It’s easy to get distracted by design trends when designing your website and brand materials. You’ll see different suggestions from the emails you receive, and articles you read. When you scroll through Pinterest, you’ll see what’s trending, and you’ll often want to change everything to match. However, let’s issue a word of caution before you spend a ton of money on new design.
Here’s why you don’t want to chase design trends.
1. It waters down your brand.
These trends are generic and can apply to any business. A lot of other business owners are applying them. So even if you customize it to your brand, your business will have difficulty standing out.
2. They confuse your customers.
These trends may not always be suitable with your current branding style and layout. As a result your customers can get confused on the message of your content and the action you want them to take.
Don’t keep changing to every trend because it’s going to lead people down confusing paths. These don’t help your customers connect and engage with your visual identity.
3. They send you on rabbit trails.
Relying on these trends will send you on rabbit trails, trying to catch up with the latest trend. There will be times that you’ll feel you need to change everything. Then after adding all those layer designs, you end up removing them because of the newest trend.
Also, these trends come and go. They might be a good idea a month ago and may have applied to your business. But in a couple of months, they’re no longer suitable. If you want your business to come and go like these trends then that is the path you should chase. But if you want your business to stay on course, you should have a good design and a clear goal.
What’s a good design?
A good design should support function and clearly communicate exactly who you are, how you help people, and how you lead people to take action. Instead of being distracting, it should serve the form and functionality of what it is intended to do.
Your website and brand design will pull people in. You can put flashy lights, videos, and rotating animations to grab attention. But you have to remember that your designs should also be functional. They need to serve a purpose and send a clear message.
Keep in mind you are trying to clearly call people to take action after they’ve landed on your website. You want them to engage with you in a meaningful and positive way. You want to show them how you want to serve them as your customers.
Conclusion
Design trends come and go. They don’t last. The trends that we have now are repeats from 20-30 years ago with a modern twist. Over time, these trends are going to go out of style and come back in three decades.
If you want to change something in your branding or if you feel like your logo or website need an overhaul, make sure you refine your design and reflect modern aesthetics. Keep the core strength, shape, outline, message, and other components intact. It’s still the same identity at its core that has just been evolved.
Do not follow trends unless it is a natural evolution of your brand and it helps you move into a modern and fresh way. If you want to change or upgrade your branding design, do it with strategy. Do it with an intention that clearly communicates to your audience in a powerful and meaningful way.
If you prefer professional advice as oppose to following design trends, schedule a call with me and let’s discuss how we can improve your branding!
