We have been having a little think here at Deuce Studio about the possible areas of design we see as being the most interesting for brands big and small in 2017, everything from colour to technology we analyse 5 predictions for the coming year.

1. From Neon to Natural

No longer will bright pop inspired colours help you stand out, everyone seems to be adopting the same colour scheme, its like an 80s disco come to life. We think the colours of 2017 will be natural and honest hues in place of the fake neons of 2016. Take inspiration from the great outdoors, release yourself from your screen full of RGB pixels and find the original colours of the landscape.

2. Real Life Beats Technology

Its amazing to think how much our lives are driven by technology, how did we ever cope without it. We are constantly looking at our phones waiting for the next notification to give us something to do. We think brands should be encouraging us to leave our phones behind and find real experiences. 2017 could be the year of better and bigger brand activations, we predict there is going to more exciting things ahead, created by brands for the joy of its consumers that will get you away from your screen and enjoying life.

3. Interacting with Virtual Reality

It’s a very powerful and expensive piece of kit, yet still no one has quite found the perfect use for VR. 2017 will see even more brands attempt to bring their product or service to life using VR, but it needs be interactive on another level thats not possible in the real world, by giving your consumers all the power to make decisions in a world not limited to reality.

4. A New Kind of Influencer

Gone are the days of influencers taking photos of your product and sharing it across social media, at first it must of felt real, but its beginning to ware thin. In 2017 there still will be a place for influencers as they are now, but we predict they are going to change, by offering more consumer interactivity on a more personal level. Your consumers want to either be these people or get to know them and channelling this feeling onto your consumers will undoubtedly be a good move.

5. Custom is King

In the last couple of years we have seen campaigns by large established brands with more personality and customisation than ever. First Coco-Cola printed a range of bottles with every first name they could think of and it went down a storm. People were going crazy searching the shops for their name or their friends name to ‘Give A Coke’ as the campaign suggested. We believe that 2017 will see even more campaigns trying to connect with their consumers on a deeper more personal level, not just first name basis but something more. Who knows, maybe customisable packaging will be next, letting consumers choose the colours and graphics used, it could be a very interesting time for iconic brands to sit back and let it’s consumers take control.