A new year means it’s time for new trends. While it’s early in the year, commitment to community is clear: trends prioritizing connection and authenticity continue to show up on social media and in real life; audiences are looking for brands that embody those themes.
We’ve compiled five of the top trends forecasted for 2024 with common themes of community, authenticity and vintage, along with how to put them to work for your brand.
Five trends to be aware of in 2024:
The Pantone color of the year is Pantone 13-1023 Peach Fuzz. Peach Fuzz evokes feelings of kindness, warmth and togetherness. It symbolizes the importance of slowing down and creating a life filled with love and community for oneself. The color evokes a sense of curiosity with a welcoming ambience and contributes to a contemporary vintage look.
Reimaging classic styles: Gen Z is all about thrifting and rediscovering items from the ‘80s and ‘90s, like a good pair of mom jeans or a classic vinyl record. Gen Z is blending the present and the past together which is being translated into the designs they are prioritizing. They’re reimagining classic styles like cartoons and nostalgic retro designs with a modern twist. They’re seeking calming yet fluid visuals. This is communicated through merging 3D and 2D visuals in a design.
Conversational storytelling: With the rise of voice searches, organizations must rethink their copy to ensure optimization. One approach is becoming more conversational with website copy. Not only will it help with voice search optimization, but more and more users want authenticity and connectivity with brands. When creating copy, try writing in natural, conversational tones while keeping it concise. Include scannable sections to appeal to search engines, mobile devices and shorter attention spans.
Short-form videos are in: Between Gen Z’s doom scrolling tendencies and social media platforms prioritizing short-form videos in their algorithm, short-form videos are here to stay. Video is the best way to connect with younger audiences, and, according to HubSpot’s 2024 Marketing Report, more than half of marketers plan to increase their short-form video efforts this year. Maximize short-form video effectiveness by optimizing content to include keywords and create channels and playlists related to your audience.
Parallax scrolling is back: Parallax scrolling became part of media in 2022 with The New York Times’ famous “Snowfall” article but technology wasn’t quite ready to accommodate this innovative storytelling concept. More than a decade later, parallax scrolling is back due to the ability to integrate multimedia content like video and audio within a website. It allows organizations to take their end user on an immersive storytelling journey and it’s never been easier. Pairing AI-generated imagery with design to bring an idea to life will create new avenues of dynamic user experiences.
As technology continues to advance and trends constantly evolve, our creative team would love to assist you. Whether you’d like to discuss improving your SEO to improve results for voice search users or you’d like to incorporate parallax scrolling within your website, we’d love to hear from you. Email us to start a conversation this year.