Have you ever wondered how brands like Apple, Starbucks, and Netflix manage to achieve worldwide recognition and success? The secret lies in their global strategy.
Nowadays, building a brand in the right way is a key to success in business. Branding provides a brand identity that goes beyond the products and services themselves. Whether you are a business owner or a designer who creates branding projects, you need to be aware of the latest branding trends to be able to create a strong and recognizable brand. How to create a brand in today’s world? Here are the most important branding trends in 2022.
1. Flexible logo
Our list of branding trends starts with one of the most important elements of every business. Logo is a brand identifier that has to be included almost everywhere. You are probably aware that you must have a website or social media accounts if you want to develop your business. The logo should therefore be easily adjustable. It has to look great anywhere, on any background, in any size or resolution. The logo must be designed in such a way that it can be easily resized without damage to its appearance. For example, on a website, you can use a complex version of your logo, and for your brand’s products you can create a streamlined icon. Even a simpler logo would be preferable for social media. Visual variety and brand consistency regardless of the platform or layout where the adaptable logo is displayed is the biggest advantage. In that way, people can recognize the brand anytime and anywhere.
2. Branding in social media
Social media has contributed largely to the marketing revenues. It does not seem that this situation will change in the near future. Actually, it is very likely that it will not change for a long time. The latest branding trends will continue to be based on social media.
Social media platforms serve as an influential medium for brands to enhance the prominence of their brand purpose, establish meaningful connections with their audience and exemplify authenticity. If your brand has not used social media yet, it is the time to change that. First, you need to find the platforms your target audience likes to spend their time on, and learn more about these portals as well as the type of content that will be best for your potential customers. The next step is to decide what brand image you should create in social media. Do you want to be perceived as cool or formal? You need to make sure which brand identity will best suit your audience. Finally, you have to develop social media marketing strategies as well as tactics to increase your reach and gain an audience. It is definitely worth building your content around showing the brand experience or eco friendly nature of products and services.
3. Branded hashtags
It has been proven by research that using hashtags in posts can greatly increase traffic on your social media accounts. There is no doubt that they are very effective in getting your posts to reach a larger audience and gain their engagement. Therefore, one should not be surprised that the branding trends in 2022 will also be based on hashtags. To follow them, you should create branded hashtags, for example with the name of the brand or its product. They will allow you to monitor the mood and behavior of users towards the brand, and at the same time improve its recognition. Once you have created a hashtag that is clearly brand-related and recognizable, start using it consistently in your posts. You should also promote it and encourage users to use it in discussions about your brand or when they are sharing your content.
4. Interactive branding
In social media, the post, even with a photo or a link, is not enough anymore. Customers today expect a more responsive experience. They want to have an impact on the content and contribute through engagement with videos, stories, or visualizations. There are many solutions for interactive branding, such as calculators or tools that allow users to check something or make some actions themselves. Other interesting ideas are questions, quizzes, challenges, games, polls, infographics, videos, animations, clickable maps as well as many other visual aids.
This very notion echoes the insights shared in our comprehensive guide on branding tactics, where we emphasize the indispensable role of interactivity in safeguarding your company’s reputation.
5. Nostalgia in branding
There are not many people who are not fans of going back to the past. Every adult has fond memories from their childhood or youth. Therefore, it is not surprising that nostalgia has sneaked to the current branding trends. The power of nostalgia brings comfort and gives a sense of stability. Because of this, you should provide your recipients with the nostalgic content that will remind them of the most beautiful moments in their life, childhood, and youth. That way, the brand can strengthen its bond with the users. A good example here is Coca-Cola, which could not play the iconic basketball tournament due to the pandemic. Instead, the company created advertisements presenting the most important and memorable moments from previous events.
6. Data-driven branding
Both businesses and consumers create countless amounts of data every day, a good analysis can help brands better understand their relationship with customers. Data-driven branding is one of the most important corporate branding trends. Data is essential in brand management strategies because it provides insights into consumer behavior, market trends, and the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.
It is worth using analytical tools as well as business analysis to collect, manage and interpret available information. Data helps you understand what actions and product strategies have to be changed to accelerate the development of your company, which is why the best decisions are driven by its analysis. What is more, the data can be used to enhance operational efficiency, improve customer service or increase returns on investment in marketing activities. Check out our brand audit checklist which help you evaluate your branding efforts.
7. Branding without your company name
Ads are becoming more and more annoying to people. They pop up every minute, on every website, on every video, each with a brand, name, slogan, and logo. Customers now prefer looking for practical solutions to their problems rather than watching the same ads non-stop. Promotional materials without a logo or brand name are the new branding trends. For example, you can start a blog or create a forum that rarely mentions your business and instead focuses on providing users with the valuable information as well as resources that your audience needs. It is a very helpful strategy because people who visit the blog will associate it with the company. What is more, the outcome of the successful blog will be an appreciation towards the brand. And this is what customer loyalty is all about.
8. Modern typography trends in branding
The hottest branding trends of 2022 cannot do without typography. The one that is old, boring, and simple belongs to the past. Now it is time for typography trends for branding that include bold, experimental, quirky and stylish typefaces. What is more, it is worth adding some sharp strokes, 3D effects, animations with variable styling or colors to the font. Such typography will be vibrant, refreshed, and original. As a result, it will grab the attention of your audience. You can customize the order and the size of letters as well as typography positions, as there is no standard way to design a logo. The most important thing is the readability of typography. It is also worth mentioning the interesting branding trend – the script fonts that remind of those hand drawn. Companies from the artistic and creative sectors as well as the ones selling toys or sweets for children should definitely use them.
9. Gradients in a logo
Using gradients in logos is a trend that has emerged a few years ago, but will still be on top in 2022. It is becoming more and more popular to use three-dimensional gradients, layers, shapes, or depths in logos and other brand visuals. Gradients can be used to increase the color contrast to make the logo more vibrant and distinctive. It is worth playing with shades and creating modern solutions – simple, elegant and eye-catching in every space, also on screens. An interesting idea is to pair 3D gradients with animations because it makes the elements more vibrant. To make your logo and other visual elements align with the story you want to convey, you can combine gradients, shadows, and depths using this method.
10. Minimalism – flat, clean and simple logo
Even though many companies strive for originality and want to attract the attention of recipients, the basic logo branding trends still follow minimalism. Logos that are flat, clean, and simple continue to be on top. When it comes to brand marks, it is important to have an easy-to-understand logotype with a minimalistic font, which reflects the brand personality. The logo also must be recognizable, memorable, as well as flexible so that it looks good on various platforms or objects. Many brands are now changing their logos to be simpler and minimalistic. You can read more in the article about modern logo design trends on the Nopio blog.
Top branding trends – summary
Building a brand is a long and complicated process. It is crucial to stay informed and follow emerging trends in branding.
However, sticking to modern tendencies is not enough – you also need to properly plan and implement various processes. What is more, an appropriate brand strategy is of utmost importance. It is best to outsource it to specialists, such as Nopio, which offers professional corporate branding services and corporate identity packages. All big brands use the services of such agencies.
