The Troopers in Design Trends for 2016

CUBEZOO / DESIGN TRENDS / PRESENTATION 01

CUBEZOO / DESIGN TRENDS / ©CUBEZOO 2016
WHAT TO EXPECT
IN 2016 /
Colour
Styles
Upcoming designers

COLOUR /
Pantone 2016
Less is best
RGB
Blue hues
Colour healing
Industrial pastels

PANTONE 2016 /

CUBEZOO / TRENDS FOR 2016 / COLOUR
SPECIAL
/ PANTONE 2016
For the first time ever, the global colour authority
has picked a combination of two for the year
ahead: Pantone 15-3919 Serenity and Pantone 13-
1520 Rose Quartz.
According to Pantone, 2016’s combination is “a
harmonious pairing of inviting shades that embody
a mind-set of tranquillity and inner peace.”
This multilateral approach to colour is coinciding
with societal movements toward gender equality
and fluidity.

LESS IS BEST /

SPECIAL
/ LESS IS BEST
The trend for simplicity has evolved since 2013,
with brands stripping back to stand out. Even
packaging for fine wine is being stripped of
anything extraneous.
The timelessness of 2016’s modern neutrals will
flourish and be able to stand the test of the time.
Limited colour palettes of black, white and greys
offer clarity in a sea of choice and visual (over)
stimulation.

SPECIAL

SPECIAL
/ COLOUR FORECAST
I have always tried to create designs that use no
more than one or two primary colours. I think
we’ll start to see more of this in 2016. Allowing
the product, photography, video, etc. to carry the
weight.
Choosing one colour that you’ll use for links
allows for a consistent experience for the user. We
shouldn’t overwhelm them with multiple colours
and patterns. Since we are minimizing the colours,
we can get bold with the one or two colours that
we do use.
—A creative at Paramore Digital
http://paramoredigital.com/work/

RGB /

SPECIAL
/ RGB
We’re seeing more and more use of RGB colour.
RGB provides a much more saturated, rich way of
presenting colour that brands are really having fun
with.
— Connie Birdsall
“Colours this season transport us to a happier,
sunnier place where we feel free to express a
wittier version of our real selves,”
– Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the
Pantone Colour Institute.

BLUE HUES /

SPECIAL
/ BLUE HUES
The battle to save the world’s oceans has a bigger
presence than ever across lifestyle sectors, and
oceanic shades come to the fore in design.
The growing interest in these great expanses of
blue and their desperate state is inspiring a new
appreciation of the nuance, richness and meaning
of the colour blue itself, from flat, deep blues
and watery creeping marble bleeds to oxidised
aquamarine and recycled denim.
– Creative Bloq
http://www.creativebloq.com/

COLOUR
HEALING /

SPECIAL
/ COLOUR HEALING
Soft ombres and warm tones reign as an
audience focused on wellness increasingly craves
mindfulness, escape and relaxation. Our natural
circadian rhythm is disrupted by our digital lifestyles
and excessive connectivity as screen interfaces
warp our body clocks, preventing relaxation and
disrupting sleep.
Designers such as Éléonore Delisse address this
imbalance by creating products that use the
soothing, warm orange believed to counteract
the cool, energising blue light inherent in digital
interfaces.
– Creative Bloq
http://www.creativebloq.com/

INDUSTRIAL
PASTELS /

SPECIAL
/ INDUSTRIAL PASTELS
Shifting from feminine to masculine, reflecting
gender neutrality and equality, pink becomes the
new neutral and soft pastel tones get an industrial
reworking in 2016.
Mint green and powdered shades of pink become
key and appear in large quantities and in expansive
forms. Sickly sweet shades are neutralised by
accents of bright yellow, warm grey and inky blue-
black to create a palette that is soft, sophisticated
and gender-neutral.
– Kate Franklin, FranklinTill Studio

DESIGN
STYLES /

CUBEZOO / TRENDS FOR 2016 / STYLES
SPECIAL
/ FLAT
Flat designs will continue to dominate and not
because they look clean and forthright, but
because they register well in any browsing device,
especially due to SVG. They load a lot faster too.
Patterns, textures, shadows, gradients will give way
to simpler lines and colours. These register better in
print or online, in black, grey or colour, and on any
browsing device.
With a lot of big brands adopting flat design in the
last few years, mass audiences are more and more
aware of the fact that less is better when it comes
to visual style.

SPECIAL
/ HANDMADE
This trend has been slowly gaining ground for
several years now. It is not something new. A small
sketch of an arrow, or one or two scribbled letters
prominently combined with some other design
elements have been evident in a growing number
of company logos. They’re the ones that don’t look
“truly” handmade but they don’t feel digital either.
“I believe even more firmly than I did a year ago
...that hand-drawn typography will continue to
flourish in 2016.”
- Gail Anderson, director of design and digital media
at Visual Arts Press.

SPECIAL
/ TYPOGRAPHY
With typography becoming a key element in any
serious branding efforts, broad audiences are
getting used to seeing artistic typefaces pop up
everywhere.
Typography is a language in itself. A few years
ago, only graphic designers were able to talk and
understand that language. Today, more people are
gaining access to it, thanks to the wider range of
available web fonts.
Again, another success for Google, Google Fonts
is a big reason more people have ditched Arial for
cooler and newer fonts (though Lobster is already
overused; please stop it now, thanks).

SPECIAL
/ USABILITY
In 2016, design will be all about the user. User
experience (UX) will indeed be the new black.
No one will care about how cool your design looks,
if it’s not usable.
Engaging your users really comes at the front in
2016. It will be really difficult for you to grow your
online business if you don’t take user experience
into account.
Google’s algorithmic changes, customer behavior
data… They all point in the same direction, and that
is “your website needs to load fast and be easy to
use”.

SPECIAL
/ RESPONSIVENESS
We all know a responsive site is not optional
anymore. Today, mobile is already the “first screen”.
When it comes to rankings, Google is literally
crushing sites that don’t offer a mobile-friendly
experience.
Usability is very important in all platforms. And since
mobile is now the first screen, user experience on
mobile phones is key. A good responsive design
will have perfect usability on mobile screens.
Hiding a desktop function for mobile users is not an
acceptable solution anymore.
https://vimeo.com/140261056
http://gretelny.com/project/56/netflix-branding

SPECIAL
/ APP-BASED WEB DESIGN
Not surprisingly, people are getting more and more
used to faster browsing experiences in native apps.
Designers have long proposed that websites should
learn from app design’s quick wins (speed, zero
distractions, tailored user experience).
Now, marketers are catching up on this trend. After
a time in which login areas were frowned upon,
more businesses will bring them back, either to
add app-like functionalities or to add a level of
‘exclusivity’, as the web becomes a more and more
saturated place.

SPECIAL
/ HIDDEN MENUS
Some people hated the now omnipresent
Hamburger Menu or navicon. It was just a first step,
if a bit awkward, in the direction of more intuitive
navigation. Now, say hello to clever menus.
Hidden navigations that appear out of nowhere
depending on the user’s actions will soon be the
norm. Again, the key concept here is that users
shouldn’t be distracted from what’s really important
at any given time.
Even if we can’t see it at the moment, experience
tells us that there is a menu on every website. So
no need to worry, it will just appear when we need it.

SPECIAL
http://michaelvilleneuve.fr/

http://exitfilm.jp/
SPECIAL

http://brandjunkie.guru/
http://designmodo.com/hidden-menus/
SPECIAL

SPECIAL
/ MODULES AND MODULAR TEXT
No one likes to read a dreadfully long blurb of text.
The first trick to breakdown long texts in the web was
to try to write in short paragraphs. But later, design
came to the rescue and offered a modular approach
to web page layout.
Modular design is a technique where everything
is built using a block grid pattern. But this doesn’t
mean a boring pattern, like a chessboard. In fact, it
can mean exactly the opposite: hard to anticipate
patterns, that make it easy for us to read and be
interested in the different parts of a website /
brochure / book, etc.

SPECIAL
/ MODULAR AND INFINITE SCROLL
What is the latest move in the whole modular trend?
Modular scrolling. Meaning every module on a
website may scroll on its own, independently from
the other modules.
Sounds too complicated to handle? It really isn’t. In
fact, you may have already seen it (though sometimes
it’s hard to notice) in sites with a sidebar that doesn’t
scroll at the same speed than the main content.
But it’s about to get better. Picture a website divided
in two columns with independent scroll...
https://www.roccofortehotels.com/hotels-and-
resorts/hotel-de-rome/

SPECIAL
/ MODULAR AND INFINITE SCROLL
It all began with infinite scroll. A trend that you may have noticed in 2015.
Some of the most popular sites on the world today, like Pinterest, Twitter
or Facebook already use it, so why shouldn’t everybody else?
Infinite and modular scroll work on the same premise: scrolling down is
easier and faster than clicking and it doesn’t interrupt user experience by
stopping and loading another page. This is done by automatically fading
in new content as the user scrolls down.
It’s no wonder that social sites boast amazing average times on page per
user. When the content is right for the audience, infinite scroll may feel
extremely addictive.
Time.com’s bounce rate dropped 15 percentage points after they
adopted infinite scrolling.

GRAPHIC
DESIGNERS TO
WATCH IN 2016 /

CUBEZOO / ARTISTS / KIRSTEN BENNET
SPECIAL
/ KIRSTEN BENNET
Kirsten Bennett completed her studies at The Red
& Yellow School with a focus on art direction and
graphic design, and is now a Junior Art Director
at M&C Saatchi Abel. With a sharp and often
humourous approach and a love for hand crafted
work, she nabbed two bronze awards at the Loeries
last year.
“I am passionate about the honesty in hand crafted
work. If any number of people were handed a
pencil and asked to draw the same thing, each
drawing would be different – obviously.”

CUBEZOO / ARTISTS / KIRSTEN BENNET
SPECIAL

CUBEZOO / ARTISTS / SARAH MITCHELL
SPECIAL
/ SARAH MITCHELL
Making use of vibrant colour palettes and story-
like communication in her design and illustration,
Sarah Mitchell has an eye for detail, a passion for
environmentalism, and a seemingly inexhaustible
work ethic.
“Usually a certain kind of medium just traps me. I
fall in love with something and try to work it into all
my projects. My zine craze is an example.”

CUBEZOO / ARTISTS / SARAH MITCHELL
SPECIAL

CUBEZOO / ARTISTS / KELVIN SOUTHWOOD
SPECIAL
/ KELVIN SOUTHWOOD
Kelvin Southwood’s work is instinctive yet
thoughtful, and engaging to interact with. His style
has become more refined since he first began
experimenting with design but has retained a
playful edge – whether it’s through an offbeat
placement of letters, or an unusual selection of
colours.
“When I first started designing I designed just by
eye, but now I design using rules and thought.
Research plays a big part.”

CUBEZOO / ARTISTS / KELVIN SOUTHWOOD
SPECIAL

THANK
YOU /

YOU CAN’T USE UP CREATIVITY.
THE MORE YOU USE, THE MORE
YOU HAVE.
/ MAYA ANGELOU

The Troopers in Design Trends for 2016

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