Shutterstock’s 2019 Creative Predictions

Shutterstock’s 2019 creative trends report highlights how visual aesthetics of the past are far from dead, with top trends echoing old styles.

The report is based on Shutterstock’s vast archive of stock images and footage, and year-on-year search increases, which the company used to generate its design and visual predictions for 2019.

The report names the top three trends for 2019 as ‘Zine Culture, ’80s Opulence’ and ‘Yesterday’s tomorrow‘ – all of which are nostalgically reminiscent of the past.

In addition to top trends, the report outlines eight styles which were popular this year. They include, ‘Tempting Typography,”Kawaii,’ ‘Beyond Plastic’ and ‘Colourful Cartoon Art.’

‘Zine culture’ reflects the imaginative world of photomontage. It meshes the old, raw artistic practice, with the digital capabilities of today, to create a fresh, uniquely undesigned look. According to Shuttterstock’s search history, the term ‘contemporary art collage’ increased by 1376% this year.

’80’s opulence’ has as much bravado as a Culture Club album cover. According to the report, the term ‘chain print’ is up by 731% and ‘elegance pattern’ searches increased by 1060%. Good taste is forgotten and substituted for an ostentatious clash – from leopard print and snakeskin to peacock feathers and gold chains, all elements of the style compete for attention.

‘Yesterday’s Tomorrow’ is an optimistic redux of early-tech that demonstrates that old is new again. The term ‘synthwave’ has increased by 717%, ‘retrowave’ by 676% and ‘duotone’ by 230%. The style reinstalls futurism aesthetics like bold purple, blue and pink duotone gradients, basic vector graphics and dreamy synth music.

Discussing the predictions report, Shutterstock’s chief marketing officer, Lou Weiss, said: “Even the most talented creative professionals sometimes want a little inspiration for their next big project and our Creative Trends report is here to help.

“With over 1.5m fresh new assets added weekly and millions of searchers using our platform, Shutterstock has volume of search and download data to predict the hottest trends and newest fads being driven by the design world. We can’t wait to see these 2019 design themes come to life everywhere, from ad campaigns, to the catwalk, and in movies. This year, our top three trends are influenced by the bold design principles of years past, so it will be particularly interesting to see how they evolve with modern interpretations best suited for today’s digital platforms.”

Source: https://www.thedrum.com/news/2019/01/18/shutterstocks-2019-creative-predictions-show-contemporary-aesthetics-are-thing-the

Finalists in CIM’s prestigious Wales Marketing Awards

We are delighted to have been shortlisted in four categories for the CIM Chartered Institute of Marketing Wales/Cymru Marketing Awards 2016 for…

Best Integrated Campaign
The Media Angel (UK) Ltd. In partnership with The National Botanic Garden of Wales – Summer Campaign

Best Advertising Campaign
The Media Angel (UK) Ltd In partnership with The National Botanic Garden of Wales – Summer Campaign

Best use of PR
ACT Training In partnership with The Media Angel – #BEYanapprentice

Best Use of Creative
ACT Training In partnership with The Media Angel – #BEYanapprentice

CIM’s prestigious Wales Marketing Awards (previously known as Canmol) rewards excellence and celebrates achievements of marketing professionals in Wales giving individuals, teams and organisations the recognition they deserve. These awards are a fantastic acknowledgement of the creativity and originality delivered by marketers who are at the forefront of their profession and recognises the success of all those involved.

This year 36 entries have been shortlisted for 12 Awards across all sectors including Welsh brands such as Dwr Cymru- Welsh Water, Public Health Wales, Cadw and Braces Bread as well as two of our clients, National Botanic Garden of Wales and ACT Training LTD.

The National Botanic Garden of Wales, based in Carmarthenshire needed to increase their visitor numbers after a number of years of flat-lining figures. In order to achieve this goal their objectives were to concentrate on increasing family visitors: following the creation of new family offerings, which culminated in the opening of The Butterfly House, Plas Pilipala, we composed a campaign to publicise this new offering to family with children across South and West Wales.  A creative multi-faceted campaign which encompassed video, online quizzes and message reiteration across outdoor advertising and radio, created a social buzz and an overall increase of family footfall up a massive 68% over the summer holidays.

David Hardy – Head of Marketing and Communications for National Botanic Garden Wales said “We are delighted to be shortlisted for two awards for our Butterfly House campaign with The Media Angel who did a fantastic job…we are still reaping the benefits of their excellent work today”

ACT Training, Wales’ leading training provider’s objective was to hit their traineeship recruitment target. ACT and The Media Angel devised the #BEYanapprentice campaign to help achieve this goal. Jayne McGill-Harris, senior marketing and PR Manager of ACT Training Ltd says

“One of the main marketing challenges we face each year is how we can compete with huge FE and HE organisations that have much larger marketing budgets and a larger voice in the market compared to ourselves. In order to inject some originality and imagination into our marketing communications activity, we hired The Media Angel as an extension of the team.

Between us, an integrated campaign that included an experiential marketing stunt, as well as online advertising and a promotion, was planned to achieve a competitive advantage and provide a memorable brand experience for prospective learners.”

A Beyonce lookalike was hired and a buzz created around Cardiff on the day of Beyonce’s concert in June.  “Beyonce” engaged with concert goers encouraging them to enter a competition and post pictures on social media ensuring high levels of exposure and data capture from their target audience. This highly successful campaign attracted 63% increase in new traffic to their website and ultimately achieved 830 enquiries- an increase of 40%.

Our Managing Director Alison Debono says

“We are beyond thrilled to be shortlisted again this year for 4 awards at CIM’s Wales Marketing Awards. We are the only media planning and buying agency in Wales to achieve this accolade. The two very different campaigns that we have been shortlisted for highlight that great results and a good return on investment are achievable with limited budgets, creative imaginations and by selecting the most appropriate media mix to deliver the campaign objectives.”

Alison further says “Both campaigns for ACT Training Ltd and National Botanic Garden of Wales are fitting case studies that underpin the essence of our work and how we can help clients develop an innovative approach to marketing to help them STAND OUT and get results”

If you need award-winning advice to ensure your marketing plans are crafted to perfection and deliver results contact us on 02921 320 300 or via email: [email protected]