Maintaining consistent branding across all channels is vital for a brand’s success in the digital era, as it’s a great way to significantly boost revenue. There’s no hiding that attention spans are getting shorter and branding tactics have had to adapt to accommodate this. Businesses now must master brand design to better captivate, engage and impress a generation that is obsessed with snackable content. This is especially true for Gen Z, who were the first generation to grow up in the digital age and be able to soak in shorter content on demand.
Gen Z is known for its unique values, tech-savviness and a recognisable style. Brand designers and marketers need to embrace specific design trends if they want to target a Gen Z audience. In this article, we will decode Gen Z brand design and take a look at some secrets of branding that could put your business over the edge and separate you from your competitors.
Maximalism on the rise
There was a huge culture shift when Gen Z started to age and become the dominating generation, succeeding millennials. While minimalism was key for millennial branding, it’s a much different story for Gen Z. The common phrase ‘less is more’ is thrown around a lot, but for Gen Z branding it seems to very much be a case of ‘less is a bore’. This is the generation’s rebellion against the ways of the older generation.
Maximalism is a design trend that primarily focuses on adding many colours, shapes and textures to create something unique. In a nutshell, maximalism branding is considered to be fearless and can set you apart from competitors. There are many benefits to this, such as increased brand visibility, enhanced brand personality, better storytelling, increased engagement, flexibility and a sense of luxury.
Sustainability focus
Being concerned and considerate about the environment and sustainability is one of the best things about Gen Z. Preserving the planet and natural resources is very important, as it will reduce our carbon footprint and the number of toxins released into the atmosphere. This makes it a safer place to live. Many businesses and brands have become sustainable and environmentally friendly, which will attract the attention of Gen Z and make them more inclined to accept your brand.
Businesses and brands do this by incorporating eco-friendly elements into their products and marketing campaigns, such as recycled materials and energy-efficient patterns. It’s really simple to be sustainable as a business, so doing this will be of benefit to you as both being a better brand and looking better in the eyes of Gen Z.
Brand Inclusivity
Gen Z values and respects diversity and inclusivity. A brand should showcase authentic representation of people from various backgrounds, ethnicities and identities. This will attract Gen Z to your brand, but this should be done regardless as inclusivity should be a part of every business. Promoting a sense of unity and understanding is just as important as attracting the right target audience.
In more diverse areas, brand inclusivity is greatly important. A design agency in Manchester would use designs and branding that would be inclusive of everyone in that area. A lack of inclusivity would make potential customers less inclined to do business with your company.
Pop culture popularity
Referring to pop culture and popular memes is a big hit with Gen Z and their branding desires. Incorporating both of these elements into your branding can make it more relatable and shareable, as opposed to seeming robot-generated and less personal. It’s important to make sure that these references are appropriate and align with your brand identity. Using pop culture references or memes that are inappropriate can cheapen your brand and make it look less professional.
Any attempts to exploit pop culture trends without a genuine connection to the brand can backfire and damage the reputation of the brand. To have a successful and engaging brand that attracts a Gen Z audience you must align with your brand’s values and identity.
Dark mode
An underrated branding strategy that is adored by Gen Z is having a dark mode feature on your website or application. Having the option to do this is usually appreciated as it reduces eye strain and is a sleek and modern look. Twitter and Instagram are some of the pioneers of this trend and they have seen huge success for their brand in doing so.
In the United States alone, around 3 in 10 Gen Z consumers reported paying attention to social media advertisements more than any other. This makes it crucial that you integrate your branding and ads into social media sites that have features that are loved by Gen Z, such as Instagram using the dark mode feature.
Gen Z branding trends revolve around fearlessness, boldness, authenticity and inclusivity. It’s very important to ensure that your branding caters to a Gen Z audience, as they make up the highest percentage of the population. This has made embracing their trends a game-changer in the brand design industry.