Win Over More Leads in 2022 with These Design Marketing Trends

Design is an essential element of inbound marketing. Over 60% of today’s marketers say visuals are the most important component of successful marketing, and 68% plan on using more visual content in the future.

This post discusses the hottest design marketing trends in 2022. Trends that leads are most receptive to and offer plenty of real-life examples for inspiration. 

Minimalist Aesthetics

Minimalism, a style characterized by sparseness and simplicity, is nothing new. It began in the late 1950s and gained momentum in the 1960s and early 70s. While it has ebbed and flowed over the subsequent decades, minimalism has arguably never been bigger than it is today. Look at many top brands, such as Google, Apple, and Tesla, and the minimalist aesthetic is undeniable. That’s not a coincidence.

In a world where information flies by consumers at a rapidly-increasing rate, minimalism can be an effective way to create a calm, uncluttered experience for leads. By carefully focusing on a few simple elements, you can focus a lead’s attention on what’s most important, thus eliminating “background noise” and encouraging them to take specific actions.

A great example is this web copy from our client Insulgard, an industry leader in bullet-resistant and security windows, doors, and enclosures. This design succinctly highlights the pros of choosing Insulgard using a clean, minimalist design to convey the benefits without eating up too much “cognitive bandwidth.”

And this is a technique you can easily implement into your inbound marketing campaign. 

Data Visuals

Giving leads tangible data on key metrics like how many clients you’ve worked with, the number of customers, and your success rate is a quick and effective way to prove yourself. Most leads respond well to quantifiable information like this, which helps establish credibility. 

In the past, we typically relayed data-driven information with a bullet list like this:

• We’ve worked with X top clients…
• We’ve served X number of customers…
• We have an X% success rate…

And so on. 

While a bullet list can serve its purpose in some areas, a newer, more exciting way to convey information in 2022 is with data visuals. Here’s an example from HubSpot where they give leads an overview of their thriving community, mentioning the number of monthly visits they receive, social media followers, customers, and more. 

At a glance, this provides leads with essential information to build instant credibility — something critical for eventually winning their business. The key takeaway is that whenever you’re presenting data like this in marketing collateral, using data visuals makes the information quicker, easier, and more enjoyable to digest. 

After all, “the visual dimension is the number one influencing factor that affects the purchasing decision for 92.6% of people.”

Visual-Driven Testimonials

Testimonials are another part of marketing that has received a facelift in recent years. The dull, painfully formal testimonials of the past have evolved to incorporate more engaging visuals where customers not only convey the benefits of buying but do it in an aesthetically pleasing way. 

Case in point SEO software platform Ahrefs. In this example, they serve up a slider with eye-popping testimonials from notable users, including the co-founder of AuthorityHacker Gael Breton. Notice the bold, high-contrast design of large white font against a blue background and an image of Gael’s face. 

This instant attention grabber leverages highly potent social proof with simple yet striking visuals to get leads on board with the brand. If your testimonials have been run-of-the-mill up until this point, this is a great way to give them new life.

The Deeper Use of Color Psychology

Simply put, “color psychology examines how colors affect our behavior,” explains digital advertising platform Sixads. “Its goal is to understand the relation between colors and emotions and how different colors influence our daily decisions.”

While we can trace the roots of color psychology back to the ancient Egyptians and marketing has used it for years, there’s been a resurgence and evolution in 2022. Today’s brands are leveraging it more than ever to appeal to their target audience, increase engagement, and boost conversions. 

As we mentioned earlier, over 92% of buyers focus on visual appearance when making a purchasing decision. Color is the “primary draw card” for nearly 85% of those buyers. 

Although color psychology is an incredibly complex topic, here’s a quick example of how different colors trigger different feelings and emotions. 

In 2022, we’ve seen a growing number of brands across various industries tap into color psychology to more effectively appeal to their demographic. When used correctly, this technique can help evoke the specific emotion you’re going for, which is why color psychology is worth learning about if you haven’t done so already. 

While there is no be-all-end-all resource on color psychology, and it’s still a work in progress, ColorPsychology.org is an excellent place to learn the basics.

Scrollytelling

The last of our design marketing trends is “scrollytelling,” a relatively new concept that’s gained a ton of momentum as of late. Defined as “the fusion of scrolling and storytelling,” it’s “a new way to dynamically tell long-form stories as the user scrolls. In this framework, user activity triggers transitions between various elements and styling methods: alternating texts, changing imagery, interactive backgrounds, animation effects, sizing changes, and more.” 

Odds are, you’ve encountered scrollytelling at some point, as it’s fast becoming one of the most effective ways to explain in-depth information in marketing while making the experience fun and user-friendly. Here’s a simple example of the fundamentals of scrollytelling from Datarock., a geological computer-vision solution for the mining and exploration imagery industries.

To show off their platform, Datarock. walks the lead through it step by step, starting above the fold with a basic overview.

They then go into more detail, offering insightful, dynamic images and concise copywriting. 

As leads scroll down the page, they quickly get up to speed on what Datarock. is and what it does without doing a lot of manual digging (pun intended). 

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg with scrollytelling. It has numerous applications, including:

• Brand storytelling
• Content marketing
• Landing pages
• Chronological events
• Current events
• And more

If you’re looking for a new, fun way to convey critical information quickly while promoting your brand, scrollytelling is the perfect technique for doing so. You can learn more about the process and see other real-life examples in this resource from Elementor. 

Partnering with a Professional to Capitalize on Design Marketing Trends 

Again, getting the visual aspect of marketing right is vital to success. After all, if marketing content doesn’t appeal to leads on the visual level, nurturing them and ultimately getting them to buy is going to be an uphill battle. 

While some brands feel comfortable handling this in-house, others may not have the expertise or the time. In this case, it’s often helpful to partner with a professional who knows the latest design marketing trends and can fully capitalize on them to send a continual stream of qualified leads your way. At 3.7 Designs, we have extensive experience with inbound marketing and graphic design and have helped numerous brands step up their visuals. 

We’d love to hear from you if you’d like to discuss a potential marketing, graphic design, or UX project. You can reach us via our online contact form, by email at info@3.7designs.co, or by phone at 800-672-1714.