In the ever-changing world of branding, marketing, and advertising, new trends are constantly shaping the way businesses present themselves. While your brand’s core identity should remain timeless, understanding current trends can be a goldmine of insight, especially for startups and those considering a rebrand.

Drum roll… here’s our top picks for 2023 branding trends

1. Embracing an era of style

One of the more distinct emerging branding trends in 2023 is the focus on exploring specific eras of styling. There is an inherent desire in all of us to explore nostalgia as it tugs on the emotional core of our memories.

Branding is discovering this nascent desire and using it to evoke specific feelings from specific time periods, such as the glamour of the 1920s. Consider what sort of era of style would best suit your business and appeal to your customer base.

2. Bespoke visual elements

Technology has revolutionised how businesses approach branding, and continues to do so. That’s why you need to think about how you can really stand out. Bespoke visual elements will create something iconographic and memorable to cement yourself in your audience’s mind.

Monochromatic colours

Monochromatic colour schemes are bold, simple and elegant. Inherently timeless, a monochrome palette can indicate that your company is confident in its sophistication and yet still cohesive and attractive as a brand.

Hand-drawn illustrations

Hand-drawn illustrations infuse a level of authenticity and person-ability in your brand. The charming nature of these visuals ensure that you stand out in a highly digital world by bringing that much-appreciated human touch to the fore.

3. Fuse design and style

Simple maximalism

Minimalism has consistently captivated attention, ebbing and flowing in popularity over the years — but with the emergence of simple maximalism you can really have your branding cake and eat it, too. Using bold elements sparingly and considerately will ensure your brand assets are truly striking.

Fun with fonts

Focusing on your branding font is an excellent way to inject personality without overcomplicating the visuals. Fonts allow you to experiment with playful and expressive styling that will evoke emotions among your target audience and reinforce the tone and overall message of your brand.

4. Lean into visual effects

Overstimulated branding

While the idea of “overstimulated branding” might not immediately seem advantageous, it holds the potential to deeply engage your target audience. In the pursuit of capturing attention, few approaches leave as indelible and compelling an imprint. By stretching the boundaries of colour, texture, and pattern, you can fashion a distinctive, unparalleled identity.

Gradients and vibrant colour pops

Gradients and vibrant colour tones add a stylistic depth and alluring energy to your brand assets. If you’re looking to revitalise your brand, a combination of gradient and vibrant colouring can really create a fresh, yet recognisable look.

5. Be open to new, innovative branding techniques

High logos

Traditional logos are mostly vertical or feature narrow logo formats. If you’re open to new and innovative branding trends, it’s time to break free from tradition. Distinctive and unique logo designs and placements stand out in a crowded sea of cookie cutter business logos.

Eco branding

Think minimal and aspirational. Eco branding allows you to impart a message of future-forward focus, sustainability and commitment to making the world a better place. Such a positive brand association and aspirational approach will cut through much of the noise in the branding space and help you really connect with potential customers.

Why is branding important?

1. Differentiation

A distinct identity not only sets your business apart but also draws in customers amidst the competition. The power of iconic branding cannot be understated; it directly influences the level of recognition and memorability your business and its offerings hold in the hearts and minds of your intended audience.

2. Trust and credibility

Consumers consistently rely on brands that are established and easily recognisable, brands that have earned their trust and credibility through consistent performance. Establishing a lasting connection with your customers heavily relies on having a foundation of reliable branding.

3. Emotional connection

Effective branding has the power to evoke emotions in consumers. A well-crafted brand identity enables customers to form a profound, meaningful, and impactful connection with your business. This emotional resonance is crucial because the stronger the bond you nurture, the more enduring your relationship with customers becomes.

4. Brand loyalty

Cultivating brand loyalty paves the way for recurring transactions, positive reviews, word-of-mouth referrals, and gradual expansion of your customer network. However, brand loyalty can only exist when there’s a brand to be loyal to. Crafting a resilient brand not only establishes a sense of belonging among your audience but also guarantees their sustained engagement with your offerings.

How are brand trends forecasted?

Brand trends aren’t just plucked from the aether or drawn from a hat. Here are a few ways in which trends are identified and subsequently used for ongoing marketing modelling.

Consumer research: This includes everything from conducting surveys to focus groups. It consists of listening and understanding consumer preferences, needs, wants and emerging behaviours.
Trend analysis: Drawing data from market reports, industry publications and trend forecasting agencies creates a pool of information from which themes and patterns can be identified.
Cultural observations: Watching the development of culture across societal, technological and environmental spheres can help businesses identify emerging trends and consequently extrapolate emerging behaviours.
Data analytics: New tools in data analytics allow businesses to leverage big data and uncover previously hidden insights in customer behaviour, purchase patterns and even online engagement trends.
Expert insights: Branding experts across consulting agencies, thought leaders and professional trend forecasters use their experience and expertise to track and predict the emerging trends in consumer behaviour and preferences.

Ready to reassess your branding?

For years, Distl has been delivering impactful and thoughtful branding solutions to organisations of all scales and across various sectors.

With a team rich in diverse digital, traditional, and visual branding expertise – we’re excited to engage with you – whether it’s about new branding ideas, rebranding concepts, or any other branding-related projects.

Let’s chat.