against modern trends, which is particularly beneficial in crowded markets where brands need to define key differentiators.
Less is more
Instead of an understated beige minimalism, brands are turning towards fewer but more carefully considered elements. Stripping everything back to one or two colours, focusing on clear typography and visually unambiguous icons can remove a lot of the fluff and make sure your designs are clean, crisp and uncluttered.
Not only does distilling your brand offering into its barest components help to clarify it to your consumers, this type of design is a great exercise in figuring out what’s actually at the very core of your offering. In the famous words of Kevin from The Office, “Why waste time say lot word when few word do trick?”
More is more
In 2023, the unapologetic use of bold, clashing colours, abstract designs and distorted fonts might cause a few headaches. For better or worse, brands will be looking to make an unforgettable impact with their designs, particularly when it comes to the attention-grabbing requirements of product packaging.
This trend presents a very narrow margin for error, and lives or dies on highly subjective choices. We’re likely to see a few hits and quite a lot of misses as brands turn their hand to this maximalist approach, and some will naturally end up being unforgettable for all the wrong reasons.
Values-based identities
As millennials and Gen Z make up more and more of the world’s purchasing power, brands need to look into ways to tap into these markets to create loyal customers. 42% of millennials say that the ethical and moral standards of a company are very important in contributing to their loyalty, and 83% want brands to align with their own values.
In 2023 and beyond, we’ll be seeing more brands placing their mission at the forefront of their identities, and brand values will take a much more blunt approach. Gone are the days of adopting a favourite charity after a decade in business to curry favour with the masses; instead, morality will be baked into their identities from day one in the form of brand names
Statement typography
For a while, we saw brands adopting minimalist sans-serif fonts, with many even changing their logos to something simpler and more streamlined. Now, typography is taking over, with over-the-top lettering, text-only designs and playful wording taking over.
As well as graphical typefaces, brands are embracing more whimsical ways of writing words, replacing letters with icons, illustrations and even 3D objects. This is a great way to show off your product or explain your service without the need for lengthy paragraphs of copy, helping brands to present themselves succinctly in even small, static applications.
Looking to refresh your brand in 2023?
If any of these exciting brand trends sound appealing to you, or if you simply want to take your identity in a new direction, speak to the branding experts at DWH. We offer complete branding and identity design packages for businesses of all sizes, so whether you’re a start-up looking for your first logo or an international chain with your sights set on a new demographic, we can work with you to create a design identity that feels right.
Claire Baldwin
Claire has over 10 years' copywriting experience across a range of print and digital media, working with a variety of styles, formats and tones of voice. She has written as part of an in-house team client side, as well as at marketing agencies based in the East Midlands. Claire's services include copywriting, copy editing, content creation and proofreading.