Decoding the Trend-Following Dilemma - When to Avoid and Adopt Trends for an Irresistible Brand

About the episode:

To follow the trends? Or to not follow the trends? I honestly think you should follow trends in some situations but not others. In today’s episode we’re breaking when to follow trends, three trends I recommend to avoid to solidify and grow your brand, and three trends to adopt for a more powerful online presence. We discuss reasons for why we should avoid certain trends but adopt other ones and it all comes down to making sure that the trend or action is aligned with your business vision, energy, and personality. I share an example of a trend I bucked when I started my business (hint: my business name) and am sharing my honest take for when trends will serve you or when they’re best left behind. In my designs for my clients I try to avoid trends when possible and keep brands modern yet timeless so you can enjoy your brand identity for years to come - not just when a trend is hot at the moment. 

Takeaways:

• The trend RuthAnn bucked early on in her business and how it’s helped her stand out online

• Why you should never look to trends for inspiration when it comes to color palettes and fonts

• How to incorporate brand strategy in your visual branding decision making

• Why RuthAnn believes adopting website trends is useful and beneficial to your business and clients

• RuthAnn shares two trends that won’t go out of style that she recommends you adopt

• How to attract your ideal clients more effortlessly and naturally with this trend

• Why RuthAnn believes in timeliness design over trendy design

• Click here to read a raw transcript of this episode

  Hello, hello, welcome to another episode of Rebrand with RuthAnn. I'm so excited that you're here. I hope you are having a great start to your year. I hope it has been really enjoyable easing into the new year. Sometimes it can feel a little bit stressful going into everything coming off the holidays, but I really hope it's been really wonderful for you. And it has been great over here. I'm just definitely easing back into work, not taking things.

  Two, I'm definitely easing back into work and just taking things at a little bit of a slower pace, which has been so nice actually. And so I've just really enjoyed that and I'm excited to be unveiling my little website refresh very soon. So that's on its way and stay tuned for that. And yeah, so stay tuned for that.

  And yeah, just working on getting ready to start some new client projects and just feeling really good about how things are shaping up. And yeah, I'm excited about what January has for us. I'm excited for what January in 2024 has for us. So today we are talking all about trends, trends to avoid, trends to adopt and how you can use them to your advantage when it comes to your

  I, in general, I'm not big into trends. I sort of go away from them as much as possible. And I remember even when I started my business and I named my business R Art Space, I did it to kind of go against what everyone else was doing. I felt like everyone was saying, it was like their name with design, like Ruth Ann Rafiq Designs or Ruthann Rafiq creative, like I just feel like everyone was naming their business like that. And I was like, I just want to be really different and stand out. And so I named my business R Art space, which is very different from anyone else. I don't think, you know, it's just not something you see every day. So, yeah, I think for the most part, I try to avoid trends as much as possible. But there is a time to adopt trends and to, you know there is a time to adopt trends and to avoid them. So today that's what we're gonna dive into. So let's do it.

  So we are talking about visual things for sure, because that is what I, you know, I am a designer and so I do visual branding and website design. So we will talk about some visuals and stuff, but we're also talking about more integral pieces of your business as well, such as your values and stuff. So when you think about trends, it's not all just color palettes and colors and fonts, you know, it's other things too, like how you're showing up and your values. So let's get into all of that. But

  When it comes to your visuals, which is what we mainly focus on around here, is your online presence. It's easy to want to jump on the bandwagon and see like, oh, this is so popular, everyone's doing it, might as well do it too. I think it definitely should cause you to pause if everyone is doing something design-wise or marketing-wise just to think like, okay, vision and my direction in my business. So, okay, so let's dive into the three trends to avoid. Trend number one is trending color palettes. I think back in 2016 when I was starting out my business, there were a lot of like blush pink businesses and gold glitter. I don't know if you remember this, if you've been online for a while, but.

  Everyone's business was either blush pink or teal or gold glitter and it was just such a trendy color palette. Everyone was doing it. It was one of those things that now if you have that color palette, it makes you look really dated because it was so popular at the time. In the most recent time for us, a huge trend was neutral colors, like neutral color palettes, like not a lot of color.

  So neutrals definitely had a moment and I think right now we're actually going into more bold colors for the trend that I see coming up is more bold and really distinctive colors that are really standing out. And so I think something when you're trying to create a brand that is aligned with who you are, a brand that helps you stand out online.

  You really want to avoid the trends if possible, especially the color trends, because the color trends will come and go. And when you see something like I just mentioned with the blush pink and the gold glitter, when you see something like that, it can automatically kind of turn you off. It can make it seem really dated or really old. And so when you're thinking about color for your own business, obviously this goes into brand strategy, but you really want to think of your own personality.

  I like to think of it as like 50-50. You're doing it for yourself and who you are and you're also doing it for your ideal client and who you want to attract. So you really want to think of your own personality and what colors really represent you and what feelings you want your ideal clients to have when they interact with you. And color plays such a crucial role.

  When you are designing a brand because it really like sets the tone for how your customers interact with you and how you are seen in the online space. And so color palettes is a really big deal when you're creating a color palette. And I think it's really important to when you're choosing one for yourself or you're working with a designer is to not go with the trends. Don't see what everyone else is doing right now and go with something that's super trendy.

  You know, find your own path in your color palette. And you know, if you are really loving, I had a client who really loved bold, you know, really vibrant colors, and that was her style and that's what she wanted. And so it, in the midst of like, while the neutrals were trending and all that stuff, we did something totally different. And I think that's how it should be because it should be related to how, it should be aligned with who you are and who your clients are. So definitely keep that in mind when you're thinking about color palettes for your own business and when you're seeing a trend that maybe looks really pretty, maybe it's not the best thing to have that for your own business. Really ask yourself, is this aligned with who I am, who my ideal clients are, and the vision I have for my own business? All right, the second trend to avoid is trending fonts.

  We definitely saw this with handwritten fonts mostly. I definitely remember when handwritten fonts became super huge. Like everyone was using a handwritten font for their logos and stuff. And again, it's pretty to see and it's fun to like play around with and experiment with trending things like trending fonts or trending color palettes. It's fun.

  But I think the main thing to keep in mind is trends come and go and they have mass appeal and they maybe don't have that niche appeal that you're wanting if you have a niche business. And so when you're thinking about your logo or you're using fonts for your business, I, my go-to is to try to do timeless fonts that can stick around with you for a really long time.

  You know a good serif a good sans serif font that can stay with you for a long time Recently the font trend has been retro fonts. So that has been a huge trend that has you know gone on and I think like I said, they're a lot of fun to play with and they are you know fun and you know quirky and it's a great way to add personality and stuff, but I think you just wanna make sure it's really aligned with your business, with your brand, with who your ideal clients are, and just know that when it is trendy like that, when it is a retro font or it is a neutral color palette, it's probably gonna lose its luster in a couple years. I mean, trends do not last super long. So it might last a year or two years, but then it will kind of be replaced with another trend. So I think that's something important to keep in mind. And fonts are, like I said, they're super fun to play with. And I actually like using trending fonts for courses or for something like a one-off situation. Maybe it's for an opt-in that is like a seasonal opt-in or something, or, you know, cause you change out opt-ins every so often. I mean, I guess sometimes you can use them for years at a time, but if you wanted to play with some trending fonts, you can use them for something smaller like that, like an opt-in or a course or something on the smaller side. But I recommend not using it for your business representation or your brand because it will go out of style pretty soon.

  And the third trend to avoid is marketing trends. And I put this in there and I honestly was going back and forth with this one because I do feel like marketing trends, I just think it's good to adopt marketing trends sometimes. But for the most part, I think marketing trends, I think you can leave that in the avoid category because we saw this with the release of the Vines platform. And you know platforms come and go. I remember this other platform, I don't remember the name of it though. Everyone was jumping on. It was popular for about a week and then it just went away and I don't think it's even out there anymore. So marketing trends are fun and sometimes, you know, when you get in early, especially if it's a trend that's gonna, and that's the thing with trends, you don't know if it's gonna last the long haul because it's new and like fun. So you just kind of have to jump in sometimes and see if it's gonna work.

  But for the most part, I think marketing trends can be a waste of time. And so for example, so like if you're on Instagram and obviously reels are like a huge trend right now, if you are, you know, really loving reels and you just want to do reels and that's all you like to do. Okay. Maybe that's an exaggeration, but you love doing them. You love doing the videos and making the, making the reels.

  Then I think it's something you should jump on because if you are really enjoying it and your energy is coming through that you are loving it, that will definitely translate to, I think, more interest, people following your content, that kind of thing. But if you're following a trend that you are really not loving, like I mentioned this in a couple episodes ago, how I have a love-hate relationship with Instagram and how I'm taking a little bit of a break from Instagram right now and...

  It's just something I'm not loving and I think that's okay. And so you really want to put your energy into platforms that you really enjoy being on and platforms that you love showing up on, that you love however you're showing up. So I think it's really important to think about when marketing trends are happening, is this something I want to jump on? Is this draining my energy or is this giving me a lot of energy as I'm doing this, you know, that kind of thing. So I think it's really good to look back at so I think it's really good to look at when you are, you know, seeing marketing trends happening, is this something I want to jump on? Is this something that is gonna be beneficial for myself? Or is this gonna be kind of a time waster and I'm just gonna, you know, look popular because I'm doing what everyone else is doing? So I, for the most part, say avoid marketing trends, but if it's in alignment with your values, with your energy, with how you like showing up.

  I think you can go for it, but I feel like anytime, but I feel like marketing definitely comes down to relationship building, which will never go out of style and making connections with people. So that's kind of my go-to when I think of marketing is just connecting with people, building relationships, and how can I do that in the most authentic way? And obviously social media is there as a tool for us to use and if it's not feeling in alignment anymore, you can take a break, you can find another social media tool or another way to connect. But I feel like making sure that you're in alignment to yourself and your values and your energy is incredibly important. Okay, so those are the three trends I recommend avoiding when it comes to branding, when it comes to your business, trending color palettes. Let me just review them really quick. Trending color palettes trending fonts and marketing trends. So now let's go into trends to adopt. I have three trends I recommend people adopting and the first one is website trends. Some big trends I see right now in websites is a lot of contrast, meaning there's big bold text and then smaller text, big bold images and then smaller images. There's a lot of contrast.

  Moving imagery such as parallax scrolling or video, video is definitely a big one. And some of these trends can, I think these website trends are great to adopt because it shows that you're modern, adaptable, and they're kind of, they can be easy changes to make on your website where you can just immediately look a lot more modern and it can help you immediately look modern, adaptable, and serving your clients with the best client experience when they come to your website. So I do think Website Trends is a great one to adopt. I think it's definitely a fun one to adopt, and sometimes you just need a little website refresh, just a little just some updates here and there to give your site that look. And so website trends, I think, is really helpful. And I think it's a great thing to think about if you wanted to do a little refresh for your website every, like, you know, one to two years, you know, reviewing your site, making sure your messaging is on point, making sure your imagery is on point and just, you know, making sure things are still aligned and how you want them to be.

  And especially looking at the data and seeing like how things are playing out. Are you getting clients from, you know, where are you getting your website traffic, all that kind of thing.

  I just now said a second ago, you know, looking at your website every one to two years, giving it a refresh. I think it's actually sooner than that. Like every six months to a year, I think you should review your site and check your messaging, check your images, check your portfolio, check your portfolio testimonials, that kind of thing, and make sure things are on point. Another trend to adopt is authenticity. I think this was a huge buzzword a couple years ago.

  And I think this is still incredibly relevant for people. I think people want to see, I think people want to see the authentic you. They want, you know, vulnerability. And it doesn't mean you have to be sharing your deepest, darkest secrets or anything, but I do think it means showing up as you are and showing up with your personality shining bright and not letting your...Not being afraid to be yourself, I think, whenever you're showing up or however you're showing up. If you're showing up on a podcast, on social media, just let your authentic self come out. Don't censor yourself as much. Don't think what people might think of you, that kind of thing. You just want to be true to who you are. So I think that is a huge trend that we should always be adopting is being authentic to ourselves and not being afraid to let our personality shine through because that in the end is what makes our business different and unique is you, especially as coaches and service providers, as people who, you know, are working one-to-one with people. I think it's so important to let your personality shine and not being afraid to show up who you are as you are and just letting people see that. So that is a trend I definitely recommend adopting. And the third one is letting your values lead the way.

  And this, I feel like I saw this a lot with even bigger companies, you know, just being really upfront about their values and what they stand for. And I think this is something that we can adopt as smaller business owners as well. I think it's really important that. I think it can be a really beautiful way to attract your ideal clients is letting your values lead, which is, you know, this could be if you donate to a certain charity, you can tell people you give a certain amount to this charity because it really means so much to you. Or if you are standing for a social cause, you can talk about that. For me, it's like I'm a heart-centered business owner and I work with other heart-centered women who have family values at their core, who have a life-first approach when it comes to business and I really try to let that shine through my marketing, through my content. And so I think it's whatever is, whatever your values are for you, I think it's really important to let them shine through and not being afraid to just be open about it because I just feel like it also attracts your ideal client so much more easily because it's like, oh, I really connect with her on family values and wanting to put family first and that's what I do too. And so I think it's a really easy way to attract your ideal clients and a great way to set yourself apart from other business owners as well. Cause not everyone will have your values and some people will have really different values than you. And I think that's a good thing. It's like, because we're all different and we all have things that we care about. And I think the more we can share that and show that the more we'll attract those people we want in our circle and repel people who are not the best fit.

  So those are some trends I recommend adopting. Number one was website trends, number two was authenticity, and number three, letting your values lead the way. And as a rule of thumb, trends are trends for a reason. They're in one minute and out the next. And thinking about it like fashion, it's like crop tops are in one minute, but denim jackets are here to stay. And so you wanna think about those tried and true things that never go out of style. And when I think of design, create timeless yet modern design for my clients so that their brands and websites can last with them for years and years to come. I mean, I'm thinking like five to 10 years is what I hope for my clients' brands to last, is for how long I want them to last. And so that's what I, and so that's kind of how I think about it going into it. Strategy-wise, design-wise, I really want my clients to get the most out of their investment and to have something that's really beautiful, modern, but will last with them and show their personality and stuff. So I think it's really important to think about strategy in everything you do when you're thinking about when you see different trends showing up, when you see different things happening in the online space, you see, oh, maybe I should try that. Always go back to, is this aligned with who I am? Is this aligned with my business? Is this aligned with my values? And then deciding for yourself.

  But I'm excited to share these with you because this has definitely been something on my mind and a topic I've wanted to talk about. So I'm excited to just share about trends that I think are worth adopting and worth avoiding. And I hope this gives you some good food for thought as you are maybe giving your brand a refresh or thinking about marketing trends or whatever you are thinking about at the time. So I hope this was really helpful. And if you have any questions, I would love to hear from you. We can continue the conversation over on Instagram. I'm at r underscore artspace.

  While I'm not super active over there, I am in the DMs for sure. So you can send me a message there, or you can email me at ruthann at rartspace.com. And I would love to hear from you and we can definitely continue the conversation there. Until next week, thank you so much for being here. and I will talk to you then.