29 Trends for the 29th

Here are 29 trends for you, with no context, in no particular order, left for you to ponder.

Also, I stuck "reform" in there and I'm not sure it's a "trend" persay but the topic is running rather ramped these days so I feel it's worth a shout-out.

1. Ombré
2. Cauliflower
3. Big buns
4. Horizontal scrolling
5. Gourmet doughnuts
6. Mason jars
7. Denim dress shirts
8. Southern food
9. Online dating
10. Spinning
11. Pinning
12. Inspirational Quotes
13. 6 second videos
14. Animated gifs
15. 50 Shades of Gray
16. 3D Printing
17. Rural reality shows
18. Farm to table
19. Immigration Reform
20. Healthcare Reform
21. Nail Polish
22. Kendrick Lamar
23. Crowdfunding
24. Pop-Up shops
25. Taco trucks
26. Whiskey
27. Extreme Marketing (think Felix Baumgartner)
28. Bicycles
29. Apple (not the fruit, duh)

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Typography: It's All the Rage

On a recent project about the current and future state of digital, I learned of a coming trend towards a greater emphasis on the visual typography of websites. After all, the majority of a website is text, so naturally this makes sense. I feel this is largely driven by visual typography on social media platforms like Pinterest.

With that said, digital isn't the only place for creative typography, big brands are quickly moving on this trend too.

This weekend I enjoyed some Dominoes pizza and noticed their box (to my surprise) is solid black. Secondly, it is covered with a range of mixed typography, as if it's been lifted right off of the boards of Pinterest. It's very unfamiliar for the category so I just wanted to say kudos to Dominos for taking a leap of faith towards creativity, it's refreshing.


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Barbie, She's Not Your Average Doll

Barbie has 6,816,586 likes on facebook and 160,868 “talking about this”; I am one of her many fans and she is one of my most favorite facebook friends. Yup, I said it, I called her my friend. The funny thing is I never even played with Barbie dolls as a child.

Barbie isn't just another brand intruding on my social space, to me, she feels real. She’s funny, she’s true to herself, she’s engaging (not boring), and she isn’t pushy. I just adore the language she uses as every perfectly crafted word seems to be an extension of herself, and thus an extension of her brand. Am I taking this too far? I think not.

Here are a couple of her recent posts:

“OMD. I’m so excited to share a never-before-seen Life in the Dreamhouse clip with you, dolls! Hope you enjoy watching it as much as moi... stay tuned for more Season One extras!” – 5,624 likes, 432 comments, and 2,636 shares

“Fall is the perfect time of year for one of my fave activities... glam-ping!” – 10,605 likes, 696 comments, 4,193 shares

“It's no secret that my favorite color is pink... but it's not just any pink! Pantone 219 is so fab, I had to devote a custom dress to it!” - 5,499 likes, 794 comments, 2,746 shares

If you haven’t already befriended Barbie, go ahead, give her a chance. Not only will she make you smile, but she’ll serve as inspiration for communicating your brand more effectively in social media.   

Semiotics in advertising

As I’m waiting for the metro…

Friendly man: Can I borrow your pen?

Me: Sure

Friendly man: I am soooo proud of you, you’re such a good student, keep up the good work and you will succeed

Me (guilty as I haven’t been a student in over 6 years): Thanks (giggle)

This is a conversation I have with strangers quite often and I don’t believe it’s because I look young (which I hear is true), but because I use a backpack instead of a purse, and just happened to have been reading a book at the time.

Book + backpack = student

Why is this interesting to me? When I worked in primary market research I was briefly introduced to the concept of semiotics. It is an idea that is greater and more complicated than my current understanding, but what I took away from the idea is that Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation. Signs acquire meaning and value with becomes culturally accepted; it becomes ingrained in our culture without notice. This becomes relevant in the world of advertising as we use signs and symbols to represent different messages and ideas that must align with our expectations. And sometimes, we deviate from what is expected.

For example, red, yellow, and orange are all commonly used colors in fast food advertising. Greens and browns often signify natural and organic. Black and white could mean that a brand has a long history or is trying to get across a serious message. Two hands shaking means a deal has been agreed upon (often used in banking), a thumbs up means something is good or somebody is happy. I can go on and on and I think you get the picture.

In advertising, not only must we be aware of the meaning assigned to signs and symbols, but that adaptation over time. For example, something as simple as a pattern can mean one thing to one group of people in a particular period of time, and then evolve. As shown below, if I asked my grandma about this pattern she might say it’s Navaho or associate it to American Indians but ask a teenager and most likely she’s seen this pattern incorporated into fashion design at Forever21. If you asked me, I’d call the pattern “Hipster”. Put a girl in an ad wearing this pattern 10 years ago and it’s Navaho, but today, its trendy.

As culture and trends rapidly evolve, keeping abreast of these changes is a crucial ingredient to effective advertising.