2024 Ins and Outs
duh I had to make a list
GM everyone. I always find the week between Christmas and New Year’s to be the worst time of the year— no news, no action, almost like a liminal state. Anyway, hope you are all getting ready for the New Year. I’ve seen countless ins and outs lists on the timeline and was wrestling with creating a fun one or an earnest one.
We are going with earnest. I’ll be keeping this list focused on what will be in and out in the world of marketing, branding, and design. Let’s get into it—
Outs
Extreme Minimalism
Sparseness has long been a clever salve for laziness. I am looking forward to brands ditching extreme minimalism in favor of building cohesive brand universes through language, design, and personality.
Purple Websites
Any and every SAAS startup this year seemed to have hired the exact same web design agency. Every single website has employed the SAME purple gradient. Let’s scrap that deck and start anew with something unique.
Cartoonish Packaging
I made a TikTok last year about Graza that got a relatively large amount of views, critiquing how I thought the era of illustrative packaging was coming to a close. Maybe it was a bit harsh (I love you Graza) We had seen this design trend used across numerous CPG brands, I thought it had to die soon, but it still keeps going on. Time to put it in the ground.
Unfocused Influencer Partnerships
Remember when the D’Amelio sisters worked at WalMart this year? Yeah, bad partnership. As the internet becomes more fractured, we all exist in our own unique microcosms of online space. Each of these subscultures has their own influencers who set the trends for the space, meaning their is a treasure trove of niche micro-influencers much more suited to promoting a brand than the “BIG” stars.
Coquette
This is so HOT rn I don’t see how it doesn’t flame out by the end of January.
Ins
Macro Photography
While this has been around, I hope we are going to see more campaign shoots that make the us really take a glance at small products in action. Its an interesting visual effect that gets attention.
Animals
I’ve written about this trend in past newsletters, but the use of adorable animals in brand campaigns is going to SURGE this year. Bring on the freaky animals, I want to see a Komodo dragon in a Jacquemus shoot next year.
Lofi, Gen Z Photography
The era of highly produced photography still has a place, but let’s be real, we view the world through the lens of our iPhone, and in the context of Instagram Stories and TikToks. We need more unfocused, grainy, and natural photography. More brands will adopt a lofi style this year in an effort to better relate with audiences. Composition and subject have always mattered more than the quality of the camera.
Campaign Shoots at Events
This year, J. Crew held an influencer dinner and took TONS of photos. Then they used these photos in a brand campaign. More brands will opt for this next year, killing two birds with one stone.
MORE FUN ADS
Brands having fun with their videos and marketing collateral will see more success in 2024. My favs this year were the Emma Chamberlain Warby Parker ad. We need more storytelling.
Branded Copypasta
I have a friend who sends text messages like this to a groupchat nearly every holiday. Cava sent out a message like this earlier this year. I think its fun and kind of meta.
Dynamic Compositions
This year, we are going to see more brands use their existing campaign photography to create unique, dynamic compositions that show their artistic sensibilities. This concept can be used across still graphics, videos, and gifs.
METAL
Cover every object and surface in a metallic coating this year. I am here for it.
We’ll See…
The wisest thing to expect from any new year is to expect the unexpected. By next year we are going to be living in a whole new world, who knows what will be hot.
BYE! BACK IN NYC TOMORROW LFG.
About Jake
Jake Bell is a content marketing strategist based in NYC. He specializes in branding, art direction, creative strategy, content creation, and making things cool.
To get in touch visit www.jb.studio
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