Top trends in animation 2023: what to choose for your business

Good news: animation is still a major trend. There are a handful of businesses that would say otherwise. But as we become literate in visual languages, more variations appear. 2023 is no exception — there are many new types of animation making their way to the top, many of which might be a surprise for you.

Our team scrutinized the animation stage carefully, picking up the best of it to show you guys. Whether you need to come up with some choice for your advertising or find a way to present your ideas through a new, creative, and engaging medium.

“Marketing is an art that requires a large collection of tools. These tools have to be versatile enough that they can be used to create content for any industry, brand, or product. And over time, this set of tools must grow, and adapt to the ever-changing ways in which the human race interacts. These tools also have to perform a specific function; to convey information in an entertaining manner while providing a useful amount of information that nudges the viewer to engage with, buy, or consider buying a certain product or brand of product. Today, virtually anyone can create video content by either using their phones, cameras, and /or laptops. This is partially due to the creation of video animation which allows people to create compelling storylines and visuals based on their imagination while sticking to a relatively small budget.”

Jeff Bullas, marketing influencer 

Marketing wins when the number of tools at its disposal is growing. Especially, if these things are actually mediums that could make a brand rise. With no further ado, we are moving to trendy animation styles that can be your tools for future marketing campaigns.

Kinetic typography.

If you don’t know what it really is, we can tell you that you’re actually already familiar with the concept. However, you have seen it only in TV series title sequences. Brands didn’t rely on its usage, for it demands quite complex technology to master animated typography.

Certainly, it is different today. This trend has taken a lot of place during last year, and according to experts will only get stronger in the year that started. Letters that can easily bend or twist or stretch may be a great way to make people notice your brand.

By FourPlus Studio

Lo-fi animation.

Nothing is new under the sun, pessimists say. We say, everything should be rethought. Especially, great animated styles of the past. These days, vintage and old-style visuals are quite popular. Make it a bit more modern, and you give yourself a brand-new picture.

Retro-inspired designs have these powerful emotional notes that impact one way or another many people. No matter if you are 90 or 19 — in both these ages, you’ll find something that speaks directly to you. Lo-fi animation shares the same things with retro-styled animation but is known to us only as visuals from music videos. It is not yet a part of marketing trends, but it has been a trend in the last couple of years, mostly in music videos. A matter of time before it will be a part of a marketing plan. Think about adding it to yours.

Thin lines animation.

A little bit of retro will linger on for a minute. This animation technique is almost as old as television itself, popular due to the Walt Disney Company and others in the animation industry.

Thin line animation relies on simple lines to create shapes and figures in the cartoon. The characters and other elements of the entire cartoon are created with simple lines. An advantage of this type of animation is that it can be made affordably. Another advantage is that it helps create characters that seem entertaining. 

Walkthroughs as a presentation.

It’s been a long time since presentations were really creative and truly engaging. Since many in the marketing world have seen that, presentations were destined to change. To make it more effective, some companies already internalized an animated walkthrough approach. The ultimate goal is to show the details of the particular project, taking a customer almost literally by hand. 

AR product animation.

Yes, we won’t make a list here without including AR. You knew that, didn’t you? The fantastic capabilities of AR for marketing are hard to beat.

Augmented reality can give a customer preview of a product, and can show a person what actually is in the product. If you’re still not using this technology, think about it. It is a great way to convert an interested person into a customer. 

Antigravity and floating.

Just a bit of physics here. This type of animation is rather an effect. 3D objects float in a three-dimensional space without a certain direction, like it’s a zero-gravity space. The effect proved to be very immersive and full of potential to create engaging marketing videos with a special zest.

By Xochitl Castaño

Scroll animation.

Scrolling is one of the things we do most often online. Yet, it is not always convenient, as you are not always aware when the scrolling finishes.

Scroll animation allows your website to load more quickly because the images and other elements appear as you scroll down. There are also several ways that businesses use scroll animation to make their brand stand out and influence their audience.

Animated logos.

A company’s brand is inseparable from its business logo. Often people recall some brands just because the image of the logo stuck in their mind. This is actually showing why so many brands are turning to improved, animated logos.

The flat logos we’re all accustomed to do not provoke the same response that animated logos do. It’s probably going to be only more popular in the future years.

Vertical animations.

Billions of people use mobile phones around the world every single day. This number is not a final one, as you understand it. All of them are using vertically oriented devices, which leads to a trend that is caused entirely by the reality of everyday lives and existing demands. TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook are on our phones every day. So, the popularity of vertical animation will grow stronger.

Hand-drawn characters are back. 

Yes, they are back. Flat characters have already become an animated graphics trend. There are big advantages that make this type of animation a preferable one. They don’t take much time to create, and their visualization abilities are quite expressive with a tone of modesty.

eLearning.

Many educational platforms, and universities, already implemented animation into their educational processes. Since the variety of animations is growing, there are more possibilities for deeper training and get a more immersive experience in new disciplines.

Interactive education become a real trend, and its usage will be only bigger. This year it is going to have a big impact on the whole market, according to Expert Market Research:

“The rising demand for 3D animation in education and academics is aiding the market growth. Thus, the increasing adoption of 3D animation in e-learning platforms to enable the usage of visual representation for learning is augmenting industry growth.

The trend of remote schooling owing to the surge of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 is also significantly surging the deployment of animations to enhance the understanding of students, which is fuelling the growth of the 3D animation industry. Moreover, the growing demand for cost-effective animation is increasing the demand for whiteboard animation, hence bolstering market growth. The increasing use of 3D animation in professional training is also aiding the market growth.”

Virtual shows and tours.

When the global pandemic hit us, humans had to figure out how to get into places without actually going there. Plus, many companies or even whole industries have moved to the online space. So, the walkthrough again is a decision.

Among the main ones are museums and fashion shows that are easy to see online these days. To imagine that without animation is quite hard. 

What do experts say?

According to Jeff Bullas, another big trend is anthropomorphism:

“Anthropomorphism is another great animation trend that has been around since the creation of cartoons and television. It involves creating characters who are shown as inanimate objects that have the characteristics of living things. A great example could be the movie “Cars” which incorporates anthropomorphism in its entirety as the movie shows what life would be like if cars we alive.

Another noteworthy fact is that the movie also gives qualities such as getting hurt and feeling thirst, or hunger to inanimate cars. This style or technique is often used when creating a story in a fantasy world but can be used to create engaging and entertaining animations for web design and product promotion as well. This is also another trend that was started long before animation became a mainstream method of entertainment.”

Other experts emphasize several trends we haven’t covered.

For example, Color Experts International said the next thing: “Non-defined border. The graphic elements which have a non-defined border can get this type of motion. Borderless images will look like tubes and circles. If you apply the animation effect that the above image is showing can be professional. As a pro-quality motion graphics expert, you can use motion for any commercial videography. 

Metallic color. Animate the images with metallic color. If the images by which you are going to create motion graphics look dull and not of pop color, try to add some cool color. You can apply metallic colors and effects. When you animate images, they will gloss from different perspectives and light positions. See the below gif image and follow the animation.”

We also want to understand better the rising demand for innovations in animation and graphics.

Here’s what Expert market research says: “The growing appeal for aesthetic and hand-made products, especially among the millennial and Gen-Z population, is leading to a surge in the demand for moving image content. This is increasing the demand for 3D animations, which is projected to propel market growth. In addition, increasing investments in illustrations and animation by various companies are expected to aid the industry’s growth.

As the COVID-19 pandemic led to a surge of animated content in entertainment, the demand for 3D animation in television series, films, and song videos is increasing, which is anticipated to augment the market growth of 3D animation”.

Summary

A few years ago, we would talk mostly about 2D and 3D animations, meanwhile today their blending seems like a great idea because we have enough new animation trends that already made our possibilities much wider.

If you see that any of the styles, we have listed today can be helpful for your project, don’t hesitate to contact us. Our team can find the right approach to any of your goals – even the most challenging and creative ones. That’s it!