The data-led report predicts image, video and music styles set to dominate marketing campaigns, advertising creative and video projects throughout the year.

Shutterstock, Inc., a leading global technology company offering a creative platform for high-quality content, tools and services, today launched its ninth annual Creative Trends Report, identifying global and local trends that will influence design aesthetics and visual culture in 2020.

According to eMarketer, growth in average daily time spent with video increased by 11% among users in 2018, making it the fastest-growing digital media activity. The increasing consumption of visual media challenges brands to keep up with sharing compelling visual content that engages their target audience.

Explore the full 2020 Creative Trends Report here.

This report provides data-led insights for brands, marketers and creatives to keep their content fresh and relevant, and to drive better performance for their marketing campaigns.

The three major creative trends for 2020 include:

The Roaring 2020s – a century after the loud and lavish 1920s, the look that defined an era is back and on the center stage globally in 2020. Searches for “gold pattern” are up 4223% year-over-year and “20s retro” saw an increase of 189% from the previous year.

Keywords: Gold pattern +4223%, ’20s retro +189%, Linear geometric +106%.
What to look for: Art deco, Linear geometric, 1920s. Look to the coastal influence of Miami Art Deco for a twist on this iconic style.

Occulture – alternative faiths and age-old beliefs are enchanting Millennials, Gen Z and Gen Alpha, showing renewed interest in mainstream channels and on social media networks in particular. Customers are searching for keywords like “magic” and “spiritual” an impressive 525% and 289% more respectively over last year.

Keywords: Magic +525%, Spiritual +289%, Horoscopes +37%, Palm reading +22%.
What to look for: astrology, occult, magic illustration. Both playful and powerful, the occult can lighten the mood—or darken it.

In Full Bloom – forget elegant arrangements and delicate displays. The floral visuals of tomorrow are big, bright and in full bloom. The 141% surge in searches for “flowerscape” and 136% uptick for “bloom” make this a vivid trend for the year ahead.

Keywords: Flowerscape +141%, Bloom +136%, Live wall +83%.
What to look for: live walls, multicolored flowers, flower letters. These flowers don’t just show up-they show off.

This year’s data points toward the pursuit of meaning, happiness, and opportunity in new creative projects-traits that may be reflective of the uncertainty in our climate and the year ahead.
— Lou Weiss, CMO at Shutterstock.

This year’s report not only offers hand-curated collections for each of the trends from Shutterstock images, video and music, but also includes images from Offset and Shutterstock Editorial as well. In addition to the three major trends, the report outlines local favorites in 25 countries around the world, as well as, five rising trends that promise to gain traction in 2020. Rising trends range from design mainstays like “minimalistic black” and traditional arts including “Chinese ink painting” to elegant photography and modernized visuals such as “wild life” and sports photography. The annual report analyzes data gathered over a 12-month period from billions of customer searches for images, footage, and music content.

Minimalist Black – Minimalism reigns and black is hogging the spotlight (or lack thereof). In 2020, designers will lean into black’s depth and contrast to create powerful experiences. Meanwhile, new and darker shades of black will allow artists endless options for stunning, unprecedented minimalism.

Keywords: Black +1779%.
What to look for: minimal black, black texture, abstract black background. Dark mode is in vogue, both on-screen and off.

Wild Life – A new generation is answering the call of the wild, and they’re documenting their experiences at unprecedented levels. Outdoor adventure has been growing in popularity, as both a hobby and a visual subject. The resulting imagery captures the moodier side of nature and its power over our emotions.

Keywords: Hiking +553%, Camping +368%, backpack and boots +325%.
What to look for: wild journey, outdoor adventure, camping. Fog-laden valleys, wintery mountain passes, and stormy seas set a vivid scene for this trend.

Chinese Ink Painting – With increased interest in calligraphy, modern artists are also turning to the similar brushwork of Chinese painting. One of the oldest art forms, Chinese ink painting captures a subject’s true spirit, or rhythm. Though they can be sparse, these paintings are loaded with metaphors.

Keywords: Ink and wash painting +118%, Cherry blossom illustration +152%, Chinese illustration +74%.
What to look for: Chinese ink painting, ink wash, Chinese symbols. Ancient symbols of fortune, prosperity, and longevity get a modern look.

Game On – With searches increasing for sports and fitness keywords, 2020 is on track to be a game-filled year. Sports photography can depict stories of strength and perseverance that appeal to global audiences. Sweat and pain, triumph and loss-these images reveal the determination of the human spirit.

Keywords: Sports +1,647%, Running +197, Cycling +161%, Boxing +150%, Swimming +120%.
What to look for: Athlete, Sports action shot, active sport. Athletes are using their sport as a platform for empowerment and a catalyst for change, creating powerful stories.

The analysis, which is grounded in data from billions of keyword searches made by marketers, social media managers, video producers and designers, provides a glimpse into the creative trends that we expect to engage consumers on a much bigger scale. It also serves as a source of inspiration for our customers and contributors as they develop creative projects in 2020.
— Lou Weiss, CMO at Shutterstock.

One to Watch: Change is in the air and we can see it in the numbers.

Protest Art – Raised up on posters, sprayed on walls, worn on lapels—art spreads the message of a movement. Individuals around the world are raising their voices in protest. In 2020, we expect these voices to grow louder still and the unique artwork of these movements to become widespread.

Keywords: Inequality icon +465%, Environmentalism +70%, Civil unrest +48%.
What to look for: protest typography, equality symbol, sustainability icon. This art isn’t for decoration—it’s for declarations.

Trends around the world:
● South Africa- Isometric, protea
● Egypt- Geodes, Traditional Chinese clothing
● India- Black floral pattern, Buddhism art
● Japan- Space logo, psychedelic
● Korea- Traditional Korean life, graffiti
● Taiwan- Dinosaur pattern, mossy forest
● Thailand- Vintage motorcycles, drumming in rhythm
● Turkey- Retro floral pattern, fitness
● UAE- Japanese cherry blossom painting, old floral letters
● France- Japanese camellia, futuristic white
● Germany- Vintage flower illustration, woman and lion
● Italy- Minimalist design, ecology
● Netherlands- Backpacking, crystal
● Russia- Rattan, vintage hockey
● Spain- Zebras, watercolor lemon and flowers
● Switzerland- Anemone, Moroccan pattern
● UK- Sunken city, tropical leaves
● Canada- Cannabis, dinosaurs
● Mexico- Black designs, fruit cartoons
● US- Backpacking, dreamscape
● Australia- Celtic cultures, decorated cakes
● Argentina- Ancient Greece, fashion sketches
● Brazil- Gold Thai design, Retro Pop
● Chile- Bikes, agriculture
● Norway- Bigfoot, spiritualism

The data, combined with analysis from Shutterstock’s internal visual intelligence panel pinpoint patterns and styles that have the potential to stand out. As themes emerge, the panel confers to determine the trends they expect to command creative projects in 2020.

Mike McCabe, VP of Creative Services
Mike McCabe is the VP of Creative Services at Shutterstock with over 16 years of experience as a creative lead. He has a proven track record of translating abstract concepts into rock-solid creative and has developed campaigns across channels including desktop, mobile web and apps, display, email, social and video. Mike specializes in branding, product development, UX/UI and performance marketing, marketing strategy and content development, and has worked with companies such as YP, Infor, IBM, JP Morgan, Chase Manhattan Bank, Bear Stearns, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Bantam Doubleday Dell and Calvin Klein. He has also led creative initiatives at Patch Media, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Snackable Media, The Inside Store and The San Francisco Symphony.

Flo Lau, Associate Creative Director
Flo is the Associate Creative Director at Shutterstock where she specializes in digital marketing, brand performance, conversion optimization, and sales enablement for the brand. Over the past four years, Flo has built a collaborative team culture, partnering closely with leadership across the company to drive creative campaigns resulting in award-winning work. With over 10 years of experience as a creative leader, Flo is a designer and marketer at heart. She previously held senior creative titles at companies including Macy’s, Haier America and Consumer Dynamics. Outside of work Flo enjoys running with her husky pup, exploring nature and entertaining her toddler son.

Shutterstock, Inc.
www.shutterstock.com

Shutterstock, Inc., directly and through its group subsidiaries, is a leading global provider of high-quality licensed photographs, vectors, illustrations, videos and music to businesses, marketing agencies and media organizations around the world. Working with its growing community of over 1 million contributors, Shutterstock adds hundreds of thousands of images each week, and currently has more than 300 million images and more than 16 million video clips available.

Headquartered in New York City, Shutterstock has offices around the world and customers in more than 150 countries. The company also owns Bigstock, a value-oriented stock media offering; Shutterstock Custom, a custom content creation platform; Offset, a high-end image collection; PremiumBeat, a curated royalty-free music library; and Shutterstock Editorial, a premier source of editorial images for the world’s media.

For more information, please visit www.shutterstock.com and follow Shutterstock on Twitter and on Facebook.

All images curated by Shutterstock’s in-house curation team and courtesy of Shutterstock.