Salamandra's Top Design Trends for 2020

If you’re planning for 2020, then like Salamandra you might be looking forward to the design trends we’ll see throughout the year to come. From graphic design and branding to animation and everything in-between, you might notice that things are becoming a little softer and more mellow than the daring trends we’ve seen throughout 2019. Over the last few years, bold gradients have dominated – perhaps a trend sparked by the re-design of Instagram – but this may be what has caused a shift, as designers are now starting to use more sophisticated, minimalist styles in order to make brands shine.

Salamandra have written this blog for you to visualise how your brand or company could look in 2020 to really stand out from the crowd.

In 2019, one of the main widespread trends we saw in use was isometric animation. If you’re not familiar with the term, it’s when 3D objects are rendered at a fixed 45-degree angle, using 2D effects. It’s an eye-catching animation style that often utilises the gradient trend of late. Simple but bold, going forward we predict that it will still be a popular animation style – but using more of a minimalist colour and style palette.

On this note, muted colour palettes are becoming popular with designers, and you need look no further than the new PANTONE Colour of the year for 2020: Classic Blue. Pantone describes it as 'a reassuring presence instilling calm, confidence and connection.' It’s a universal favourite and is visibly not as outgoing and bold as recent colours of the year, affirming the design shift toward more sophisticated and traditional.

Thirdly, in a trend we can totally get behind, many companies are opting to spend more time on their branding to create unique, animated images and videos to represent them across their online platforms. Gif’s have become SO popular, you can’t afford to be missing out – but be aware, only bespoke, creative and on-brand content will put you ahead of the curve at this point – so make sure to put some extra consideration into this to boost your profile in 2020!

Next; something that ties in with brand animation is 3D depth, mixed with actual footage and photography. Designers are using cool and modern 3D compositions, merged with 2D design or actual footage and photography, to make things a little bit more creative. Our 12 Days of Chritmas artwork incorporated 2D visuals into a 3D composition, adding that extra bit of detail and lifting everything to another level! Using 3D takes more time and can be more of an investment, but even using it sparingly, combined with 2D visuals or film footage, can provide that extra pop.

Finally, a trend expected to flourish in 2020 is creative and dynamic typography. Of course, typography is one of the oldest forms of design, that’s why people are having to think outside the box to innovate in the field. In summing up the direction of typography in 2020, the three words we have found most prevalent are Bold, Minimalist, and Dominant. Designers are looking at changing the hierarchy of compositions, usually dominated by photographs or imagery, to include type as more of a design feature. It doesn’t stop there though! With advancements in Augmented Reality, Maxi-Typography is becoming very popular. This involves incorporating type with photographs or 3D environments to create more impactful designs. In doing so, the typography can really interact with products, renders and people. 3D type itself is already booming in the industry and by incorporating it with animation it’s been given a new lease of life.