Design in 2016 – what will branding look like?

As part of our series on the future of design in 2016, Rufus Leonard executive creative director James Ramsden looks at what will happen in branding over the next 12 months.

James Ramsden

What will 2016 hold for branding?

“Branding as we know it today has creatively, technologically and experientially exploded. Increasingly personalised profiles and ever-expanding entry points into brand experiences will further drive brands to completely rearrange how they organise their visual and verbal identity systems.

Although we are already seeing this happen all around us, I predict that this will accelerate in 2016 and become one of the fundamental themes the creative community will work closely with its bravest clients to explore and redefine.

I also predict that 2016 will bring more brand shock. We will see more brands exploring how to further develop their creative bravery as they use their entire toolkit of design, content, experiences and interaction to earn our continued attention.

More limited-edition, more exclusives, more collaborations, more user-generated, more engagement, more variation, more speed, more responsiveness, more design, more new. And as this accelerates. More shock.”

What was the stand-out branding project of 2015?

“Probably Netflix by Gretel. A beautifully simple branding system that brilliantly nails what brands need to do today. And that’s to use a design framework that allows content to be effortlessly bought to life, while working seamlessly in motion and movement and remaining fantastically dynamic in static media.

The new design language for Netflix has been bought bang up to date and is an inspiring example of how progressive brand design evolution can refresh and re-energise a brand and its personality.”

Discover more of 2015’s biggest branding projects:

• Google has a new logo – we look at how it was designed

• How MTV created its meme-tastic new open-source identity

• Channel 4 deconstructs iconic logo in major rebrand

• How to achieve brand visibility: “A great design isn’t great if no one sees it”

• Is there a formula for perfect branding?


 

See all Design Week’s branding stories at www.designweek.co.uk/branding

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