What do mascots of mischief, disco balls, monograms, and rustic lettering have in common? Well, I'm not getting to eat until I finish writing this blog, so hopefully, you're going to find out right now. These inventive, engaging themes all make the list of the top branding trends for 2022 and 2023. I've looked at some sampled opinions from our global community of graphic designers, and their selection illustrates many different ways that people and brands are responding to a pandemic dominated 2021. Wow, might I say, we have some talented humans. The new world that we live in post covid is not much different than the world before where many had different differing preferences for the brands that they like. Some have gravitated more toward the eco-friendly, all-natural approach, and others could really care less about saving the planet and just want the ooze and the ahs from a new brand that they experience.
Now, keep in mind, my team, has multiple branding projects actively ongoing, even right now, and as designers, you guys may know, even though you know the trends, the client may not and they are still going to get what they want. So knowing these trends, and how to talk about them, can help you convince your client that the direction that you're trying to go in is a good one. If you're a business owner, of course, this blog will just help you stay relevant and on top of the competition. We're going to go over seven ways brands are beginning to trend in 2022 and can start off 2023 with confidence. The first trend that we've been seeing across the globe is eco brands dropping the eco look. With our world facing an existential threat from climate change and species loss, sustainability has moved firmly into mainstream media in just about everyone else's peripheral. From global treaties to grassroots campaigns, eco-friendly messages are still becoming more and more common. I'd say there's plenty to celebrate based on that fact, but with the crowded market, in Green Designs in 2022 and 23, how do brands and campaigners avoid consumer fatigue and make their branding designs fresh and distinctive?
This year it seems as though eco-brands dropped the classic green and brown hues and moved away from classic images of trees and rivers. Instead, many are defining their brand with more personal conceptual and on-the-pulse artwork that will hook eco-friendly buyers. The second thing that we're going to be seeing start to trend, which is a favorite of mine, is the more wacky, disruptive type of branding. Looking sharp and sleek is all very well, but it can make your product look like it's just come out of a focus group meeting or sometimes a factory line from the years prior. In 2023, many brands are going to be looking to showcase a different side to their personality, and apparently messy layouts, jumbled words, and amateurish artworks are all kinds of anti-art that we are seeing increases in brand design. One of my favorites in this realm of design has been around for years and years, and that is Chipotle. You'll see it on their bags, their shirts, their website, and many other places. The crazy, fun lettering, and brand style that they present. Now, whether it's wild lettering that makes shoppers look twice and all over the place, a craft beer label, that may maybe look like it was actually put together by a tipsy brewer, or maybe it's a wine brand that just wants its bottles to be enjoyed by casual enthusiasts rather than wine snobs. Disruptive branding gives companies the chance they need to show that they don't play by the. Ultimately gaining our attention for a longer period of time. The third trend that we have been seeing and we'll continue is monogram branding. Using the initials or a combination of the letters to uniquely stand out.
As flexible, employment and freelancing have grown increasingly important. More individuals have needed to brand themselves as a business. Abbreviated logos are short, snappy, and can give partners and clients the feeling that they're buying into something special. Monograms are an increasingly popular branding design trend in 2023, and let's not just wear them out. Okay, everybody, let's not do that. There is nothing new about monogram brands. They've been used on Greek coins as far back as 350 bc. As well as can be seen in fashion brands today such as Louis Vuitton or Chanel. We've all seen it, but there is a great option for the modern freelancer, which is by uniting two initials into a single symbol. It provides a strong statement of who you are. They're versatile enough to slot in the middle of business cards OR in the margins of webpages, and that flexibility can help viewers appreciate your versatility. With the world of fonts and colors out there and the abbreviated logo is another great way to show off your brand's creativity.
Now the fourth trend was newer to me and was something I had seen before, but I hadn't known the name of it. Introducing to you, charming line drawing and scrolling. We've been seeing brands choose to base their identities around handwritten unpolished lettering and illustrations more and more often. These logos and brand messages rather like the disruptive branding that's also making waves this year can kind of look like they've been created in like five minutes, but by giving a word or picture a bold childlike form, it can help suggest a shape that the branding is charismatic and unpretentious as a company whose products are built with human hands and guided by genuine passion. A good example of this would be how Bill De Bear designed the boxes that kids took the bears home in. They were designed to look like little houses, even though it's really just simple blue hand-drawn lines on a white box.
Our fifth trend coming out of 2022 is retro-futurism. Toward the end of 21, it was gaining popularity, but brand designers are stepping on the throttle as we move into 2023. As money moves further and further from physical notes, companies open up their augmented reality vision, such as Facebook's Metaverse, and brands are embracing increasingly techy and futuristic designs to keep up with. Images might be picked out in ultraviolet or feature dynamic patterns that echo digital networks or even neuro pulses. Mysterious symbols and crisp lines are common with many of these hyper-modern branding designs. Giving every day or organic objects an evocative twist, a mix of the real and aspirational that points to the future while keeping consumers' feet on solid ground. This is something that our company, Alpha Social Media did in order to convey that we are not just a social media company, but a company that will be adapting to AR, VR, and whatever else Worlds Tech technology has to bring forward to us.
Now the six trends for brands is including a brand mascot, and yes, just like in middle school or high school, that's what I'm talking about. Brand mascots tell a story about a company, and as with the best marketing campaigns have a definite life of their own. Many of them also have a classic feel, partly because today's most prominent mascots are created decades ago, for instance, the Michelin Man, Created in 1898, and Tony the Tiger, all the way back from 1952. But after a quiet start to the century, mascots are starting to make a comeback in 2022 via clever branding designs that are packed with sly humor and personality. Some like the kinky onion recalled the designs of the 1930s and forties. Others like our mascot over at Alpha are cute and add a sense of character or friendliness to our brand.
Lastly, our seventh and final trend identified is neon and the eighties. With everyone from Du Lipa, to Charlie XCX to Coldplay channeling the synth-pop in disco style from the eighties. We're running it right into the 2020s. Dynamic brash branding designs complete with neon pink and yellow flickering strobes and dance floor vibes are helping designers finally give brands a fun, sparky visual identity with unconventional text alignments, flamboyant dancing figures, and Tron style grid patterns. This trend in branding has many reference points back to the eighties pop culture. With fluorescent eighties tones and shimmering visions of the future, jaunty line drawings, and playful mascots. Many of the 2022 trends come with more than a hint of optimism. Not everything is flamboyant of course, but, even the more restrained developments point to climate care, personal development, and finding joy at the moment. We may not be swinging into a bright new world quite yet, but these colorful and engaging branding trends suggest that 2022 should brim with some life.
