New ideas pop up all the time and there are endless amounts of blogs that will tell you which trends to stick to, how to fall in line with a new colourway or which typeface will help you fit in with the indie start-ups but when it comes to design for your brand, should you follow trends or create your own style?
Jenni King, senior designer at brand agency Resolution explains why you should lead rather than follow when developing graphics.
“The change and development that comes from trends is great; trends are current and have captured attention and we should take the time to understand the attraction to the audiences. But, when it comes to design for purpose, we should steer well clear. The very nature of a trend is dangerous for an organisation’s brand. A great explosion of interest in one very specific style, colour or composition tends to have a shelf life. It results in re-doing work every few years because something isn’t ‘cool’ anymore and the business can become disadvantaged as reinvention can result in lack of brand recognition.
“Trends are interesting to observe, we can learn so much from them, but in reality, if you blindly follow a trend, you are not exploring the best solution. When we start to develop brand, we always find out about the organisation, the culture and the customer buying journey. Our strategy sessions cover business objectives and designs are developed to reflect the organisation, not the latest trend.
“If design is underpinned by strategy, evolved from research and experience, it will serve the organisation more effectively whilst having longevity.
“Design is personal, we all have our preferences and you will never create something for everyone but you should be designing for the audience and not for the latest fashion.
“After all, design is a science. It’s a calculated graphic determined by comprehensive findings. So, if we stick to classic methods and challenge ourselves with original ideas, we would hope the designs and processes we create would be not only timeless, but powerful.”
