In the world of social media, it can feel like trends move too fast to keep up. Add in the high expense of professional-quality design, and you may be wondering how your small business or personal brand can possibly stand out among the crowd.
Fortunately, creating on-trend design doesn’t have to be as taxing as you might think—especially because the most lasting trends are rooted in the tried-and-true basics of good branding. Based on my 15+ years of experience as a brand designer, here are three trends I recommend integrating into your own strategy on Instagram and beyond to connect with your audience and stay current for years to come.
Function Over Form
Scroll right to the second, third and fourth pages of this post, and you'll see a back-to-basics design template from @drinkhaus. A few years ago, brands leaned toward super decorative fonts and busy templates to try and catch the eye of people scrolling through their feeds. The problem? It was often impossible to decipher the actual message through all those design elements.
I’m noticing a return to simplicity in design, and I’m here for it. Not only does it make your posts more readable (and more accessible for customers of different abilities), it’s much easier to achieve aesthetically pleasing posts, especially if you’re short on time or design experience.
If you’re trying to create a design-forward identity, my advice is to create some basic brand guidelines with a few simple, timeless logo and brand fonts and brand colors so that your posts stay consistent. You can also make use of design templates, looking for options that just check the boxes you need—maybe a headline, a photo, and a line of supporting text—without adding other distractions.
Once these basic design elements are in place, you can focus on …
Substance Over Showiness
I love these substance-first designs from @feeldco. You can barely scroll for a second on Instagram without coming across some sort of text-only post. This may seem like a surprising trend for a platform that used to be all about images (and that’s increasingly all about videos), but it makes complete sense to me.
That’s because meaningful communication will always win over aimless decoration. For the most part, people don’t follow a brand just to see pretty pictures—they want to feel seen, to be supported with helpful information, and to learn something new. Real ideas like this require thoughtful copy, and this design-with-typography trend allows your message to stand out front and center rather than being buried in the caption.
For your own brand, consider utilizing templates that put text first—and coming up with valuable content to fill them with.
Authentic Presence Over Prettiness
@Aesopskincare lets their feed be a little gritty and imperfect because it’s authentic to their brand.
Ultimately, I think the biggest design trend right now is a step back from design for the sake of looking beautiful. A few years ago, it felt like every Instagrammer was obsessed with having a perfectly curated grid—now, influencers and brands alike are more focused on making sure every post has a purpose on its own.
This isn’t to say you shouldn’t stay consistent and curated in your design. But, once you’ve established your basic brand guidelines, remove the pressure to make every post absolutely perfect. Instead, focus your energy on creating content that connects with your audience and builds community, whether that’s through strong storytelling, great photography, or a powerful brand message.
The best—and most lasting—designs will support these efforts, rather than just being filler posts that look pretty.
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Saskia Ketz is the founder of MMarch NY, an NYC-based branding agency that’s worked with world-class brands like Netflix, Ikea, Timberland, and Mojomox, a graphic design tool and online wordmark builder that allows small businesses on tight budgets to create dynamic, professional-looking logos themselves.
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