According to Shutterstock, the company that knows a thing or two about colour, it’s bold, saturated hues that are expected to dominate many of 2020’s top creative campaigns.
It’s that time of year again where company’s start looking ahead at the trends set to dominate the next 12 months and one trend that is often overlooked is the colours we use in our creative content. Colour, like everything else, is beholden to the whims of fashion, and Shutterstock can predict the way those whims will turn thanks to the immense amount of visual data at their disposal that matches pixels with image downloads.
Today, Shutterstock launched its 2020 Colour Trends report, which analyses billions of pixel data from images downloaded, and then maps each pixel to its closest named hex code. By doing so, they can ascertain which colours had the greatest growth between 2018 and 2019, as well as local favourites from around the world.
Shutterstock’s 1.9 million customers include designers, marketers, creatives, and bloggers who are often working months in advance on campaigns and projects. These download choices help forecast colour trends in the year ahead.
The colours that have grown the most in popularity include:
Lush Lava
#FF4500: a bold and fiery orange-red that quickly catches the eye—the noticeably warm colour will help companies draw attention to their brand.
Aqua Menthe
#7FFFD4: a vivid, cyan-tinged mint shade that is perfect for conveying a playful, modern, and outgoing brand personality.
Phantom Blue
#191970: a rich navy with significant depth, mimicking a dramatic night sky—ideal for a more professional, mature brand look and feel.
Lou Weiss, Chief Marketing Officer at Shutterstock, said: “In a visually crowded media and advertising world, standing out is both an art form and a challenge for brands. Colour is naturally a powerful tool in helping brands garner attention with their audiences in an effective and meaningful way. As we look to 2020, the data shows a clear shift from the turbo-charged neons of 2019 to more elevated, bold, and saturated colours that command attention in a sophisticated way.”
In addition to the top three fastest-growing colours in popularity globally, the report also highlights the top trending colour for 24 countries. From a mossy green in South Korea to a dark orchid in Brazil, these shades show local favourites across different regions, which are also based on year-over-year growth.
The fastest-growing colour in the UK, in case you were wondering, is a dark blue just a few shades lighter than phantom blue. If you want to show off your patriotism then the code is #0000FF, though the same colour was also the most popular in Switzerland, the UAE, Spain, and Chile. Indeed, it would appear that 2020 is looking rather blue in general. I can’t honestly say I’m surprised.
