The Bulletin December 2022

With predictions from Pinterest and design trends to help plan for the future, plus music PSA’s, 2023 is looking pretty inspirational! We can’t wait to work with you.

Pinterest says people use them to plan for the future, and for the last three years 80% of their report predictions have come true. So what better way to get ready for 2023 than exploring the Pinterest Predicts report. From sustainability to femme fashion, hair (and head) care to funky decor, Pinterest predicts that 2023 will see a shift towards more mindful living, especially post-pandemic. That means people will be taking a step back from the screens and immersing themselves in the real world, the real people around them and trying new things. From different dating ideas, and green living trends to exploring your feelings in broader ways (move over talking-therapy), people from all generations are open to ideas that enrich living, and if your brand can vibe with that, you’re in. Take a look below.

In the design world last month, American creative agency &Walsh became the first to create branding imagery using AI image generation, specifically the DALL-E 2 platform. DALL-E 2 uses text-to-image artificial intelligence (AI) where users input a series of words and the AI then explores a large image database to create unique images based on the original words. It takes skill and time to find the right combination of words but &Walsh found that “AI image generators offer a way for clients to have specific ideas about projects early on” and that “it could eliminate tedious brain-storming and drafting sessions.” Their co-founder Jessica Walsh told Dezeen that “There will always be the need for humans to shape the final results and there will be an entire industry of jobs of people who are experts at speaking to and working with AI,” likening the use of AI to other early digital technologies, as ways that enriched jobs and creative opportunities rather than limiting them. We’re excited to see where this new technology takes us.

PSA in time for the new year. It comes at no surprise, yet something as fickle as music licensing should always be explained, especially amid a rise of copyright infringement cases being filed against brands. Noted in Social Media Today “Brands cannot use commercial music tracks, without explicit, specific permission for such, in their social media posts, even if those tracks are available as options within the post creation tools.” Many brands have found themselves in hot water as they leaned into social trends, unintentionally using the unlicensed music that usually accompanies these trends in social media. Record labels are increasingly turning their attention to short form video platforms like Youtube and Instagram, and now TikTok. You can use music in your promotions, so long as it comes from TikTok’s Commercial Music Library of licensed audio tracks. And, as evidenced by previous lawsuits, not understanding the regulations is no excuse. Outsourcing to a marketing team who does understand the rules could help you avoid any issues.

Good news for Social Media Managers and brands alike: Meta now allows you to run ads on Facebook and Instagram that target your Instagram followers. This may seem straightforward, but prior to this, you could only target your Facebook audience but not Instagram audience. This move will hopefully make focusing your Instagram campaigns a whole lot easier, allowing you to reach people who’ve shown interest in your products on IG with your promotions, while you can also use it as your source for a Lookalike Audience. Read more at Social Media Today.

According to the team at Venngage, design continues to innovate into 2023 and we’re excited to see where it’s going. In the post-pandemic chaos, short-form videos have disrupted our feeds, authentic content is king and our increasingly connected lives have made inclusive visuals matter more than ever. From motion graphics to AI generated art, it looks like we’ll be defying the boundaries of Graphic Design in 2023, while our “nostalgia for simpler times” still holds strong. Take a look at these predicted trends to see how they might shape your brand’s design in the future.

We love looking forward to what the new year will bring, and reflecting on this year’s projects, wins and challenges. In our team workshop this month we looked at what’s been working and what we could improve on (like having a cosier lunch room, and adding more plants!). Together we’ve grown throughout 2022, we’re so proud of what we’ve accomplished, and we’re excited to see what 2023 holds. We hope the same for you!

Wishing all of our readers a Merry Christmas and safe happy holidays, see you next year 😉