From the craving for the latest beyblade toy your best friend had, to the desire of the coolest leather jacket in the store, we have always wanted to adapt to the hottest trends. But there was always a governing voiceover of our parents about the pros and cons of it.
Similarly, today as communication is becoming more and more visual, the demand for new design and imagery is becoming a frequent business. And then the question arises - Which trend to adopt and which not to!
So here are four basic things you need to consider to make a decision -
Temporary trend vs long lasting trend-
“The early bird catches the worm”. This adage does not perfectly fit in every case. Sometimes its intelligent to observe the early birds if you aren’t sure of the trend. The motive of this is to study if a particular #hotnow trend is temporary or a long lasting one.
Tip: As a designer, most of the times you get a sense of which side of the fence the trend will fall. So just give yourself that adequate time in which things become clear.
(early bird catches the worm but and second mouse gets the cheese!)
Parent trend study-
Every new trend is ultimately born out of an existing or long dated one. Designers keep playing with existing ones and one such experiment is usually such a hit that it becomes a trend.
Tip: So if you are in dilemma about adopting a trend or not, study how the parent trend had performed!
“Children are the natural mimics of their parents, despite trying to change the child, you do not succeed much!”
(Photo credits - motherandbaby.com)
Calculate the net potential harm the trend can cause -
You succeed when you try. Very true! But a smart designer maps the pros and cons clear in mind before he hits the dartboard. Only when you are convinced enough that the potential harm is rectifiable, jump to the next trend.
As smart kids we have always jumped from the height we estimated we wouldn’t fall! Right?
Tip : Brainstorm the pros and cons of introducing the new trend. Only when pros win with a good margin, choose the trend.
(continue be that smart kid)
Does it effect the UX-
As a designer, you come across multiple design trends, but it is very important to segregate only those trends that do not hamper the UX of the design. While a sleek interface and a new design is good to WOW the users for the first time, but anything that could hamper the UX of the design is not a good idea.
Tip : Given a choice between on trend design and user experience, always go for the latter.
(UX above anything)
We hope decisions about adopting a design trend will now be much easier for you
Keep exploring new trends and keep validating them!