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The 6 Biggest Trends in Professional Graphic Design Styles to Try for a New 2020 Design

Author: Mario Diaz

The 6 Biggest Trends in Professional Graphic Design Styles to Try for a New 2020 Design

Posted on by Mario Diaz

Design has the power to communicate ideas and influence your potential customers to make a buying decision. This year begins a brand new decade, which means that it’s a great time to assess the past decade and look to the future. It’s a thrilling time to be in the field of design, or even to just appreciate the creativity and influences of different 2020 design disciplines.

What are the 2020 design trends to look forward to? Read on to find out.

1. Typography Evolves

Typography has the power to influence people to experience an emotion. More designers are experimenting with typography

Expect to see bigger and bolder fonts that stand out. You should also expect to see more overlap in types. For example, you may come across a type that’s large and transparent over an image. On top of the transparent text is the additional text that isn’t transparent.

This overlapping text will be seen on websites and in other formats like magazine layouts.

2. Monochrome Color Filters

Designers have shifted over the past couple of years from using duotone in images to going for monochrome.

Monochrome color filters are used to simplify a look and to create unity in the design. Color unity can reinforce a brand’s image in the mind of the consumer.

3. Flowing Shapes and Lines

It’s incredibly important for your business to seem authentic and relatable.

Shapes and lines that flow can convey that your brand is approachable and relatable. That relatability is a way to establish trust. That can increase your sales.

4. Minimalist Websites

The real estate that websites can take up is getting smaller and smaller. More and more people access websites using their phones, and it’s forcing graphic designers to take a different approach to create a user experience on all devices.

The main approach is to use minimalism in website design. That’s using a less is more approach. You’ll see more whitespace, fewer images, and bold text that gets right to the point.

Minimalism is going to be the 2020 design trend for landing pages.

5. GIFs are Out. Animation is In

It’s easy to use GIFs in social media and branding. However, GIFs are so overused, that you can’t create a branded GIF that makes a lasting impression.

That’s forcing brands to think outside the box and get incredibly creative. They’re turning to branded animations. You can expect to see unique animations that will attempt to stand out in the crowded digital world.

6. Color Goes Punk

It’s more important than ever to stand out in a way that is unique. Brands and designers are turning to bright colors to do the job. No, we’re not talking 80s neon green.

One of the design trends of the year is to use bright pinks and purples to convey in various forms of design. Even though the Pantone Color of the Year is Classic Blue, designers are still going to maintain an edge by adding bright colors to the mix.

2020 Design Trends

There is no doubt that this is going to be an exciting year in the field of design. These 2020 design trends show that designers are trying to get creative to make an impact.

Do you want to know which 2020 design trends can work for you? Contact us today for a consultation.

5 Can’t-Miss Social Media Trends for 2020

Posted on by Mario Diaz

How much time do you spend on social media? Today, consumers spend an average of 2 hours and 24 minutes on social media per day. For many, this is to follow the lives of friends, family and their favorite brands and celebrities. For businesses, social media trends is one of the best ways to communicate with their consumers, advertise their product and showcase their brand.

This is why having a powerful social media presence for businesses is so vital.

If you’re trying to nail down the top social media trends for 2020, you’ve come to the right place. We’re sharing the five most dominating trends that are sure to be popular in this year’s social media calendar.

1. Hello User-Generated Content

One of the most anticipated social media trends comes in the form of user-generated content.

Often used by businesses, this is content such as user reviews that are posted to a business social media page. For example, a company might choose to showcase a video testimonial of a client utilizing one of their products.

From the perspective of the audience, this type of content feels more authentic. With that, the audience is better able to develop a sense of trust in the brand.

2. It’s Time for Even Better Communication

Of course, everyone loves browsing great content!

But, one of the top features of social media today happens to be the direct messaging ability. It’s safe to say that direct messaging through Instagram and using Facebook Messenger is a significant source of communication for many.

In 2020, we foresee social media platforms making communication and direct messaging even more widespread. Furthermore, a growing number of businesses are going to use this as an outlet for better communication with their consumers.

3. Keep Posting Those Stories

Short videos that are only available for a specific portion of time are referred to as ephemeral content.

This type of content has become incredibly popular today and is only going to become more popular in 2020 continues. The reason for this rise in popularity is perhaps due to the increasingly smaller attention span of internet users today.

At the end of the day, consumers enjoy taking in content that is short, simple and relatively easy.

4. Say Goodbye to “Likes”

If there’s one thing that consumers complain about with social media, it’s the inclination of some users to self-promote and feed their ego.

As we approach 2020, we’re going to see social media put less emphasis on vanity and narcissism. This is why we’re preparing to bid “likes” goodbye forever and welcome the uncertainty of how our followers react to the content we upload.

The goal is to make social media a more friendly and less competitive home for its followers. This also means that brands and influencers are going to have to work extra hard at showcasing their popularity.

5. Video Content is King

It’s safe to say that video content has been king for a long time.

But, as we dive headfirst into 2020, personal and authentic video content is going to become even more widely used by both businesses and individuals. This is why TikTok has been performing so well in recent months.

Social Media Trends

It’s easy to see how dominating social media is in the business world today.

After all, nearly 80 percent of Americans are active in some form of social media. With such large numbers, why wouldn’t a business choose to take advantage of this free platform?

If you’re using social media for business, allow this guide on social media trends 2020 to help inspire you!

Do you need help developing the best content possible? If so, be sure to check out this blog post.

How Small Business Mobile Apps Can Boost Your Business

Posted on by Mario Diaz

Approximately 30.2 million small businesses exist in the United States and they comprise 99.9% of all businesses in the U.S. While it is fun and challenging to own your own company it comes with a lot of work, some of which is not in your area of expertise.

This is where small business owners can harness the power of small business mobile apps to streamline processes and improve your bottom line. Read on to learn how small business mobile apps can help your company thrive in 2020 and beyond.

How to Use the Latest Small Business Mobile Apps to Improve Your Bottom Line

Let’s face it we live in a mobile world where 1.6 billion people globally to use their mobile devices to shop online. Here’s how you can make sure you keep up and stand out.

Boost Your Branding

It may take as multiple “touches” or interactions with your customers before you are able to convert them to sales. This means keeping your company’s logo and message in front of your customers is critical.

A custom mobile app is one way to do it. Custom mobile apps improve your brand recognition and can give new companies a significant brand boost when they are just starting out.

Improve Your Customers’ Experience and Engagement

Your customers also want to engage with your brand. Mobile apps and social media help to create customer engagement. Since the modern consumer does most of their purchases on mobile devices, mobile apps are the answer for significant customer engagement.

Use Mobile Apps as a Marketing Tool

You need to integrate mobile apps and your social media marketing plan. Responsive web design allows your web messages to be seen on all devices. They can also allow for push notifications so that you can easily share promotions and special offers.

Expand Your Customer Base

Engaging your current mobile base is important for repeat sales. However, you can also use mobile apps to expand your customer base. Many allow you to track current customers and then target ones that are similar.

If you have a brick and mortar store, expanding to a mobile app will allow you to attract customers who don’t live in your geographic area.

Do You Need Marketing or Web Development Support?

We can help you find the right small business mobile apps to improve your marketing and bottom line. We offer an array of products and services designed to support small businesses. We pride ourselves on offering each of our customers a personal relationship with our team to ensure their unique needs are met.

Our team is experienced in different operating systems, databases, and design applications. Share your vision and let us help you make it a reality!

Now that you understand the role that mobile apps can play when it comes to your productivity and bottom line, it is time to take action. Contact us to learn more about how our team can help you push your company forward.

5 Web Design Elements that Every Modern Website Should Have

Posted on by Mario Diaz

There are over 1.5 billion websites on the internet right now, and more adding to that every second.

Depending on your industry, you could be looking at some stiff online competition.

So, it goes without saying (but we’ll say it anyway), your website needs to be sleek, navigable, and user-friendly. It not only needs to invite readers in, but it needs to keep them interested and engaged.

A few crucial web design elements can help you achieve this and get a leg up on your competitors. If you’re not engaging your clients, you’re losing business. And an astounding 94 percent of people will leave a website with bad design.

Here are some key elements to focus on during the creation stages!

1. Have Unique Typography

The font you use on your page sends a message to your readers.

Specific fonts are whimsical and fun — ideal for a baker’s website, but not a law office’s. Some fonts are strong and bold. Others convey authority and expertise.

Take The New Yorker’s Adobe Caslon font. The crisp edges of their letters are synonymous with this prestigious magazine.

Choose a font that will be just as identifiable for your brand.

2. Use the Hamburger Menu

Just as a hamburger is stacked, layer by layer, so too should your menu be.

Keep the deconstructed hamburger layout in the past. Instead, your toolbar that helps users navigate should be in the corner of your page. When users click that menu, it should be a drop-down that clearly displays each section.

More straightforward navigation is enough to keep people on your page.

3. Generate a Color Palette

If your website starts with a large image (another excellent web design trend), you can actually generate a color palette that matches its tones.

Creating consistency across the page looks sleek, polished, and professional. Graphic design lovers will appreciate that everything matches, color- and otherwise.

You can find color palette generators online for free!

4. Keep It Minimal (Embrace White Space)

Less is more — this rule particularly applies to modern websites.

The less that’s distracting your reader, the easier they can get to what they came for.

The toothbrush brand Quip has a wonderful example of this on their homepage.

Their product and mission are clearly visible on the page, but it’s surrounded by white space. This draws all the attention to their product. (They also make fantastic use of their color palette!)

5. Use Card Design

The card design is beginning to appear on more and more websites.

This is especially great if your page has a ton of content.

Using this web design element, you can essentially create thumbnails with images and brief headers or excerpts. Readers will find what intrigues them and click it, without having to scroll through countless pages perusing text.

As an example, think about Pinterest. They utilize a card design for their page. And we all know how popular Pinterest is!

These Web Design Elements Will Improve Your Internet Game

The key is to not focus on one of these elements, but all of them in tandem.

Considering each of these web design elements and using them together increases your power online. If you can engage users with fantastic font, an easy-to-navigate page, and a generally ad-free space, they’ll become customers for life!

We can help with that. Contact us today to see how we can get business owners like you to strengthen their brand.

The Future of SEO: Which Trends Will Dominate 2020 and Beyond?

Posted on by Mario Diaz

Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is the best way to get your website noticed.

SEO determines how your website ranks in search rankings. It determines how easily your site is found when someone Googles your industry.

This article will teach you about the future of SEO and how you can rank well in 2020.

1. Create Quality Content

The truth is, quality content is never going out of style.

It’s important that you create content that adds value to a reader’s life. Your content should answer questions people want to know about your business.

It’s also important that you make your content easy to read for the web.

This means no long, rambling paragraphs. You need to “chunk” your words int digestible pieces. Include headings and white space often to give people breaks from the text.

Create content that you would want to read.

2. Be Mobile Friendly

As smartphones keep growing smarter, people have less need to access a computer.

By 2025, 75% of people will be accessing the internet exclusively from their phones.

What does this mean for SEO?

It means you need to be creating websites with mobile settings in mind. Before making a post, consider how it will appear on a cell phone.

Check at what points in a post a cellphone user will need to scroll down. You also need to make sure your mobile site has fast loading times. You would be shocked how quickly a mobile user will lose interest in your site if it runs slowly.

3. Be Snippet Worthy

Google is now featuring important information on snippets on its homepage.

These snippets give answers to questions without users even having to click the link.

You want your website to qualify for a snippet. In order to do this, you need to provide clear answers to commonly asked questions on your site.

4. Hire an Influencer

Influencers are so popular for a reason: they sell things well.

People love to buy things from people they trust. Influencers provide a face to a product and people flock to them.

Recruit an influencer to advertise your product for you. While they’re doing so, they will include a link to your website which will generate more traffic for you.

Remember, the more links you have to your site, the more authority Google thinks you have and the higher you will be ranked in its search engine.

Now You Know the Future of SEO

Search Engine Optimization is going to be more crucial in 2020 than any year before.

Every day, the internet is becoming more saturated with websites and blogs and they’re all fighting to stand out. The future of SEO will surely shape up to be more and more competitive.

Focus on building a quality website and becoming an authority on your subject and the traffic should follow.

Check out more of our tips on marketing your content here.

5 Content Marketing Tips You Have to Try

Posted on by Mario Diaz

A study by Microsoft found that people lose attention after 8 seconds—shorter than a goldfish, who loses attention after 9 seconds. It can be hard to market towards people when you have such a short window of time to grab their attention and keep it. What content marketing tips will captivate your audience and keep them coming back?

There are plenty of content marketing guides out there that can get you started, but they can be pretty dense.

Don’t worry though—we’ve got you covered! Read below to check out our easy-to-read list of 5 of the best content marketing tips!

The Five Best Content Marketing Tips

The way you market your content can make or break your brand. With these 5 tips, you can take your content to the next level!

1. Review Your Analytics

Whether you are posting on YouTube or Facebook, it’s important to review your analytics page. Watching how numbers differ from post to post can give you a good idea of what content performs well on your accounts and what you should refrain from posting in the future.

By analyzing numbers, you’ll also learn which of your platforms is most profitable and viewed. If you’re advertising a product more on Facebook but your Instagram has more followers, you’re doing yourself a disservice!

2. Collaborate with Other Creators

One of the best ways to expand your audience is by collaborating with other creators or brands. Not only will you be showing off the fact that your brand is worth the time of other content creators, but your audience will grow as their followers view the joint content!

3. Be Consistent

One thing that really can throw your marketing off is inconsistency. Maintaining consistency is one of the most valuable content marketing tips. You want to have a similar voice whether it’s on your blog or your Twitter account. If you have a large marketing team, make sure you are clear about the voice you are going for.

Deciding what your main goals and talking points should be early on will make this easier. Returning to the same points every post or two can help you maintain consistency.

Your posting schedule should also be consistent. Don’t post a new YouTube video every Tuesday for 3 months straight only to take a month-long hiatus! Your content viewers will lose interest if you’re not consistent with when and how often you post.

4. Know Your Audience

Many brands post content aimlessly and wonder why they can’t retain an audience. Once you build up a bit of a following, analyze the major demographics. Once you know who your audience is, you can modify your content to suit them more.

This is also useful in determining where you should focus your content posts. Does your audience reside mostly on Instagram or Facebook? If a certain platform or type of content isn’t drawing in new viewers or clients, cut it from your agenda.

5. Optimize Your Content

Learning what keywords will bring up your rank in Google’s algorithm is key to making your content reach as many people as possible. Optimizing your content is one of the smartest things you can do to bring in traffic!

If you’ve already done as much as you feel you can with keywords, focus more on semantic search. What information is your audience searching for? Target your content on those questions or phrases.

Applying Marketing Strategies

By applying these content marketing tips, you can elevate your content to the next level. Even making little tweaks to your content, like changing the tone of voice in a caption or what time of day you post it, can completely change the way that it’s received.

Check out the rest of our blog and website for more information on marketing, graphic design, and SEO!

5 Steps for Creating an Effective LinkedIn Marketing Strategy

Posted on by Mario Diaz

LinkedIn has over 500 million members!

It has fast become the go-to place for those who are seeking to employ talent. If you and your company are not represented on this platform then you are definitely missing out. You need to have a LinkedIn marketing strategy.

However, when you decide to get your profile on LinkedIn you have to be strategic about how you manage your page. You will want to avoid newbie mistakes so that you can get the word out about your company.

Here are some tips you will find helpful in achieving your goals.

1. Build a Page

The first thing you will need to do is to create a company page. When you create a company page add a company logo in the profile picture section, this will help with branding your business. Once you have completed that, go ahead and write a description of your company and include your website address.

Insert keywords into your description, this will help your page to be search engine friendly. Make sure you choose your keywords wisely and intertwine them as naturally as possible into your company description.

There will also be areas where you can fill in your company size, location and the year you were founded. All this information will help people to find your profile on LinkedIn.

2. Create Connections

Have each of your employees create a LinkedIn profile. If they have created a profile already then that is even better because they will most likely have connections.

Have all your employees follow your company page and add their position in your company to their profile. Once they have done this their profile will automatically be featured on your company page.

This gives your company more of a chance to be seen by many others based on the connections of your employees.

3. Share Great Content

Perhaps the biggest tip for using LinkedIn successfully is to share actionable content on a regular basis. Once you start writing content that will help people to do their job more effectively then you have a greater chance of showing off your expertise and building brand authority.

When you share good content on a regular basis LinkedIn rewards you for this by placing your content higher in their search results. You can even incorporate YouTube videos on your page. LinkedIn allows them to be played without the user having to go to YouTube.

You should try to post content at least once per day. It doesn’t always have to be your content. Share other interesting things that you find as well.

A Final Look at Creating a LinkedIn Marketing Strategy

Creating an effective LinkedIn marketing strategy requires that you get as many connections as you can. This may seem like hard work but it becomes easier when you leverage what you already have.

Get those who work for your company to connect with you, so that their connections can work for you. Make sure you have a meaningful description that is keyword rich so that you can be found in the search results.

Ensure that you satisfy the need for information by posting relevant content on a consistent basis. if you would like help with marketing your business please visit the marketing section of our website.

The Graphic Design Trends and Styles You Should Be Using Right Now

Posted on by Mario Diaz

Did you know that 94% of consumers will leave a website with poor graphic design? That is a staggering percentage of potential customers to lose for any business, but even harsher for small to medium-sized ones.

How can you keep these customers engaged with your content and online properties? The answer is modern, clean, and trendy graphic design.

When growing a business you need to stay on top of the latest graphic design ideas. Here are the graphic design styles and trends you should be using right now.

1. Asymmetrical Layouts

An asymmetrical layout trend in graphic design is making a breakthrough in 2019. These layouts break free from any traditional design grid and flow to their own beat.

Asymmetrical by definition is “having parts which fail to correspond to one another in shape, size, or arrangement; lacking symmetry.” These designs help to portray or evoke a movement or feeling in design that symmetrical layouts don’t exude.

You can still achieve balance in an asymmetrical design, and you should. It takes a careful layout and a creative eye to create compelling asymmetrical graphic design styles.

2. 3D Graphic Design Trends

If you think 3D is just for the movie theater then you need to think again. 3D is one of the hottest graphic design trends today. Consider toying with 3D designs and typography to achieve different moods.

A 3D design will help your product, brand, or ad pop out at your customer. Catching a customer’s eye can be difficult when scrolling through social media, flipping through direct mail or driving past storefronts.

The right graphic design professional can design 3D layouts and creative assets to accentuate your business in all the right ways. No 3D glasses required!

3. Warm Color Palettes

Warm color palettes are welcoming, modern, and sleek. A warm color palette can work with almost any business, product, or campaign.

Vintage hues elicit certain feelings of wistfulness and warmth. These color tones are often seen as timeless and professional. If these traits fit your brand, consider testing out a warm palette in your new graphic designs.

4. Minimalism Paired with Bold Color Choices

If warm hues aren’t your vibe, consider going the opposite direction with bold accent colors. Some businesses and products desire a pop of color to bring their brand to life. Try pairing a bold color with a minimalist design to tap into one of 2019’s graphic design trends.

Pairing a clean visual with a bright color can help you go a long way without the clutter. Less can be more when it comes to design, especially if the chosen colors speak for themselves.

Don’t be afraid to test out bold colors in your designs. Changing colors keep designs fresh and flexible.

Ready to Up Your Graphic Design Styles?

Is graphic design your passion? Probably not, but that’s okay! Enfuse is here with professionals to help. If you’re ready to revamp your business’s graphic design styles we are here to help. Contact us today.

5 SEO Trends to Close out 2019 With

Posted on by Mario Diaz

When you get into the swing of a good SEO campaign, keep your eyes open for things you could improve on.

Using SEO for growth is important, and continuing to grow requires that you keep up with user trends and preferences. We’re going to discuss some areas that you should focus on in 2019.

Things change over time, and what worked last year might not work as we roll into 2020. So, keep an open mind and take in a few of the following ideas.

SEO for Growth: Trends for 2019

Make sure you’ve established a solid groundwork for your SEO campaign before you think about the more specific things. Some of the ideas in this article will be broad, while some will be more particular.

Take each as you can, considering where you’re currently sitting in terms of SEO development.

1. Understand Media Preference

Your demographic likely has a particular sort of media that they enjoy engaging with. Things are polarizing, and different social sites are establishing groups and their preferences in terms of media.

Audio, text, images, video, memes, listicles. These are all forms of content that rise and fall as time moves, and it’s important that you keep up on how your audience is responding to the variety.

Keep a close eye on your Adwords metrics as you put out different forms of media and see which ones work best.

2. Mobile-First

Google is getting increasingly mobile in its approach to search rankings. Google is in the process of shifting toward a mobile-first indexing process, meaning that your mobile sites are the ones that will compete in the SERPS.

This doesn’t mean you can just neglect your desktop pages, but consider beefing up everything mobile on your site.

3. Go In-Depth with Content

Google’s artificial intelligence is increasingly good at noticing the inherent value of content. If your content is uninformative and over-optimized, you aren’t going to see results.

Start seeing the depth of content as a feature of optimization. Good content will be rewarded, as always.

4. Keep Your Reputation Up

As buzz generates around your brand, good or bad, search engines have begun to sniff out how that should affect your search rankings.

Even if a mention of your site is totally separated from your content, Google can use it and factor it into your search rankings. So, if people are speaking highly about you, or about you at all, that will come into play in the SERPS.

5. Don’t Forget Amazon

If you’re a business that sells goods online, you must be present on Amazon. People are migrating to Amazon to handle their shopping before they browse Google in a lot of cases.

This means that the site has become a sort of search engine for online shopping. Keep that in mind and explore your options for optimizing on Amazon.

Need to Beef Up Your Image?

We hope that you can use some of these tips on SEO for growth. Keep in mind that branding and image are coming into play more regularly in terms of search engine algorithms and results.

If you’re in need of a little brand-polishing, check out the services we offer and see how we can help!

Posted in SEO

Make a Name for Yourself: 5 Brand Development Tips Worth Trying

Posted on by Mario Diaz

Did you know that it takes 10 seconds for people to form an impression about a brand?

If you only have 10 seconds for people to form an impression about your business, then you need to make it a positive one.

With the help of brand development, you can make sure your brand is recognized.

Read on to learn 5 great tips.

1. Who are Your Clients?

One of the first things you need to do when thinking about developing your brand is identifying who your clients are.

As a brand, you know that your product is not for everybody. If you want your business to grow, it’s important to identify your clients early on.

Brands who narrow down their target audience often see faster growth. This is because they can be more specific about their efforts and resources.

Those who have a broader target demographic use up more marketing efforts.

2. Create a Brand Development Strategy

Once you identify who your target audience is, it is time you develop an overall business strategy.

For example, start thinking is you plan to grow it organically. What type of brand do you want?

Where do you want to start? Once you get a broad sense of where you see your brand, you will have a good starting point.

3. Learn More About Your Target Group

The next step in your brand development plan is learning more about your target audience.

You need to understand what their needs and priorities are. Most brands also need to make sure their audience understands their message.

If your target audience doesn’t understand what you’re trying to sell, then you’re doing something wrong.

4. Decide a Marketing Strategy

As you develop your marketing strategy, you need to think about how to send your message loud and clear.

Having a strong marketing strategy ensures the most exposure and visibility. Remember that visibility and reputation go hand in hand.

This means the goal is to increase your visibility at the same time as your reputation. Brands that don’t focus on both at the same time often see disappointing results.

5. Design a Name, Logo, and Tagline

If your business is not new, you don’t have to change your name. However, it would help to change it when the mission of the brand has changed.

New brands don’t have this issue since they can start everything from scratch.

Whatever the position of the brand is, remember the name, logo, and taglines are a way to communicate information about your brand.

Because you want to communicate with your clients, it’s important to do a few test runs to see which logos your audience identifies with the most.

How to Develop a Brand Development Strategy

Now that you know how brand development can help you make a name for yourself,  it’s time you put them to the test.

Start by identifying who your clients are, create a brand development strategy, choose a marketing strategy, and design a logo.

Want to learn how to design a website that reflects the identity of your brand, check out this article.