In the words of Stephen King, “Sooner or later, everything old is new again,” even in the digital age. According to Shutterstock’s ninth annual Creative Trends Report, one of the three major trends is the roaring 2020s. This features a nod to the Roaring 1920s with the rise of ornate geometric shapes, elegant color palettes and Art Deco elements.
This report comes just over a month after Shutterstock’s 2020 Color Trends Report. Together, they will keep you up to date on designs and colors which will be trending in 2020. In today’s digital ecosystem where media is a key component of an online presence, it is essential information.
And it doesn’t just apply to big brands. Because small businesses now have just as much of a digital presence as big companies. Websites, blogs, social media channels, and eCommerce sites are some of the platforms which will need these colors and creative trends. By reading both reports, you can identify the latest trends and make sure your brand is keeping up with what is happening,
This is especially important as the average daily time people spend with video continues to increase. According to eMarketer, the average time people in the U.S. spend on digital media is 6:35, that is hours and minutes. If you add TV it is another three hours and thirty-five minutes. So, it goes without saying, video in all platforms has a high rate of consumption.
Shutterstock 2020 Creative Trends Report
The data for the Creative Trends Report comes from billions of keyword searches. It includes professionals in the creative segment such as marketers, social media managers, video producers and designers.
Over a 12-month period, Shutterstock analyzed billions of searches for images, video footage, and music content. This year the report also includes images from Offset and Shutterstock Editorial.
The information is then combined with analysis from Shutterstock’s internal visual intelligence panel to pinpoint patterns and styles. With the emerging themes on hand, the panel deliberates on the trends they think will influence or dominate creative projects in 2020.
In the emailed release, Shutterstock CMO, Lou Weiss says the report, “… provides a glimpse into the creative trends that we expect to engage consumers on a much bigger scale. It also serves as a source of inspiration for our customers and contributors as they develop creative projects in 2020.”
2020 Creative Trends
In this year’s report, Shutterstock drills down further into the three major trends it says are driving design this year. These trends are a reflection of the data which is predicting the themes for the year ahead.
The Roaring 20s was a decade of opulence and grand design with Art Deco defining the era. A century later, people are searching for the term “20s retro,” which is up by 189% from the previous year. “gold pattern,” which was very popular back then was up by an incredible 4,223% year-over-year. This was followed by another design aesthetic of the era “linear geometric” up by 106%.
The second most popular trend is occulture. In this case, younger generations — Millennials, Gen Z and Gen Alpha — are showing more interest in these topics.
This includes searches for magic (up 525%), spiritual (up 289%), horoscopes (up 37%), and palm reading (up 22%).
The third major trend is floral visuals with full blooms instead of elegant arrangements. “Flowerscape” is surging with 141%, while “bloom” is up by 136% as people look for more vivid ways to display flowers.
Shutterstock identifies another six trends as ‘Rising’. And it starts out with Cannabiz at number four which is being driven by the acceptance of cannabis in the mainstream. At number five “minimalist black” is up by 1,779% as new and darker shades of black are now available in the marketplace.
Wildlife, Chinese ink, sports and fitness round out the rising category, with protest art taking up the last place as the one to watch in the coming year.
Local Trends
The Creative Trends Report is a global data set and as such it has identified the trends in 25 countries. And not surprisingly, they are different.
Argentinians are in a mood for Ancient Greece, while Brazil is looking to revive retro pop. On the other side of the Atlantic, Egypt is into geodes and France is going to be trending with futuristic white. In the East, Taiwan currently has a fascination with vintage motorcycles and Japan is following with space logos.
Even though this information might seem irrelevant for your local small business, being online introduces relevance. With your eCommerce, you are reaching customers around the world and if you customize your page with the trending images in each country, you are more likely to get the attention of those customers.
The point is using all information available to you to make the engagement with your audience more personal, localized and relevant.
Image: Shutterstock