Public Relations & Social Marketing Insight

For the early part of this century we saw a lot of colorful artwork in the shape of icons and vibrant mascots. Heavily shaded, three-dimensional characters, and richly rendered forms were all the rage.

Now, illustration is heading for a more authentic and organic experience. Low-color, hand-drawn looks that are specifically created for a single-site use are becoming more common and are expected to stick around.

Custom designs will more often take on a unique, loose and even childish feel. Websites will feel more personable compared to the copy and paste looks we have been seeing thanks to the prevailing flat design/minimalism bandwagon....

Recently, we started asking businesses how much they valued design in their workplace.

And this is one of the most common answers we heard: For the challenge of perfecting a steady design flow – is it really worth it?

Firstly, we’re strong believers in the notion that design in the workplace should be easy. And secondly – a thousand times yes.

To outline exactly why, we created this list of proven reasons design is a good business decision....

Think about the iconic brand names you know: Apple, Target, McDonald’s, Gap. What images come to mind? For many of us, probably their logos. That’s because whether it’s an apple or big golden arches, a logo is crucial to a company’s identity. Now, new research says that logos are even more important than businesses and consumers realize. A recent study in the Journal of Consumer Research found that even just a basic element of logos—their shape—affects how people perceive a company and its products.

There’s already a good amount of research on how logos influence customers. For example, a 2011 study found that when a company has an incomplete logo (think IBM), people perceive the business as more innovative but less trustworthy. Another weird logo effect that researchers have found: when consumers see a complex-looking logo over and over again, they start to like the brand more. Given these past findings, Amitava Chattopadhyay and his team at INSEAD thought something as simple as a logo’s overall shape—circular or angular—might also impact people’s opinions in a significant way....

One of the more interesting design trends is the split-screen layout, in which some kind of vertical break divides portions of the page into two or more parts. A split-screen websites will showcase messages which are equal in terms of importance. If you offer goods, as well as services, you may feature your products on one side of a split screen and then highlight your services on the other side. So here, we take a look at some of examples of split-screen layout in Web design.