So let’s see what the Year 2023 will bring for the designers
- Animated product reveals
- Immersive branding experiences for key products
- Neo-brutalism
- Whimsigothic visuals
- Personalized, animated online shopping
- Animated navigation
- Chunky fonts with saturated colours
- Curved frames
- AI-driven online shopping features
1. Animated product reveals
Consumers are growing to appreciate brands that go above and beyond in offering more entertainment—taking any opportunity to create a memorable experience that spreads positivity.
It’s a great way to grab attention and bring a nice-looking visual to life. Animation can also help explain the service or product more effectively for people than a static visual.
2. Immersive branding experiences for key products
Users are expecting more and more out of their digital experiences. It’s no longer about giving users the quickest, most seamless eCommerce experience. It’s about creating an enriched, detailed environment in which your users can lose themselves.
An effective way to do this is to integrate techniques like design elements that appeal to multiple senses. These could be sounds or music, 3D images, animated icons, and such, which communicate how products serve customers and how they came to be (i.e. a behind-the-scenes journey at the design process). Give the friends of your audience FOMO (fear of missing out) with your limited edition products and the immersive worlds you create to advertise them.
3. Neo-brutalism
First seen in ’50s architecture, brutalism celebrates the utilitarian aesthetic with a stark fondness. It trades beauty for upfront honesty and contradicts traditional design rules. Designers have recently revived it across the digital sphere, and we’re now seeing its harsh structure commercialized as it trickles down into the mainstream.
4. Whimsigothic visuals
‘Goth’ is not dead, and the Gen-Zers are here for it! With many things spinning out of our control lately (think wars, recession, climate crisis, and pandemic), more and more of Gen-Z are embracing subcultures that give them the power to express themselves freely. They’re looking for authenticity, community, and comfort.
In a bid to attract more Gen-Zers, eCommerce fashion retailers include whimsigoth-inspired clothes, jewellery, and other accessories in their product line-up. And to match the vibe, retailers turn to gothic-themed graphic design illustrations through their choice of fonts and colour palettes in deep purple, black, and dark red. And it makes sense—with all the uncertainty in the world at present, it’s no wonder that looking to a higher power is a source of comfort to Gen-Zers.
5. Personalized, animated online shopping
E-commerce is known for bringing convenience to the buyer. You can review products before buying, you don’t have to queue when checking out, and there’s no salesperson following you around.
Some brands also leverage animated product catalogues that are presented in unconventional layouts. You can add animated hover effects to reveal new features or animate an augmented reality background on your eCommerce site, so users can navigate through it.
6. Animated navigation
Maximalism is gaining traction and is ready to take hold of the eCommerce space. To enrich the customer experience, brands are now favouring dramatic colour schemes and in-your-face images. They’re over-stimulating audiences’ senses by filling all the space available on their site with interactive visual elements that are loud yet cohesive. One standout feature of this practice is animated navigation.
7. Chunky fonts with saturated colours
Chunky, heavy-weight fonts stand with saturated colours to brighten up your user’s day. This is especially the case with Gen-Zers, who are finding hope and optimism in bright colours.
Opting for thick and sans serif or smooth and rounded fonts not only immediately draws the users to your website and message, but also creates a warm vibe to your overall design. The likely result? You get an aesthetic that puts positive feelings toward your brand in the minds of your customers.
8. Curved frames
This trend is quite popular among eCommerce brands like cosmetics, and clothing brands that lean towards a cleaner, modern, and minimalistic appeal. When used in asymmetrical designs, this technique works to show the unique, authentic and softer edge to a brand’s personality.
2023 sees ecommerce brands provide lifelike shopping experiences to users—it’s immersive, escapist and packed with individual personalities. Valuing authenticity, transparency and innovation, it’s these brands who’ll succeed in building loyal customer communities to sustain their business well into the future.