Bellman’s 2020 Design Trend Forecast

What’s the most exciting part about the start of a new year? Is it all those shiny Christmas gifts? Nope. Is it celebrating New Year’s Eve? Not even close.

We might be biased, but we think the most exciting part of a new year is the promise of new design trends.

Not only do design trends provide fresh inspiration for our own work, but they give us an excuse to marvel at some truly unique design from around the world.

And judging by what we’ve seen so far, 2020 is set to be one of the boldest years for designs we’ve seen yet.

Colour of the Year: Blue

Classic Blue, to be exact. Pantone announced a deep, cool shade for 2020’s colour of the year, so expect to see plenty of calming blues absolutely everywhere. Think sparkling sapphires, night skies and ocean depths.

Custom Illustrations

More and more brands are using custom illustrations to demonstrate their point of difference. We’ve seen illustrations gaining popularity with large brands like IKEA and Mailchimp, but they’re set to seriously explode in 2020. After all, a picture speaks a thousand words, and an illustration can say anything you want it to.

80s Throwback

You can probably thank Stranger Things for this one. From neon colour schemes to arcade game-style typography, the eighties vibe continues to go strong. We’ve seen this theme carried across to the branding world, with signage, logos, and even ad campaigns.

Big, Bold Patches of Colour

If 2019 was the year of minimalism then 2020 is the year of “more is more”.

This all-out-colour trend includes crazy colour combinations, huge patches of colour, and bright shades— the louder the better. Anything goes.

The Future Is Now

We may not be living in a cyberpunk metropolis yet, but there’s no reason we can’t pretend with some futuristic design.

In an age of self-driving cars, wearable smart devices, and AI technology, people are more responsive than ever to anything markedly futuristic. We predict this style of design will bode well for innovative technology brands in the coming year.

Gradients

We might still be reeling from Instagram’s questionable rebrand and its tropical, early 2000s-vibe logo in 2016, but gradients are back. Except for this time they’re looking a little more, well, refined.

We’re all about these muted washes, vibrant fusions, and eye-catching blends, whether it’s on the background of a flyer or covering a logo.

Unique Hand-Crafted Brandmarks

Sometimes you need something truly unique to represent your brand. We’ve seen our fair share of generic brandmarks, so this trend towards something more bespoke is one we welcome with open arms.

Of course, the key to snagging something similar for your brand is to work with a talented designer.

Want to shake up your brand design in 2020? Reach out to the Bellman team and make this your biggest year yet.