Allowing Brands to Have a Unique Personality Again

For the last decade, brands have steered towards formulaic similarity, where differentiation was almost seen as a negative for medium to large organizations. In the current unpredictable and unstable world, there is a push towards embracing a distinct, personal point-of-view. Organizations have to appear brave and confident and act as an advocate for their industries, audience, and brand. This differentiation is driven by younger generations who seek out brands and products that have a true personality rather than cookie-cutter copy cats.

Standing for Something as a Brand

Every year, consumers are becoming more educated and more invested in activist movements surrounding causes like income inequality, racial injustice, healthcare policy, climate protections, and more – and they are seeking out brands specifically for their stances in these areas. Organizations that learn from past and current world events, rather than shy away from them, benefit from a deeper understanding of their audiences’ values and can use that insight to further shape their brand across all touchpoints. By actively supporting the philanthropic priorities of their market, brands can expect increased engagement with their audiences while consumers can enjoy a stronger, more personal brand experience.

The Unboxing Experience

With COVID-19 has come a significant increase in online shopping, a trend that will continue well into 2021. Without the in-store shopping experience, companies have had to build a relationship with the consumer through their messaging, packaging, digital presence, and service offerings alone. Creating an immersive, seamless consumer experience should be the goal of any branded organization, but in 2020 it became essential in order to drive increased engagement. An ecosystem of custom packaging, branded collateral, product presentation, digital tools, and personalized messaging helps brands connect with consumers and build brand loyalty.

Crisis Management

Crisis management has been key throughout 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as activist movements seen throughout the year. Across industries, organizations had to find ways to carefully yet effectively enact new policies for the safety of both their employees and their consumers. Then, they had to communicate those policies. As the year wore on, we saw these communications evolve from hand-written notes hung with tape to professionally-designed, printed, and installed signage. We saw obligatory social media posts transform into fully-fledged philanthropic brand campaigns. And we saw initial chaos and uncertainty build into messages of hope, strength, and empathy. Although 2020 is behind us, we expect to see more of these initiatives unfold throughout the new year, and anticipate brands will maintain the agility they learned in 2020.

Reviving the Artisanal Spirit

When face-to-face interaction becomes a liability, human connection can feel impossible to achieve. In 2020, this challenge extended to brands as well as they faced the possibility of drifting away from their audiences. Reconnecting the relationship between brand, consumer, and product sometimes requires a different kind of personal touch. This year, we saw brands re-emerge with artisanal spirits to help strengthen connections with their communities and markets, reigniting the thrill of shared (yet socially-distanced) experiences. Rethinking the brand approach and reviving a feeling of tactile, hand-made craft allowed brands to strengthen their identity and reinforce a sense of human empathy with consumers.

Editability

The brands that stood out this past year were successful because of editability – their ability to swiftly adapt. From consumer-facing touchpoints (e.g. physical signage, social media, digital marketing) to internal initiatives, agile companies were able to tailor their brand to meet the challenges of 2020. Those brands that leveraged their systems to seamlessly pivot towards changing needs made an impact this year and will continue to do so in the future. How can a brand be beautiful, personal, and editable though? That’s the challenge. Those that were too finicky and relied on an overwhelmed corporate lost in 2020. Having the agility and willingness to remap your brand is key to evolving with the times.

Restrictive Redesigns

Consistency is a hallmark of strong branding, but sometimes it can go too far. Early in 2020, Google redesigned their app icons, causing uproar amongst users and designers alike. While the new icons are clearly aligned with the Google brand, they contain almost no differentiating features. The result is a sea of look-a-likes that makes it nearly impossible for users to quickly find the app they need. Icons and logos are meant to be recognizable at a glance. When they’re all the same shape and color, the user experience is one of confusion and frustration – consistently.

Gradient Abuse in Logo Design

Over the years, gradients have proven themselves to be an enduring design trend. They come, they go, and they always come back. In 2020, that wasn’t always for the better. When using gradients in logo design, less is more. Too many colors or not enough contrast can hinder the legibility and harmony in even the strongest design. If you do opt to use gradients in your logo, try creating solid color versions first so you can assess the efficacy of your design without getting distracted by the color application. A gradient should elevate the logo and speak to the brand story. If you’re adding one just for show, your design may not need one at all.

Branded Face Masks

In 2020, face masks became part of our new normal, and some companies outside of the medical field began selling them as branded merchandise. However, this calls into question the ethics of a company profiting from a global pandemic. Is it fair to say this is commercializing a health crisis? And how do consumers feel about their desire to protect themselves and others being turned into a marketing opportunity? Honestly, it depends who you ask. If nothing else, this year has shown the importance of organizations understanding their industry and audiences before making a decision that could heavily alienate them.

Branded Face Masks

On the other hand, do these companies deserve praise for contributing to the availability of face masks and providing options that consumers are more likely to wear? In an age when consumers increasingly expect organizations to give back to society, a brand that dedicates resources to providing protective equipment during a pandemic could receive wide approval for doing so. These types of subjective moral dilemmas often don’t have a right or wrong answer, which is why it’s key for organizations to understand the state of their industry and the mindset of their audiences so they can make informed decisions that don’t lead to PR disasters. In 2021, we expect to see brands faced with more grey areas and higher consumer expectations than ever before and encourage them to put resources toward auditing the current state of their market to help guide them through these challenges.

Characters in Logo Design: “Give it a Face”

In 2021, we can expect to see more characters and mascots in logo and brand design as audiences look for personal connection. This strategy helps personify the brand, give a face to the name, and creates a unique story around the organization that’s almost inherently differentiated from the competition. From fashion lines to insurance brokers, we expect this branding tactic to continue to gain traction in 2021.

Emoji Design

Users love to express their emotions on digital platforms, especially texting and social media. Designing custom emojis and incorporating them into branding creates a reaction and response, and ignites engagement with your brand. This fad adds a fun and playful feeling, and is especially attractive among younger audiences. Social media powerhouses like Snapchat and Bitmoji popularized this trend, but we expect to see more brands hop on the bandwagon to draw in new users.

Sustainability

As the world ground to a halt in 2020, we were given a glimpse of how our everyday habits have an impact on our environment. Although the trend for eco-friendly products has been a mainstay in recent years, the past year has shown a dramatic increase in brands actively pursuing greener alternatives, both in their production and packaging. As more consumers seek to lessen their impact, we will continue to see more brands take the lead in embracing more eco-friendly initiatives.

Maximalism

Could the days of harmonious and overly clean design be drawing to an end? It’s possible if the maximalist aesthetic keeps growing. This trend calls back to popular 90s styles – which surged in popularity for nostalgia-craving millennials in 2020 – though draws inspiration from multiple eras and movements. It creates a sense of dissonance and dynamism through creative, extravagant, and colorful elements that speak to both past and future aesthetics. Consumers just might be ready for this loud design trend in 2021!

3D Design/Illustrations

With faster and more accessible 3D software, more brands are finding creative ways to incorporate 3D art into their branding – bucking standard flat design and even taking a step beyond the sometimes-in, sometimes-out skeuomorphic trend. This new generation of illustration seeks to embrace the pop aesthetic, leaving behind the texture and detail for simpler, colorful forms that add whimsy and personality to a brand.

Optimism

To put it lightly, 2020 was a difficult year. The hits seemed to keep on coming and left people anxious and exhausted. In 2021, brands will be looking to bring hope and optimism back into the lives of their audiences, not just through brand voice and messaging, but in visuals as well. We’re likely to see branding trends skew towards uplifting and inspiring visuals, fun and energetic shapes, and vibrant colors and patterns.

Anti-Design

In 2020, all of our expectations went out the window. In 2021, conventional rules in logo design will be broken and trend towards intentional chaos. The traditional standards of logo design will shift toward asymmetrical layouts, overlapping elements, and distorted type. The anti-design movement, as it’s called, will bring forth inventive arrangements in logos. But beware, unrecognizable letterforms and strange compositions can make logos difficult to decipher and hinder brand recognition.

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Optimizing for Dark Mode

Research shows that the majority of people are now using dark mode on their phones and web browsers. Not only does it ease eye strain, but looks sleek and can help save battery life. However, viewing light-colored websites in dark mode can create a jarring experience for the user. In 2020, we saw organizations rise to this UI/UX challenge and optimize their sites for dark mode viewing, allowing users to toggle between light and dark mode as they prefer on supported browsers like Google Chrome. In the future, we expect to see this trend continue to rise and anticipate a need for closer designer and developer collaboration to create a seamless, flexible experience for users.

Social and Environmental Data Tracking

During a global pandemic or social unrest, numbers are everything. The need to track, organize, analyze, and communicate data becomes a dire essential – the quicker, the better. In response, we’ve seen a variety of both professional and amateur data tracking websites spring up with highly-detailed visualizations that put the numbers into perspective. These websites act as major drivers of user education, allowing the average person to understand the status of a virus or a political movement. We hope this 2020 trend continues into 2021 and empowers audiences to keep seeking out data to stay informed.

Improved Product Photography

With more people working from home and shopping from home, eCommerce sites and retargeting ads are more prevalent than ever, creating a need for better product photography. Many sites now show their products in 3D, allowing customers to view items from any angle. Companies are also beginning to show their products in-use in both image and video form, a strategy that gives users more information about the item and allows them to see themselves using it as well. This all falls under the umbrella of higher quality marketing – a must for brands that want to stay competitive and appeal to audience expectations.

Accessibility in Web Design

Accessibility became more of a focus for web designers through 2020 and will continue into 2021. Dark mode is only a step in the right direction, but pairing it with fonts that are appropriate in size and weight for legibility, ensuring alt-tags are in place and understandable, along with many other best practices, will increase accessibility for those that have impairments. As some brands start witnessing lawsuits and other scenarios that affect accessibility in web design, adhering to ADA guidelines should be a top priority in 2021.

Voice UI

Voice interactions are nothing new, but have evolved with AI technology. An emerging UI/UX trend we saw in 2020 is voice user interactions. Chatbots can now be communicated with using voice commands, and virtual assistants will continue to pop up on websites and mobile apps in the near future. Using voice UI and touchless interactions makes it easier for users to find what they’re looking for and reduces the number of steps to reach the desired result.

Gathering Inspiration from Nature

With stay-at-home orders and remote work dominating 2020, a lot of people spent more time cooped up indoors – designers included. Some weren’t able to go outdoors for long periods of time while others found themselves turning to outdoor activities to cope with inside isolation. With this longing for and return to nature, we expect to see more earthy tones, botanical textures, and natural imagery creeping into website graphics in 2021. Simply looking at imagery of natural spaces gives off a calm, soothing feeling, which people will turn to in the next year.

Privacy

Security isn’t a trend, but a necessity in UI/UX design. For designers and developers alike, it’s imperative that rules and standards are followed to protect both users’ privacy and company liability. It has been the wild west on the web, but with GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) making advances, and data privacy laws coming to more states in the US, the days of using shady tracking and advertising approaches are ending. That’s good news. But it means designing more consumer-friendly, opt-in techniques today.

Putting a Social Media Feed on Your Website

A largely dated practice that no longer offers any practical value for users or brands is the hosting of social media feeds on websites. Not only are these feeds typically unbranded and clunky, but they actively break the rules of engagement. Successful brand messaging is specific to an audience and to a channel. Remember that consumers browsing a company’s Instagram are looking for very different content than those browsing the company’s Twitter and those reading the fine print on the company’s website. To force these different marketing avenues together muddies the messaging and creates unclear calls to action, resulting in organizations having less control over their own sales funnel. Let’s leave the feeds to their respective platforms and offer something that drives real engagement rather than just a duplicate social feed.

Overuse of Thin/Light Fonts

Part of delivering a great user experience is providing content that can be easily read and understood across all channels, devices, and audiences. The use of thin, light fonts continues to be a popular trend in design, however the lack of contrast can be problematic when applied to designs that will be primarily viewed on screens. Web designers need to be wary of the pitfalls when using thin fonts and focus on testing legibility across a variety of devices in order to ensure a good user experience. It’s also important to keep in mind that not all audiences define legibility in the same way. Checking typographic hierarchy against ADA accessibility guidelines is a great way to ensure a website can be properly read by all audiences.

Rotating Image Carousels

According to a Nielsen Norman Group study, auto carousels negatively impact usability and eventual conversions. Although these have been seen as an easy solution for condensing large amounts of information on-page, oftentimes, this strategy leaves users overwhelmed and unwilling or unable to absorb the content. From a usability standpoint, auto-rotating carousels are often a challenge to those with motor skill issues and users who like to read at their own pace. These carousels also tend to cause functionality and usability issues on mobile devices. The result of these difficulties often leads to “banner blindness”, where users simply ignore these sections altogether. If auto-rotating carousels are a must, it’s important to keep the text short, include visible controls, and maintain high contrast so users don’t miss the message.

Misuse/Overuse of Hero Sliders

Hero sliders can be impactful and informative if used appropriately, however, when best practices are not followed, these popular page headers can do more harm than good. While this feature is an extremely common instance on many of our favorite websites, we’ve seen many examples where the elements get a bit carried away. From paragraphs of text in one slide to disjointed collages of images to annoyingly quick auto-rotating – it’s easy to see how some have treated the hero slider more like a PowerPoint presentation than the opening to a website. Remember that this area is often a user’s first introduction to your brand – keep your messaging clear and concise, establish your calls to action, and design with purpose.

Embracing the Tactile Aesthetic

In a counter-movement to current web design trends (read: typical, clean, flat design), we predict web design in 2021 will explore new ways to provide users with unique visual experiences that capture the look and feel of analog technology. There will be an emphasis on graphics, layouts, and UI that heavily reference print design – think lush magazine spreads and intricate newspaper hierarchy – while stylized illustrations will bring to mind the tactile quality of hand-drawn art. Audiences will appreciate the nostalgic reminder of tangible materials while brands will benefit from differentiation amongst a sea of minimalist competitors.

Retro-Nostalgia

Every year sees the return of classic design styles enhanced with a modern flair. 2021 will continue this trend with designs that take inspiration from the last half century, when creative experimentation was at its peak and the future was full of hope and opportunity for progress. From the saturated, inked look of 50’s pop art to the free and fluid compositions of 60’s psychedelia to the idealized digital future of the 80’s, these styles will gain new life with modern typography, brilliant color palettes, and new digital applications in 2021 and beyond.

Interactive Digital Questionnaires

In recent years, interactive questionnaires have evolved from Buzzfeed click bait to invaluable marketing tools that benefit both consumers and companies. Popularized by haircare and cosmetics brands, these on-site questionnaires allow consumers to identify their challenges and goals and in response, receive instant, custom product recommendations tailored to their needs. These fully immersive brand experiences fulfill one of the most basic marketing tenets: understanding consumer needs. In 2021, we anticipate the application of interactive digital questionnaires across more industries as a sales, marketing, and brand building tool.

Design Initiatives to Promote Employee Wellbeing

The past year has brought many healthcare and mental wellness challenges to the forefront, especially when it comes to the workplace. 2020 saw the rise of web and app designs focused on providing solutions to a workforce struggling through hard times. From promoting connectivity to encouraging healthy habits, these initiatives are just the beginning of a trend towards a more holistic approach to happier workplaces.

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Everyone is feeling the heat right now. As a business, maybe you want to help alleviate some of the stress for your clients — or at least add some positivity into their days. If so, we commend you. We know that things probably aren’t so easy for you either. But, we can promise that your dedication to customer satisfaction will only help your company to make it through this pandemic as unscathed as possible.

In this article, we identify five fresh ways to delight customers in these uncertain times. If you want to learn how to deliver a exceptional customer delight in a new way that’s appropriate within the current context, this is the article for you.

5 Fresh Ways to Delight Customers in Changing Times

1. Stay in Touch

Once you get a sale, the customer experience is just beginning! It’s important to carve out the resources to further that budding relationship instead of just waiting for the next transaction. When you can build on the first sale to develop a long-term, loyal relationship, you convert a one-time customer into a repeat customer. Trust me, this is well worth the effort.

Our favorite example of customer re-engagement is social media replies. Let’s say we just purchased a new candle and showed it off on Twitter, tagging the company. To go the extra mile, the company can reply or retweet my tweet. This shows their appreciation and that they care about customer delight.

This type of positive re-engagement not only encourages positive testimonials from other customers, but it also builds a stronger bond between consumer and business. Not to mention, this acts as free, authentic promotional material!

Another fresh way to stay in touch with customers is to offer special incentives to customers. We love it when we purchase something from a company and then find coupon codes in the package as a thank you. Or if you offer an online service, you can send the incentive to their inbox instead of delivering it physically.

2. Surprise Them

Have you heard the phrase “under promise and over deliver” before? This is a customer service strategy used by many companies that strive for over-the-top customer experiences. By avoiding making promises that a company knows it can’t always meet, and always keeping the promises they do make, customers are either plain old satisfied or completely ecstatic. It’s a win-win. If you haven’t adopted this attitude yet, now is the perfect time!

For example, a local business has transitioned to home delivery for their wines, jars of honey, and soaps. However, with every order, you get surprised with an extra tiny jar of honey and a thank you note “just because”. It’s a welcome (and delicious) surprise. Customers adore this “over delivery”, and their positive perception of the brand soars as a result. If your company can offer little extras along the customer journey, it’s a great idea to start introducing these perks. Your brand loyalty and customer satisfaction will soar.

Another fun way to surprise people is to pair up with other companies and slip your promotion into their materials. One of our designers recently received a new pair of jeans in the mail, but to their surprise, inside the box, there was also a gift card for a meal delivery company. Guess who gets to avoid doing groceries this week thanks to that giftcard? If you can identify other businesses that your target audience frequents and slip a little surprise into their orders/services, you can generate tons of new clients.

3. Show Your Appreciation

Saying thank you goes a long way. Making a customer feel appreciated is a guaranteed way to boost their customer satisfaction, make them feel cared for, and increase the odds that they return to you in the future. Going the extra mile will go a long way with your customers.

You can show you appreciation in many more ways than just a standard “thank you” email — in fact, those are getting kind of generic and expected. To keep it fresh, try giving your customers special, high-value rewards if they refer you to someone. Alternatively, deliver a hand-written, personalized thank you note to their door. Perhaps if someone leaves you a positive public review, you can send them some free samples or a gift card as a surprise in the mail. There are lots of ways to show your appreciation to your customers, and most are amenable to the current context of COVID-19.

4. Empower Your Employees

Time and time again, research has demonstrated that happy employees make for a happy business. In these uncertain times, ensure that you’re taking care of your employees. Are they overworked and need a day off? Do they need a support system at work? Are they being compensated fairly for the risk they’re exposed to? Consider these questions and take action to ensure you are doing enough to reduce their stress and support them.

When highly stressed, employees are hindered from delivering top-notch customer service. Burnout is a very real risk in this climate. It’s important to go above and beyond when taking care of your employees if you expect them to go above and beyond for your clients.

There are many avenues you can take. First, allow your employees the freedom of decision making. Grant them total ownership of handling a customer’s questions and concerns so that they can take full responsibility for the customer experience. Second, foster a team environment. When people work together, they can achieve more — including delivering more value to your customers. Finally, employee feedback is paramount, especially in high-stress situations. Be sure to take the time to listen to what they’re saying and implement changes as necessary.

Once your employees feel cared for and empowered, they are ready and willing to do the same for your clients.

5. Give Back

There’s never a shortage of worthy causes to give back to, but COVID-19 has unleashed a new wave of people and organizations in need of support. Food banks, women’s shelters, PPE distributors, and medical organizations are just a few of those that could use some extra support in these uncertain times.

Customers want to know that the company they’re engaging with is ethical and caring. To prove that you care about others in the community, you can pledge a specific portion of every sale to a worthy cause, launch a new product whose proceeds all go towards a cause, or even donate a lump sum all at once. Not only do they feel good about your business, but your customers can feel better about themselves too.

To go the extra mile in delighting your customers, try making a donation in their name and surprising them with it. Just drop an email in their inbox thanking them for their recent purchase and informing them that x amount was donated in their name to an organization in their community. Now that’s impressive!

There you have it. Five fresh ways to delight your customers for an exceptional customer service experience in spite of the impacts of COVID-19. By staying in touch with your customers, making an effort to surprise them, showing your appreciation for them, empowering your employees, and giving back to the community, you can seriously impress your customers.

If you enjoyed these tips, you can find more in this article: The Definition of Brand Equity. Or if you’re looking for more detailed assistance, Cubicle Ninjas is here to help! Just fill out this contact form, or give us a call at 1-888-77-NINJA. Let’s make something beautiful!

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What we can say is that a definitive list of marketing mistakes have emerged out of the chaos. What follows is a series of major marketing slip-ups that your company should avoid. Your reputation and brand image are on the line based on how you navigate this time period. Public perception is everything — not only for the short term, but also for what comes afterwards.

The companies that handle the COVID-19 crisis with tact, respect, and responsible marketing are the ones that will reap the benefits of a positive brand image and loyal audience as things get back to normal. On the contrary, messing up your marketing can damage your company’s reputation beyond repair.

This guide is a series of recommendations of how to responsibly continue to market your company despite the impacts of COVID-19. We’ll suggest marketing mistakes for you to avoid, and offer helpful alternatives where applicable.

Don’t Stop Marketing

A complete marketing shutdown is not the answer! Every company is facing a marketing challenge right now, but what distinguishes those that will make it through the COVID-19 pandemic from those that will shutter their windows is the creativity and determination to keep marketing.

99% of businesses need to adapt their marketing strategies. That’s just a reality. Accept that you need to revise your marketing, then build a responsible marketing plan from there.

Continuing marketing is especially relevant for the food industry and brick and mortar stores. For the former, start advertising your pick up and/or delivery service, and for the latter, be sure to let your customers know that your products are available for purchase online. Your customers miss you! If you let them know how they can continue to safely interact with you, many of them will happily do so.

Also, be sure to take note that pretty much everyone is spending more time online these days. If you’re not already focusing your marketing efforts into digital marketing, now is the prime time to pivot. Quite honestly, if you stick with traditional marketing methods like highway billboards, you’re just wasting ad spend. After all, when people are in lock-down mode, they’re stuck at home. This effectively gives you two marketing mediums to choose from nowadays: television and radio ads, or social media/digital marketing. Take your pick!

Don’t Try to Profit Off of COVID-19

PSA: This is a global pandemic, not a marketing opportunity. If your audience gets the feeling that you’re using this crisis as an opportunity to profit, they’re going to get a bad taste in their mouth about your company. Ensure that you keep your marketing messaging professional and considerate. This is a serious situation of global magnitude that is affecting your customers and their families in serious ways.

That’s not to say that you shouldn’t show solidarity with consumers — it’s totally fine to show your support. Just do everything you can to avoid coming off as insensitive! For example, you can announce that for every purchase of x, y amount of money will be donated to COVID-19 vaccine development. You can also offer flexible payment plans in support of those who are recently unemployed or working reduced hours.

If you want to acknowledge the virus in a meaningful way, consider sharing with your customers that you are complying with all current health regulations and taking extra measures to ensure their safety. Feel free to list those specific measures — e.g.; hand sanitizer is available upon entry, all delivery workers are wearing masks, etc. Sharing that you take your customers’ safety seriously is a great way to build trust and a subtle way of sharing that you are still in operation despite the circumstances.

Don’t Spread Misinformation

Does this one seem like a no-brainer? Probably. That said, there’s a ton of misinformation surrounding COVID-19, and a lot of it is being shared widely thanks to the internet. Don’t trust everything you hear. If you can’t verify it, don’t share it.

Sharing misinformation is harmful to public health professionals and policy makers trying to manage the pandemic. In addition, if your consumer base finds out that you’re sharing false information you will lose their trust and support. Once you lose a customer’s trust, it can be near impossible to regain it.

One quick way to test if something is misinformation is to look for the source. Is this a published scientific study or resource? Or if this an opinion disguised as fact?

The safest bet if you’re looking to inform your readers/viewers is to redirect them to the actual experts.

Don’t Use Insensitive Vocabulary

Offering a new sale? You don’t want to make the mistake of advertising it as a “killer deal”. That could come across as really insensitive! Do yourself a favor and invest the time in proofreading all marketing content to be respectful of the situation.

Avoid puns, especially about “going viral”, and health related terms. For example, “Does your credit score need a pulse check?”. Other problematic words include contagious, infectious, and spread. Use your best judgement and be careful.

As a bonus, have your content writers rephrase traditional salesy copy into more neutral and supportive phrases. For example, take “Snatch up our deals before they’re gone!” as compared to “We’ve revised our pricing to help you navigate an unstable economy”. Clearly, the latter is much more supportive and warm-feeling. This is the tone you want to take for responsible marketing.

Other words that induce feelings of comfort and safety include: virtual, remote, from home, delivery, and online. If you’re offering virtual, at-home alternatives, say so! Customers are searching for comforting phrases so they can feel safe about doing business with you.

Don’t Forget to Update Your CTA’s

Suddenly, “Join Now!” or “Visit Us Today!” aren’t super appropriate, not to mention ineffective. Stay-at-home orders coupled with general unease at heading out into the world right now mean that your typical CTAs no longer fit the context. Instead, try switching CTAs to “Learn More” or “Join Us”.

It’s a good idea to avoid unnecessary urgency — very few people are in a rush to act on anything right now, and even fewer want to feel like they’re being pressured into something. For a list of over 100 tangible CTA examples, explore our Ultimate Guide to Calls to Action Phases.

Furthermore, opt for versatile copy — every day, the COVID-19 crisis evolves, so what might work one day may not be appropriate or useful the next. To avoid having to constantly revise your copy, opt for flexible, vague copy.

Call to Action buttons matter just as much. It is important to review these in your digital apps to make sure that they’re styling is just as appropriate as their tone. For real-world examples, visit our Ultimate Guide to Call to Action Buttons.

Always Be Willing To Try

It might seem like there’s a LOT of marketing mistakes to avoid during COVID-19. The good news is that most of these are completely preventable with a healthy dose of awareness and common sense. Don’t let the fear of messing up paralyze you in fear!

It’s so important, now more than ever, to continue marketing to ensure the longevity of your business. The single most important thing you can do is market responsibly. This means avoiding gimmicky or salesy attempts to capitalize on the virus, avoiding spreading misinformation, skipping insensitive vocabulary in favor of safe and supportive words, and adjusting your CTAs as necessary.

Armed with this knowledge of major COVID-19 marketing mistakes, you’re well on your way to developing supportive, effective marketing. We wish you safety, health, and a pinch of luck as you continue to navigate these uncharted waters.

If you enjoyed this, you might enjoy our other helpful articles on marketing pitfalls: 7 Marketing Fails to Avoid  and 5 Common Marketing Mistakes.

Or if you’re looking for assistance with a project of any size, Cubicle Ninjas is here for you! Just fill out this contact form, or give us a call at 1-888-77-NINJA. Let’s make something amazing!

The post Major Marketing Slip-Ups to Avoid During COVID-19 appeared first on Cubicle Ninjas.

Look no further! We’ve had our fair amount of experience doing work from home, with many ninjas working from home permanently for years, and we’ve come up with several tips that should help reduce stress while helping you adjust to this brave new world.

8 Work From Home Tips to Reduce Stress

1. Fully Accept That You’re Not on Vacation

You might have heard people trying to sell work from home as the ultimate dream. “You’ll have time to be with your kids and earn money,” they claim. But these statements leave us wondering if those touting these dreams have ever worked from home!

Sure, for some people it’s a much better set-up than for others. You get to ditch the commute. You can sleep in. You don’t have to wear anything but your comfiest PJs for that next meeting. After a few days though the excitement wears off and your left with the creeping realization that this wasn’t what you had hoped.

Remember: working from home isn’t like being on a long holiday.

You’ll still need to get work done, and for many people, it’s even more difficult to focus. There’s no clear delineation from work and home any longer, and if you can work at any hour of the day, you may just find yourself doing so.

Don’t get sold on the idea that you’ll be sitting watching Jeopardy reruns while you play tea with your toddler. You won’t be. Many work doubly as hard to prove they’re making things happen from the comfort of their living room.

2. If You Have Young Kids Hire a Parents’ Helper (or Work Out Something with Your Spouse)

If you have young children during the lockdown you’re learning firsthand how impossibly challenging juggling working while babysitting can be. When trips to the grocery store start to feel like exciting adventures you know that you’ve been trapped in the same space for too long.

First, allow yourself some grace. These aren’t ideal conditions, but if your child is even remotely smiling or laughing, then you’re doing an excellent job.

Second, while your children may not need to go to daycare if you’re working from home, you also need to realize that you can’t keep 100% of your attention on them. If you try to be the best parent and best home worker possible at the same time, you’ll run yourself into the ground. And you’ll be giving 50% or less to both.

Third, be creative! With the COVID-19 crisis, hiring a parents’ helper is not simple, we get it. But during “regular” times, doing so can be extremely helpful. In the meantime, you might have to improvise! You could, for example, enlist your oldest child to help look after the little ones (if they use their leverage to charge you an arm and a leg for their services… well, you might have to fork it over and take pride that you’ve raised a savvy and resourceful child). Or, you can coordinate with your spouse or partner, each looking after the children at specific times so that you can both get your work done.

Fourth, embrace what works. While we many parents publicly bemoan apps as a babysitter for kids, the fact is that we’d have likely given our left leg for such magical technology when you were that age. As a parent your goal is to keep your kids safe and happy, and technology can provide an exceptional way for them to learn in fresh ways. Lean into new ways to learn and play, even if under “normal” conditions they might not be allowed. Things aren’t normal right now.

3. Change Your Clothes

We’re not saying you have to get all office-ready, but changing clothes can help change your mindset.

If you get up and start working in the same clothes you slept in, it can make it more difficult to delineate between work and home. It may make the temptation to procrastinate or do things like taking a nap or cleaning the house look much more appealing.

As such, you should put on a different set of clothing before you work each day. You can still put on PJs, but as long as you know they’re “work PJs,” it can significantly shift your concentration and goals.

4. Create a Schedule

When other people in your home have to go to school or to work outside of the home, creating a schedule can be much easier. Your schedule will likely mirror theirs, as you’ll want to be finished by a certain time each day. You’ll also likely adopt a similar sleeping pattern to your family.

With COVID-19 and everyone being home with you, this can make it much more difficult. In some regards, does time even matter anymore?

Theoretically, it doesn’t matter when you get things done if your job is assignment-based, as long as you do it. But having a schedule will make you feel more productive and make the days feel less like they’re bleeding into the next.

A schedule can also keep you more productive, especially if you create a task-oriented one. For example, you may decide to set aside 9 to 11 to work on your inbox. Then, schedule 1-3 to work on new assignments. This gives your day a greater sense of purpose instead of feeling as though you’re simply slugging through it aimlessly.

5. Have Your Own Designated Space

We get it, not everyone lives in a mansion where they can have their own en-suite for their office. If your house has that, use it. But if it doesn’t, you can still make do in other ways.

You should have your own designated space where you work. It shouldn’t be your bed, as your bed should be reserved for… well, bed things. Instead, you should work at a desk, ideally in a room away from others.

If you can, decorate your space to make it yours. It sounds silly, but 5-minutes of moving things around can transform the dining room table into your new private work oasis.

This puts your mind into “work mode.” It also tells others in your house that you’re working now and therefore, they cannot bother you unless it is an emergency.

6. Be Strict When It Comes to Others Who Want Your Time

We already stated that many people have an overly idealized version of what working from home is. Because of this, you’ll get lots of pressure to do things you don’t have time for. But only you can work out what schedule is best for you. And only you can work out what you can and can’t do without your work suffering.

Emphasize that you’re working from home, not sitting at home. With this, you’ll need time that’s parsed off where you can’t or won’t be bothered. If needed, make a sign for your family when you can and can’t be disturbed.

Try not to take personal calls during this time, and be strict about when you’re on, and off, the clock.

7. Ask For Help When You Need It

Surprisingly, it often takes more communication to get things done when remote.

While you may have been able to swing by your coworkers office to chat about that hot new Netflix series, and covertly get your questions answered on the side, working from home doesn’t allow for these luxuries. This means that the same team may need more help to achieve the same results, especially when working against an urgent deadline.

That’s why asking for help is very important, as your boss or teammates might not know you need it. Clarifying what you need in advance to do a spectacular job is the sign of a strong team player. You shouldn’t be working all hours of the day in secret hoping things will change.

That’s even where outside helpers like Cubicle Ninjas can come in too. If you don’t currently have the internal muscle or skill set in house, we can quickly hop in to tackle initiatives without missing a beat.

Saying “I need X or Y to do my best work” isn’t a weakness, it’s a strength. Pay close attention to your projects and clearly communicate your needs well in advance to ensure working from home can deliver the exceptional results that you’re known for.

8. Set a Time to “Switch-Off”

Many people who work from home, or own their own business, struggle with when to switch off. Work emails don’t only come in from 9-5 Monday through Friday but can come in at any time of the day or night.

Because of this, you may find it tempting to sit in bed answering emails at 11 PM instead of going to sleep, or getting up at 5 AM to answer a phone call.

If you don’t have strict boundaries set that dictate when you switch on and off, you’ll never “switch off” and constantly be in work mode.

For those feeling dread when they hear their phone chime: we have a solution. It is incredibly important that you set a time to turn off your work electronics or to log out of your business email. Turn off notifications. If you can, avoid your new work space altogether. Separating your personal and work life isn’t just healthy, it’s beneficial to your job. You’ll be more recharged to solve problems, versus fearful of another late night fire drill.

If you don’t draw clear boundaries, you’ll find work bleeds into your personal and family life, and your quality of life will suffer.

How Do You Feel About Our Work from Home Tips?

We hope these work from home tips will help keep you productive during these uncertain times, and beyond. For many people, it takes a while to get the knack of remote working, but once you do, you may find you prefer it to the office. If you’re just starting your work from home journey as an entrepreneur, check out our article on tips for designing a high-conversion site for more useful information! Or if you’re looking to start a project, Cubicle Ninjas is here to help! Just fill out this contact form, or give us a call at 1-888-77-NINJA. Let’s make something amazing!

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Fully Immersive 6DOF VR with No Wires Attached

Getting into VR with no cords will make the experience much more enjoyable and believable – one step closer to fully immersive VR. Thank you Oculus Quest! Now let’s keep the no cords ball rolling as the tech evolves.

Full length AAA Games

With the announcement of “Half Life: Alyx”, “Star Wars”, “Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond”, major publishers have embraced VR technology and started to produce full-length AAA quality games that are specially designed for the platform.

Streaming Desktop VR Experiences to Standalone Devices

The choice between purchasing a desktop VR headset and a standalone VR headset just got easier with the announcement of streaming desktop Oculus VR experiences to the Oculus Quest standalone headset. Virtual Desktop allows you to access your computer wirelessly, while the link cable lets you run full-featured VR games on your portable headset.

The Oculus Quest

The new Oculus Quest is an all-in-one portable headset that makes VR accessible and affordable to all. In addition to having a full suite of VR features, it also has exciting new technology, such as hand tracking using the headset’s onboard cameras. Now, instead of needing separate controllers, you can navigate VR apps by pointing and tapping with your hands!

Adding VR as a Last-minute Feature

The most acclaimed VR experiences are those that were built from the ground up for VR, and not those that simply added a VR mode at the end of the development cycle to cash in on the hype. Games like Fallout and Borderlands are great examples of well-designed VR adaptations that feel like a custom experience designed specifically for this technology.

Trying to Make a 3DoF Experience Play like a 6DoF Experience (and vice versa!)

Some games or apps just work better as a 3DoF or 6DoF game or app. The key is to figure out what type of game or app you have and make it for that so you can concentrate of what matters most which is the best experience possible for that headset. If you try to split the middle, you’ll end up making an inferior project for both platforms.

HTC Vive Cosmos

While all-in-one portable headsets are a great idea, the HTC Vive Cosmos was a flop because it couldn’t deliver on core features. Combined with a hefty price tag, poor performance in low light, and inability to detect spaces the way its competitors can, this new product launch came up flat.

Using VR for “Soft Skills” Training

VR training isn’t new, but up until now it has been largely focused on hard, mechanical skills. Push this button, pull that lever, move this object there. But now, Fortune 500 companies are starting to unlock the capabilities of immersive reality as a way to augment training in “soft skills” like customer service and interpersonal interactions.

Realistic Expectations

With most the VR hype starting to be transferred over to AR, the VR space finally has the room to breathe and delivery quality experiences without fighting extremely inflated user expectations.

5G

5G is being touted as a major boost for virtual reality that will unlock new experiences. While there is a nugget of truth in this, it is mostly a marketing tactic to promote what is simply an increase in mobile bandwidth.

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Multiple lenses on Modern Phones

Multi-lens camera phones give photographers and videographers an incredible new range of capabilities. You can creating stunning portraits by using depth information to blur backgrounds. You can boost low-light sensitivity by utilizing multiple sensors. And for videographers, you can capture multiple camera angles simultaneously to emulate a multi-camera interview — a setup that previously required a whole crew and multiple cameras!

Fluid Motion and Soft Body Dynamics

There’s something very pleasing and soothing about seeing extremely fluid motion. More and more, we’re seeing reshaping and soft body dynamics being used to push the envelope on how fluid and continuous animators can make their motion pieces.

Grain shading

Shading brings 2D scenes to life by giving the appearance of depth and shape. But with highly stylized artwork, sometimes shading can look out of place. That’s why grain-style shading is an exciting new aesthetic trend. This lets you add depth to an image while still maintaining the style and feel of the 2D artwork, giving animators the tools to create compelling and beautiful graphics.

Low-poly 3D scenes

From video games to animations, low-poly scenes are a major trend in 3D visual design. For one, they address a lot of practical issues — processor and memory limitations on mobile devices are serious impediments, so lightweight scenes are needed for better performance. On top of that, though, they also have a cool and stylized look. This makes low-poly scenes the perfect blend of form and function.

Macro Close-ups

A perk of using high-fidelity 3D models is that you can create amazing macro close-up shots that would be impossible to create in real life. Using the fine texture and lighting details, you can create thrilling videos that start extremely zoomed in and gradually reveal the object — all while using music and camera motion to build dramatic tension.

Choose Your Own Movie

AI facial replacement technology is advancing at an incredible pace! This year, it’s taken a big step forward from a fun toy in photo-sharing apps to a powerful tool for putting your own face into movie scenes. The recently released Zao app shows the amazing (and somewhat terrifying!) potential that this technology holds.

Isometric Motion Design

Aesthetic styles are cyclical. For a long time, there was a trend toward skeuomorphism — making symbols appear as realistic and lifelike as possible. This year, the pendulum is swinging back toward isometric design, bringing back simple shapes and colors to give objects a more “illustrated” look. This is a welcome trend for video production, because isometric design opens up much more possibility for animation, manipulation, and shape-shifting.

Over-Reliance on Stock Video

We’re living in a golden age right now — with the widespread availability and portability of professional-quality filmmaking equipment, it’s never been easier to get amazing custom video content! That’s why it’s frustrating to see that people aren’t taking advantage of it, and instead relying on tired and clichéd stock video.

Undersaturation

Desaturating footage to create a specific visual mood was a popular trend recently, but at some point it went too far in that direction. Now, bold colors and sharp contrast are back fashion, so seeing film and motion pieces that are still overdoing it with flat, bland, or washed-out looks is disappointing.

Glitch FX

There’s retro, and then there’s too retro. Right now, glitchy effects and transitions are in that uncanny valley where they look dated but not yet vintage. Give them a rest.

Unfortunate Type Mixing

In motion, readability in typography is especially important — you need people to be able to read things in the short time they’re on screen. Make sure all text works together, and don’t create any confusion or headaches through clashing fonts.

Virtual Camera Movement

Virtual camera movement is one of our favorite developing trends. By adding some shake, zoom, or motion to a motion piece, you can drastically change the emotion, intensity, and feel of the entire project. Give it a shot!

Retro Aesthetics

Aesthetic trends never go away forever — they just go dormant until they’re ready to resurface. Right now we’re at a point where 80s nostalgia is coming back in a big way. Think Stranger Things or vaporwave — bringing back these vintage looks in motion and film is a sure way to generate interest.

Shape Morphing

As isometric designs come back into fashion, it opens up a whole new range of possibilities! Since isometric designs are built out of basic shape elements, you can manipulate these individually to create exciting pop-in, pop-out, and morph effects.

Low Cost Motion Tracking

Motion tracking used to be only for big-time Hollywood movie studios. But with the rise of consumer VR systems and motion sensors, it’s now available to anyone who has a computer, a spare room, and a vision!

Practical FX vs Special FX

People are getting a little wary of seeing too much computer graphics in films, and it’s becoming more popular to go back to practical effects. Even an extremely detailed computer model of a shark can’t quite recreate the aesthetic of the giant mechanical shark used in Jaws.

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Shared AR Worlds and Experiences

With advancements in technology, AR experiences are no longer solo affairs! We’re seeing a really cool trend of shared AR experiences that have been applied in fascinating and creative ways. Now, several people can link together to experience an augmented reality world through their own device, which has opened up new worlds for storytelling and gameplay in AR.

Body Tracking and Human Occlusion

The early days of AR involved putting a virtual object into the real world environment and… not much else. But things are changing fast! Now, with advanced body tracking technology, the level of interactivity with AR objects has taken off. Now, you can move around virtual objects, hide behind them, and much more!

AR Flat UI

There are multiple ways to incorporate AR objects into environments. You can place 3D objects in the world, or you can have flat objects hovering in space like a heads-up display. But the big trend is combining both of these things to suit your user experience needs. Having a “flat” UI panel that attaches onto 3D virtual objects allows developers to utilize the immersive aspect of AR along with the data-presentation benefits of a crisp and readable UI.

Contextual Understanding of the World

AR experiences put virtual objects into the world, but to make them truly immersive you need to find a way to have the world interact with virtual objects as well. We’ve seen a major trend toward using contextual understanding of the world to enhance AR. This can mean using cameras to generate reflections on virtual objects, modeling physical interactions, and using motion tracking to model spaces.

Unrealistic 3D models or Shaders

AR is on a strong trajectory to increase the visual fidelity of the experiences and erase the visual differences between the virtual objects and the real world on which they are superimposed. But nothing breaks that illusion faster than using models or shaders that are outdated, unrealistic, or in the “uncanny valley” of awkward semi-realism.

Treating AR as a Gimmick

Simply tacking on AR functionality of any kind is no longer enough to stand out from the crowd. AR experiences are proving to have real usefulness, and AR needs to be considered from the initial development of the application. Don’t design something and try to shoehorn it into the AR space — you have to build AR experiences from the ground up, keeping the technology and its use case in mind throughout the project.

Requiring a Separate App for AR

People are hesitant to try out new technologies if there’s a big up-front investment in money or effort. The most used AR implementations are those that are integrated into a general purpose app that people are already using. For example, the Amazon app offers a way to view products in AR in the base Amazon app, which means people get to experience AR without having to purposefully sign up for it.

AR Awakening at Home Retail

Retail isn’t dead — people are still buying things! The big change is that this has moved out of brick and mortar stores and into more convenient places like the home. Because of this, AR will play a major role in the new retail landscape by allowing retailers to provide their in-store experience to shoppers all around the world.

Educational AR Gets Good

We’re discovering that AR offers huge educational benefits because it caters to the way people actually learn — through visual and tactile experiences. There’s so much potential for delivering new and improved educational experiences using AR, and with the augmented reality market trends we’re seeing, we can only expect more innovation in this space!

“Dumb” Smartglasses

The first wave of smartglasses looked to be a dead-end. Users never connected with the idea of wearing bulky, awkward, and expensive headwear in public. But the latest wave of “dumb smartglasses” seem to be reviving this idea by offering inexpensive and discreet wearable tech that is catered toward a specific use, such as tabletop gaming. Watch for this trend to come roaring back!

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Public Consciousness of Good UX

Over the past year, we’ve seen UX break into the public conscious and now, more than ever, users are more aware of what makes or breaks their experiences with websites and products alike. Whether it’s headline news, podcasts, or parody games, this awareness raises the bar for designers to provide top-tier experiences as falling short can be a detriment to your success.

The Hero Menu We Deserve

With the mobile-first movement came the hero menu: a large, bold, typographic element that typically takes up a majority of your homepage and functions as your main navigation element. Not only do they ease the transition from mobile to desktop, but they offer the opportunity to further establish your brand through display type.

Progressive Web Apps

For those not in the know, progressive web applications are essentially websites that act like apps. The perk of building a site that functions like an app is that you don’t have to worry about deployments and other headaches you typically associate with application development but allow for users to have a singular experience across web and mobile alike.

Relevant, Curated Content

It’s becoming easier than ever to provide your users with valuable, curated experiences every time they visit your site. Whether it’s tracking products viewed, topics commonly explored, or suggestions based on previous visits, take advantage of this data to keep your web presence refreshed and relevant with each click.

AMP Emails

When AMP technology is paired with email, recipients are greeted with engaging, animated, and interactive email that sets itself apart from the spam and monotonous updates. Think of it as a mini application in your inbox!

Storytelling Through Scrolling

One seldom-mentioned aspect of web design is storytelling. By creating a flow throughout your website that both guides and engages, you are able to tell a story in a unique way. In 2019, we saw this trend go even further as long-form webpages employed parallax and other animated elements to tell a cohesive story as the user scrolls down the page.

Too Many Sticky Elements on Mobile

Although phone screens are larger than ever, design real estate on mobile devices is still limited compared to desktop experiences. That’s why it’s extremely important not to crowd users with too many sticky elements on mobile. All this does is block valuable content and create frustration for users who may not even be interested in the sticky information.

Website Notifications

We have enough applications and sources of distraction without websites asking for permission to send us notifications. It’s spammy and doesn’t add value to your user’s experience.

Wait, You’re Still Not Mobile-Optimized in 2020?

Believe it or not, there are still sites out there without responsive design implemented well, or at all in some cases. It’s 2020 – mobile-optimized sites are a fundamental user expectation. Brands that don’t get on board can expect to be left behind in favor of competitors that offer a cohesive, user-friendly experience across multiple channels.

Over-Templatized Layouts

Content management systems like WordPress have made web design and development more accessible to the masses – no experience required. While this is great for empowering organizations to take greater control of their online presence, it has led to an abundance of stripe-y look-a-likes born from the same old templates. This lack of unique branding strips companies of the opportunity to differentiate their organization and really shine in the digital space.

Just Keep Scrolling, Scrolling, Scrolling

Infinite scrolling is a hugely popular functionality popularized largely by social media interfaces. While this strategy can be effective for platforms like Pinterest and Twitter, organizations outside of the punchy content-creation space should tread carefully here. Drawbacks of infinite scrolling include performance degradation, less targeted analytics data, difficulty navigating back to specific items, and a negative impact on SEO.

Tacky Badges and Awards

We’ve all seen it – homepages cluttered with logos accrediting the company with some title or achievement. It’s increasingly common across industries.  The issue with these “awards”, however, is that they aren’t earned – they’re bought. The organizations offering these badges charge companies in order to display them, and users are wising up to the scheme. Brand credibility is important, but there are better ways to prove one’s abilities than paying for awards.

Lack of Branded Illustration

Illustration is a fantastic way to differentiate a brand and create a cohesive ecosystem of visual elements across channels. However, style is key. When illustration looks like stock rather than custom work, the result is a generic aesthetic that blends in with the competition and misses the opportunity to create a unique, personalized brand experience.

WebGL

WebGL stands for web graphics library and is defined as “a JavaScript API for rendering interactive 2D and 3D graphics within any compatible web browser without the use of plug-ins.” In short, WebGL enables the use of real-time 3D graphics on websites, giving designers and developers alike more flexibility than ever to create one-of-a-kind user experiences.

Custom Cursors

As a fundamental indicator of page functions, the traditional arrow cursor is one audiences are accustomed to. However, in 2020, we expect to see more designers tap into the power of the cursor as a flexible design element that can further enhance and customize the user experience.

Scalable Vector Graphics

With the advent of HD monitors came dissatisfaction with now-visible fuzziness in traditional JPEG and PNG images on the web. Not anymore! With scalable vector graphics, web pages can now display crystal clear graphics that are perfectly crisp on even the most high-definition screens. Even better – these vectors are smaller in file size than traditional image files, lowering overall page size for faster loading time.

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PowerPoint Layout Recommendations

With PowerPoint Designer, creating well proportioned layouts has never been easier. Designer allows you to create professional layouts by detecting pictures, charts, and tables while giving you a design scheme based on what you import. It also allows the user to turn regular text into smart art like process graphics and timelines. Designer will also analyze your content and recommend illustrations.

Microsoft’s Improved PowerPoint Template Library

Sure, everyone has seen the generic PowerPoint templates that pop up whenever you create a new presentation—we see them in our nightmares. Did you know that Microsoft has an extended slide library? You can find modern, sophisticated templates at templates.office.com. You can also find templates for Word and Excel, all you need is your Microsoft credentials to get started!

PowerPoint Morph Transition

Sick of creating slides with complicated and confusing animations? Morph is a new transition that allows you to create a unique experience by using the content of your slide. Morph takes the elements of your first slide and allows them to move and change size in the next slide’s layout. This is a lot easier than setting up an animation for each individual element. Morph is seamless, smooth, and allows you to create dynamic slides faster.

SVG Vector Graphic Capable

Of all this year’s design trends, presentations are unique in that the mechanics continue to take substantial leaps forward not just for the average user, but for design professionals. No longer are the days of creating graphics in Illustrator and using a third party program to bring them into PowerPoint. Now, you can simply save out you graphics from Illustrator as an .svg and directly import them into your presentation like you would with a picture. After that, you may change the color and scale the graphic like a basic PowerPoint shape. I think we speak for everyone when we say “it’s about time.”

Removing Image Backgrounds in PowerPoint

So you want to remove the background of an image, but you don’t have Photoshop? No problem. With this new update from PowerPoint now you can. It’s all apart of the picture tools under the Background Removal tab. After selecting the tab, you can trace the person, place, or thing using your mouse and delete the rest! You can even save that image to your desktop as a PNG for future use.

PowerPoint’s Improved Icon Library

So, you don’t have Illustrator and you want to avoid paying for graphics? Don’t worry, PowerPoint has a built in Icon Library. This is not clip art, these aren’t basic shapes, this is a library of well curated icons that not only match aesthetically, but are filterable. The icons are ordered in the library by category, searchable, and has a jump menu in the sidebar. Don’t think you can find the right icon? The library has hundreds of different options and dozens of categories.

Vibrant Color

Some people say the world isn’t black and white, and here at Cubicle Ninas we agree! Especially when it comes to presentation slides. Not only does your messaging have to be streamlined, but your slides need to have some personality as well. No visual element elicits an emotional connection faster than color. Quickly standout by using colors that are bold and breathtaking—your audience will thank you!

AR Data Visualization

People are always looking for neat ways to incorporate interactivity into their presentation, and with technology becoming more sophisticated it’s never been easier. Utilizing Augmented Reality is a great way to bring your slides to life. Whether you want to emphasize data or add some flare to your time on the podium, AR visualization is a strong solution.

Clear Hierarchy

We all know to keep our messaging simple and streamlined, but you can’t have a clear message without clear hierarchy. Hierarchy is the structure of your content and their order of importance. It is created by the contrast of your content as you cannot emphasize without deemphasizing. Having everything the same hierarchy leaves the slide feeling heavy or unfinished. To sound philosophical, “everything is and nothing isn’t” does not work.

Plenty of Negative Space

We have all seen it, a slide so crammed with content it makes makes a jar of olives look spacious. You can try to add hierarchy all you want, but no one is going to read all of that copy. If you aren’t making concise points in digestible chunks of information your audience’s attention span will crash and burn. One thing to remember is that negative space doesn’t need to white, but rather space between content. Go ahead, add some color!

Boring System Smart Art

Maybe procrastination got the best you and your team didn’t have the time to put together a graphic so you clicked on “Smart Art” and went with the least terrible. We have all been there, so we forgive. Smart Art is tricky, because the application has to look like the same level of effort was put into that slide as the rest of the presentation. If the smart art looks uninspired so will the rest of the slide.

Too Much Complex Data

You’ve seen it—a diagram so complex that when you see it your brain automatically shuts off and the presenter starts sounding like a grown up from Peanuts. Or maybe the slide has so many charts and graphics that the data is unrecognizable. You may think that adding another slide will only add time to your presentation, but break the data into multiple slides if necessary. The amount or complexity of the data should not be limited to a chart or slide.

Broken Functionality (animation/videos)

You hate to see it happen, the thing that was meant to do one thing doesn’t do the thing. Whether it’s “a video that was just working” or another hyperlink function that doesn’t work like it’s supposed to, these distractions stall your momentum and cause a massive disconnect with your audience. Then the only thing to stop your presentation from spiraling out of control is to make a joke about how Kyle from Marketing is fired.

Unbranded Slides

Whether your company is a start up making its first pitch or a globally recognized brand, nothing says unpolished or unprepared like a deck that lacks the consistency and order of a branded template. When you come to a presentation with branded slides it tells your audience you put time into this and you know what you are talking about.

Unreadable Background Photos

You see this cardinal design sin far too often. Nothing quite muddies up a slide while simultaneously destroying readability like a poor treated background image. There are a lot of ways you can add visual interest to a slide without sacrificing your negative space and readability. For example, adding a color overlay over the image or picking a lightly textured image can give you the flare without causing your audience to squint at the slide.

Delivering the Unexpected

At this point, we have all seen the same presentation given over and over again. But with the technology we have available these days, it has never been easier to breaking away from a predictable presentation and engage your audience. Using SMS texting to create real-time polling, testing, or for a Q&A is a cool way to integrate technology into your next pitch. Not only is it cool, but it gets your audience engaged and invested to the content.

Darkmode

Have you noticed that most applications, operating systems, and programs have been using a dark background on their user-interface? Office 365 has—and they have jumped on the Darkmode bandwagon! Now your PowerPoint interface can have a dark, sleek aesthetic. Darkmode has been said to save your eyes from strain and increase battery life on devices. Try it out and see if it makes a difference for you!

Dark Full Color Backgrounds

From applications to operating systems, “darkmode” has become more and more popular, and presentations are no exceptions. Sure, black will always be sleek, but this aesthetic treatment of heavy, dark backgrounds with reversed type has become trendy beyond just a classic look. If you jump into this into this trend make sure your type is readable, as reverse text is hard to read.

Monochromatic

Monochromatic themes are becoming more and more common. By having one color, these monochromatic treatments are optimized for legibility by the contrast created by that pop of color. When used correctly, this pop of color can be easily be used for lead the eye throughout the slide, call-to-actions, or a simple design element that adds some flare to the layout.

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