By Miguel Reis, Creative Director at Shift

As we approach 2024, the fields of design and branding are undergoing significant transformations in an effort to build communities around the products and services that brands offer us. Authenticity becomes crucial in the relationship with consumers, who seek brands aligned with their values, engaging genuinely through everything that is the visual and emotional expression of the brands. For the next year, I would highlight six trends:

 Visual Identity

 Concepts such as "Adaptive Typography" and "Typographic Artistry" will bring a huge dynamic to brand building, allowing for versatility that will be noticeable in the times to come. From blur to the power of the pixel, from neon colors to the most vibrant and saturated, these elements will be part of the visual languages of 2024, given that digital media play a fundamental role. Whether in building impossible scenarios only previously dreamed of or in producing images and animations generated by AI (Artificial Intelligence), there will be an evolution that will elevate brands to another level. Mastering multiple tools and creating increasingly complex "prompts" is already the great challenge.

The Impact of AI

AI already plays an enormously important role in personalizing brand experiences. The emergence of these types of tools has transformed the role of creatives, requiring constant adaptation and the (almost inevitable) use of these instruments in brand building. These tools function as accelerators of processes, allowing testing and experimenting with multiple ideas as quickly as would have been impossible until recently. Who hasn't transformed into a Disney Pixar character with Google's Bard? The near "real-time" commitment of Walt Disney's promise "If you can dream it, you can do it."

Immersive Experiences & 3D Design

Design has evolved to offer increasingly immersive experiences, driven by the mastery of three-dimensional and engaging graphics. With technological evolution, brands are betting on providing their audiences with more interesting and personalized experiences. The bet on more intuitive interfaces, innovative digital applications, and even the integration of these experiences in physical environments will increasingly be a trend. Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) will be explored more broadly, enhancing even more engaging, sensory, and memorable brand experiences.

Minimalism & Sustainability

A trend that has been noted in recent years is to simplify in design, creating more minimalist and "clean" environments that breathe sustainability – a theme that will surely continue to trend. This movement reflects a simplified aesthetic and a growing commitment to sustainability. Brands seek to visually communicate not just products or services but also their commitment and environmental awareness.

Diversity & Inclusion

Diversity and inclusion are not just trends, but are beginning to be seen as fundamental principles of brands, so they will occupy a central place in branding and design strategies in 2024. This is an approach that has been applied in all visual elements, from colors to images, through fonts and strong lines that show that brands are increasingly attentive to the need to adopt more inclusive visual discourses, ensuring the representation and identification of their audience. 

The (End of) Blanding

On the other hand, and countering a trend from the end of the last decade, "Blanding" will lose expression. Having been applied by various brands from various sectors, from automobiles to fashion, it began to de-characterize them and lead to the loss of personality and differentiation. I believe we will witness a reversal of this trend and begin to observe the redesign of some major brands, seeking a more modernized image and aligned with their essence. A good example is Burberry, which after undergoing a "Blanding" process in 2018, in 2023 clearly assumed its DNA and its history of over 120 years, returning to the original symbolism, but with a very modern and bolder reinterpretation. As the new year approaches, what is expected is a scenario where the future of branding and design is increasingly a genuine, diverse, and deeply engaging expression of brand values, as reflected in these six topics. In the new landscape, authenticity is not just a trend but an imperative that drives brands to create lasting relationships with an increasingly demanding public.

This article was published in Marketeer.