Top 18 for ’18: Tips & Trends for the New Year
At Design Positive we believe brands should take time at the end of the year to reflect on the successes and failures of their branding and marketing efforts from the previous year. We also hold ourselves accountable to this belief, and we’d like to share our thoughts as we move from 2017 to 2018.
When our team looked back on 2017, we reflected on our most valued successes: listening closely to our client’s problems and goals, developing websites we’re proud of, guiding the evolution of client’s brands, and designing annual reports that we believe truly represent the client’s vision and mission.
We’re also proud to say our team members plan to increase their skill sets this year. We’re committed to learning new software, getting out to more industry-specific networking events, subscribing to the leading industry newsletters, and continuing to keep tabs on the latest trends and design-oriented services that streamline web design and web development.
We want to proactively prepare for the design challenges 2018 will bring. As we change our calendars, we thought it would be good to look back on what worked for our clients in 2017 and what’s on the horizon for 2018. Here are 18 tips we believe will help our clients this year:
1. New WYSIWYG. WordPress is working on a new WYSIWYG editor called Gutenberg, which will be radically different from its current editor. At this point it’s hard to judge its impact, but it might change the way we all architect websites.
2. Hosting matters. Website speed is becoming more and more important; however, tools like Google Page Insights make it easy to get caught up in optimizing things that will only shave off a few milliseconds. Start with bigger items, like using a fast host, CDN, and caching.
3. Mobile is critical. Google is soon coming out with its mobile-first index. It’ll be a game-changer for mobile search results, emphasizing the need for condensing content to be beautiful, quickly digestible, information-rich — while being well-branded.
4. HTTPS all the way. All sites should now be using HTTPS/SSL. Google is making some big shifts for website ranking if you’re not on a secured https address.
5. Optimize download speed for mobile. Websites need to look good on mobile, but they also need to perform well. Rather than bog down websites with too many scripts or ads, use higher-end hosting like WP Engine, which includes a CDN and built-in caching.
6. Design to eleven. Website design can be pushed further in 2018 now that CSS flexbox is widely supported. CSS grid is another upcoming spec that will greatly enhance layouts, but it’s too new to be useful yet… maybe in 2019? We’ll keep our eye on it.
7. Just say no to pop-ups. We think it’s important for brands to give people a chance to become familiar with what they’re offering before they ask them to join their email lists. Pop-ups in general should be avoided (unless a user is expecting them).
8. Connect with your stakeholders. Your website should create the emotional tone of what your brand is all about. We recently launched the HealthWell Foundation website, zeroing in on its customer base and emotional appeal while evolving its brand with illustrations, additional colors, and modern body-copy typeface.
9. Millennials? Don’t try too hard to appeal to millennials. People make incorrect assumptions about how to relate to the tech generation. Just tell YOUR story; don’t alter it based on stereotypes (but a few buzzwords won’t hurt!).
10. Digestible data. Don’t assume your customers can translate your data. Help them to understand and relate to your goals. Get them on your side and make it a team effort.
11. Make every stakeholder feel important. When people feel a part of the story, they will help tell it.
12. Leverage more digital opportunities. Brands are still not taking full advantage of digital marketing platforms, email services, and other web-based tools. They’re easy to start, with little to no budget costs needed.
13. Keep it fun. Brands are doing fun things at trade shows and events, such as on-site screen printing of T-shirts, custom socks, or booths with large touch-screen demos. It’s a great way to think local and connect with your audiences.
14. Consider app design for specific marketing goals. Web app and app design are still big growth areas, with more affordable development tools coming to market making the final production costs more affordable.
15. Content is still king. Brands should realize the importance of style, grammar, and syntax. Take it to the next level: be clearer, tighten wording, say what you need to say with fewer words.
16. Stay on message. Don’t change your story with the whims of the news cycle or trends. While it’s good to meet the needs of your customers, you need to show you have a clear, distinct, and consistent brand — one with integrity.
17. Optimize for accessibility. The trend is to get accessible and then train your staff how to STAY accessible with procedures and methodologies in place so you don’t fall out of compliance.
18. Update your brand style guide. Brands should take time at the end of the year to reflect on the successes and failures of their brand/marketing efforts and update their branding style guide. Repeat at the end of next year!
As we look forward to all that 2018 will bring, the Design Positive team would like to wish everyone a healthy and happy New Year!
As always, if you have any questions, reach out at hello@designpositive.co. We LOVE talking design.
