Branding is constantly changing and designers must keep up or risk losing credibility. As customer expectations shift, designing an aesthetically pleasing campaign isn’t enough any more. From the rise of the amateur designer to the demand for unique, personalised experiences, here are three ways in which branding is changing in 2015.

1. The rise and fall of formal quality

Across all fields of production the tools designers are using are becoming cheaper and more accessible. As a result, amateur design looks more polished and expensive; unfortunately, it’s also leading to a slightly monotonous visual language. Everyone has always been a critic, but now everyone is a designer too.

In 2015, we will see a lot more of both sides of this phenomena: the general formal quality of ads will rise and borders between low-budget and high-budget, film and CGI, digital and analogue, staged and real will vanish.

On the flip side, for big brands and agencies a high production standard won’t cut it anymore. To stay at the top, designers will have to find different, innovative and intriguing ways of engaging potential customers. Whilst this gives designers more freedom, it also means they must push creative boundaries rather than just producing good-looking work.

2. Human centric advertising

Ironically, the rise of overly polished content goes against a lot of what is important for an increasing number of today’s customers. Artisanal practice is back in focus, the maker movement is growing and the rejection of everything that feels too corporate is rising.

Brands are aware of this and in 2015 we will see a huge rise in ‘branded experiences’. We are already seeing this manifest in subtly branded cross-media events like pop-up bar nights, large-scale installations or cinematic interactive experiences. The common thread in all of these events is that nobody is treated like a customer but rather as an individual.

Designers of multiple disciplines will start to work together more to translate brands into different spaces and contexts. Flexibility and playfulness will play a bigger role as creative, innovative ideas become more sought after than ever. Design will no longer just be for screens and paper but will look beyond and to a bigger picture in which every element feels like it belongs to the same brand story.

3. Cultural sponsorships

Traditional advertising has become so ubiquitous that the scene is close to being saturated. Instead of trying to cut through this noise a lot of brands will change their strategy in 2015. By becoming a sponsor or supporter of something that their target audience loves, the relationships these brands build with their customers will reach far beyond traditional advertising.

This sponsorship will include projects and events in the arts, technology and charity sectors where funding can make a big impact. The role of design will change with this and designers will have to think in a more holistic way to acknowledge and embrace different opportunities.

In order to make this possible, designers will need to create brand guidelines in a less restrictive way. Brand design will become about generating certain feelings and associations. This will allow designers to easily adapt and show the different facets a brand incorporates rather than hitting the same colour / logo-lockup over and over again.

 

By Michael Heins, digital designer at LEWIS. 

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