5 Design Trends to Look For in 2019

Marketing teams today are often saddled with design tasks, but learning the ins and outs of design leaves little time for spotting growing design preferences. Chris Finneral, Founder of Sketchdeck, outlines five increasingly in-demand design trends for 2019.

The marketing world is changing on a daily basis. With 2019 on the horizon, how can marketers freshen up their visuals and plan ahead for the new year? Everything from innovative software capabilities to a shifting cultural context will impact design and marketing in 2019. Sketchdeck looked at what features are most in demand for marketers, across industries, and found six design trends that will likely take off in 2019.

THE MODERN CONTENT MARKETER’S BUYER GUIDE

Welcome to the 2019 edition of The Modern Content Marketer’s Buyer Guide. About 10 years ago, marketers realized that content is a critical piece of their pie, and have since been working overtime to generate content to help win the prospect’s attention.

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Also Read: 5 Ways to Max your Mobile Website’s CX and UX

Demand for design will accelerate, as the business value of design continues to increase. The importance of content marketing means blogs, case studies, infographics and newsletters need to have engaging visuals. In the retail sector, a report found that there’s an increasing number of customer touchpoints, all of them requiring on-brand design to deliver a consistent consumer experience. But most notably, departments beyond marketing - think finance, sales, HR and product - will increasingly ask for, collaborate on and utilize design. We’ll see finance transform Excel sheets from pivot tables to visuals that tell stories, and HR-use org charts and welcome packets to look more professional and welcoming. Using visuals to make information more digestible isn’t just about using design as much as possible, but the realization that good design can have broader applications outside of marketing - impacting the entire organization.

Depth in Design. The rise of 3D design we saw in 2018 will still be prominent in 2019, especially in web design. Marketers should consider implementing isometric techniques to create this 3D effect, with a touch of the surreal.

We’ll also see a lot of depth using realistic shadows to create an interesting visual interplay between foreground, middleground and background.

There’s been a recent transition away from flat design --not just toward 3D, but also realistic drop shadows and layered effects that help consumers “feel” the website, making it more immersive.

Complex Gradients. Gradients are simply not going away. In 2019, we’ll see gradients evolve into more complex and experimental design. No longer relegated to backgrounds, marketers can incorporate gradients into their designs in more detailed fashion. One factor driving this trend is the release of Adobe Illustrator’s new freeform gradient features, which makes incorporating color transitions into your designs effortless.

This is a great example of what is now favored and achievable creatively

Hand Drawn Illustrations. In our digital world, hand-drawn illustrations lend a personal touch to brands and companies. Hand drawn design with minimal polish adds personality, shape and texture to projects. Recent innovations like the Apple Pencil, and other digital pens and styluses, combined with touchscreen tablets means this trend looks to explode. MailChimp has been doing this lately--look to them for inspiration.

Minimalist Design Paired with Bold Typography. As a design movement, minimalism is still new, rising to prominence in the 60’s.  In our digital-first world filled with so much noise and stimuli, the demand for minimalist design has risen. Minimalist design puts a spotlight on the most important thing to the brand - removing distraction and distilling products down to their bare essentials--like this data-filled webpage. Startups like Brandless,  apps like Headspace and companies like Google are spurring a “less is more” approach.

Also Read: What is CRO and Why Should We Take It Seriously?

The marketing game has changed; marketers are no longer tasked only with moving prospects through funnels. The demand is a continuous engagement that builds customer relationships over time. As marketers define their 2019 strategies, mediocre design at key customer touchpoints will no longer cut it. To stay relevant and top of mind, companies and teams must adapt and deliver digital experiences that incorporate the best of design. And these trends are a great starting point.