Even though 2020 was a dumpster fire of a year, there have been some silver linings that have come to be, not the least of which are the Coronavirus Vaccines. Amidst the cloudy skies of the year, there have been slivers of light. So take heart! The end is in sight. We are SOOOOO close.
So, in no order of importance whatsoever, I present to you:
I really appreciated that apparel makers have now made pajamas called something else: lounge wear. From what I have surmised, lounge wear is basically soft pants with pockets and a matching top that looks like a regular sweater on camera. Also, you do not look quite like a hobo when you wear these with a mask to pick up your groceries. In fact, I even got a scarf for Christmas for the express purpose of topping my pajamas, I mean lounge wear, I mean executive (sweat)pant suit when I need to “dress up” for client facing zooms.
Like many silver linings of 2020, this is a blessing and a curse. Working from home presents a whirlwind of challenges—how do I connect with my team? How do we bond in virtual meetings? How do I not resent my kids when they need me when I am in the middle of a meeting? But also? How do I not adore that sometimes my child just comes to hug me and kiss me on my forehead in the middle of the workday when they have a break between virtual classes? It’s no longer a matter of trying to balance work and family life. They are fused together in my real life. It’s a struggle to be sure to never ever leave the office and never really leave my home. But if I am honest with myself, was I ever really able to take off my Mom hat? Was I ever really able to take off my work hat? No; I wasn’t. So now I have the opportunity to wear them as one hat. And having the opportunity to do that, even poorly at times, is a gift we have all been given. It is a task so worthwhile, it is worth getting wrong over and over.
It used to be that it was only in subtle ways that we could tell what mattered to a company. We would get warm and fuzzy commercials at Christmas and for the Olympics, but by and large, the corporate world, in attempting to please everyone and offend no one, stood silent on social issues. 2020 and the Black Lives Matter movement coming into the center of national news made us all re-evaluate what it meant to be American. We all saw that it was not enough to simply not be racist. We had to be anti-racist. And companies stood up. Ben & Jerry’s became not just the ice cream company who was environmentally motivated, but one who boldly stood up and made equity for all part of their mission and even tackling systemic racism on their website and podcasts. The mega-giant Proctor & Gamble fought racism with their ad “The Talk”. This gave consumers the opportunity to put their money where their mouth was and for the first time I heard folks whom I never imagined would make a stand talking about wanting to support local black owned businesses.
Because of the inability to film or have photo shoots during lockdowns and to maintain social distancing protocols, art directors got creative and got back to basics. Illustrations and motion graphics jumped from just the world of prescription drug ad campaigns and onto websites and print ad and commercials. These illustrations have left us wondering why we ever thought illustrations were unprofessional in the first place as they provide a way for us to be warm and welcome and each brand to have a unique personality. We hope this trend for more illustrations, born out of creative necessity amid the pandemic, is here to stay.
Because we were all stuck at home communicating virtually over our laptops and phones, we all learned to up our selfie game. Most of us got ring lights. Lots of us upgraded our microphones with USB mics. We learned how to zoom with a background from Hogwarts. I saw set ups that placed laptop cameras at a more flattering angle. Personally, I stack two yoga blocks, but I’ve seen milk crates and amazon boxes and tripods. We have all become content creators of a sort and I am hopeful that the days of looking up someone’s nose during a video chat will soon be in the past (and that is a lining that appears more golden than silver). Even some of our favorite television shows have shot from within homes like SNL and The Daily Show.
We used to just have online grocery shopping. I would put in my order and then head there and wait in my numbered spot. But thanks to 2020, curbside pick up is now at my pet store, my bookstore, my restaurant, and even the ABC store. That’s right people. You can order your drinks for your New Year’s toast and never have to get out of your car or your pajamas. So maybe we should channel another one of my faves of 2020 that I streamed no less than a dozen times, Hamilton, and sing, “Look around, look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now…”
We are still seeing design that is light and airy. Have no fear, devotees of Chip and Jo-Jo. But we are also seeing breaks from traditional design standards with layers and overlapping. Content that is interacting with other content. Designs layered up over other designs giving us warmth and textured and geometric shapes. We’ve also seen the old become new again with a rise in monograms and beveled tips in logo design. We love it and hope to see these trends stick around in 2021.
We can’t wait to see what 2021 has in store for us and the inbound marketing world, but rest assured, we will be enjoying those trends in our lounge wear while proctoring virtual school sipping our curbside pickup beverages.