HOW Magazine Features FINE’s 7 Brand Trends

Perennial design thought leaders HOW Design Magazine asked us what trends we see in branding. We came up with 7, and they saw fit to feature them:

1. Back to Sensory Basics: When people put down their phone and pick up a an old-fashioned object they can see/hear/touch/smell, the impression can be increasingly indelible.
2. Branding from the Inside Out: Some of today’s best brand work shapes companies through hiring and training the people most responsible for creating the product and experience.
3. Quiet is Speaking Louder: When everyone else is shouting, we see tremendous opportunity in a more confident whisper that truly stands out.
4. The Un-Commodification of Design: To cut through the proliferation of tools and platforms, focus on custom interactions, insight-driven design, content strategy/IA...true solutions to your actual brand challenges.
5. Honest Branding: In today’s “post-truth world”, brands have a unique opportunity and play a larger role in upholding a sense of truth and a sense of values with which people can align.
6. Being Useful is More Valuable Than Ever: Don’t sell simple practicality short; it’s harder (and more compelling) than you think.
7. Commoditizing Disruption: Ironically, there’s a particular look to the much sought-after “disruption.” Rather than mimic this superficial style, look deeper at what makes your brand truly different.

Read the full article here.

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