As we move into 2025, the digital landscape is evolving faster than a trampoline in a hurricane. For businesses to stay ahead, it’s crucial to embrace the digital trends shaping how we connect, create, and interact with our audiences. Here are some of the trends our team believes are paving the way in the year ahead.

Trend #1: Cohesive, Immersive Brand Identities and the complete opposite?

A cohesive brand is no longer just visual; it’s an experience.

A strong brand has never been more important and that means bringing your identity to life across all digital platforms. Dropbox’s web-based design guidelines are a great example of this, ensuring their look and feel remain consistent across every touchpoint.

For 2025, take this further by integrating motion and interactivity into your brand identity. Animated logos, on-brand loading animations, and kinetic typography keep your brand fresh and engaging in a fast-moving digital world.

Dropbox’s web based guidelines

On the flip side, we saw a new wave of anti-design that picked up momentum in 2024 and we believe will continue into 2025. Anti-design is bold, disruptive, and deliberately unconventional—but it’s not for everyone. This design movement rejects traditional aesthetics in favour of clashing colours, chaotic layouts, and experimental typography. It’s a rebellion against polished, hyper-minimalist branding, linked to a growing nostalgia for 90s and early 2000s internet culture. Viral moments like Charli XCX’s Brat album cover and Chappell Roan’s Good Luck, Babe! lyric video are great examples, proving that sometimes, breaking the rules is the best way to grab attention!

If your brand thrives on nostalgia, rebellion, or breaking the status quo, anti-design could help you stand out. Industries like music, fashion, and youth-driven brands can use this aesthetic to create buzz, tap into cultural moments, and engage audiences who embrace the chaotic, DIY style.

However, businesses that rely on clarity, professionalism, or trust—such as finance, healthcare, or corporate services—should approach with caution. Anti-design works best when it aligns with your brand personality and audience expectations, not just as a trend to chase.

Chappell Roan – Good Luck, Babe!

Trend #2: The Humble Text Post & Building Communities

Remember Facebook statuses? We’re seeing the humble text post make a comeback in 2025. A varied approach to social content has always been essential, but businesses are embracing short, snappy, and engaging posts on platforms like Facebook, X, Threads, and LinkedIn to capture attention and spark conversations.

Text posts are especially effective for brands with a fun, entertaining tone, encouraging comments and discussions that visual content often overshadows. Incorporating trending topics or thought-provoking questions is a great way to bulk out your content calendar and keep your audience engaged.

Community building isn’t new, but it’s more critical than ever. The (very temporary) TikTok ban highlighted the importance of diversifying your audience base and avoiding reliance on a single platform. Businesses and creators are now doubling down on LinkedIn groups, Instagram Channels, and live content to foster deeper connections.

Growing your email database offers greater control over your audience and ensures you have a direct line of communication. For 2025, prioritising multi-channel interaction will be key to building resilient, engaged communities.

Trend #3: Static is out, motion is IN

Video content continues to dominate, and 2025 will see more exciting developments.

Motion design is playing a pivotal role in transforming how brands tell stories and connect with audiences. Animated product explainers for example, turn complex concepts into easy to digest visuals that resonate with viewers. Similarly, dynamic video content used at live events, and to promote them afterwards, will prove to keep audiences engaged and guide their attention seamlessly while building strong brand equity. 

For 2025, businesses should prioritise motion-rich video to drive engagement and communicate more effectively. Think scrolling text that highlights key points, and kinetic type like this example from Forward Festival. We see motion as the secret sauce to help keep viewers glued to the screen!

Motion and kinetic type – Forward Festival

Nastia, DHD’s resident 3D aficionado also has seen a rise in accessibility of 3D content for brands and businesses. 

3D and CGI animation, once reserved for large-scale productions with hefty budgets, are now more accessible than ever thanks to advancements in software and tools. Platforms like Blender and Cinema 4D are making high-quality 3D modeling and animation achievable for businesses of all sizes, empowering smaller brands to compete with visually stunning content. Here’s a viral example from Dylan Oaks.

For 2025, businesses can leverage these tools to elevate their storytelling, engage audiences on a deeper level, and stand out in crowded markets.

Trend #4: Inclusive, Sustainable Experiences

User experience is at the core of every successful digital strategy, but the key for 2025? Make it accessible, and sustainable too! 

Creating inclusive digital experiences is no longer optional—it’s essential. Our User Experience Designer, Hope, recommends referring to WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) to ensure your website or app is accessible to everyone, regardless of ability. From providing alternative text for images to ensuring proper keyboard navigation, adhering to these guidelines helps remove barriers and creates a better experience for all users.

Tools like Stark are invaluable for checking colour contrast and readability, ensuring your designs meet accessibility standards. By testing and optimising elements such as font sizes, colour combinations, and interactive components, you can make your digital space welcoming to a wider audience, including those with visual or cognitive impairments. Accessibility doesn’t just benefit users—it enhances your brand’s reputation by demonstrating a commitment to inclusivity.

Sustainability continues to be a pressing global issue, and we see adopting greener web practices as critical. One key approach is optimising your website’s performance to minimise its environmental impact. Reducing data-heavy elements such as large images, unoptimised videos, and excessive scripts can significantly decrease energy consumption and improve load times, benefiting both users and the planet.

Trend #5: Smarter, Faster Development

AI is transforming web development by making coding more efficient and accessible. Tools like Cursor, integrated into VS Code, are leading the charge by streamlining code troubleshooting. These tools use AI to analyse large codebases, quickly identifying issues and suggesting fixes, saving developers countless hours of manual debugging.

Beyond troubleshooting, AI-powered tools can automate repetitive tasks, and provide intelligent suggestions for optimisation, enabling developers to focus on more creative and strategic aspects of their work. This shift is not just about speed; it’s about creating higher-quality code with fewer errors, ultimately leading to better-performing websites and applications.

In 2025, incorporating AI-driven tools into your development workflow will be essential to stay competitive, improve efficiency, and deliver cutting-edge digital experiences.

The other side of the coin? Generative AI’s growing demand has brought attention to its high water consumption, highlighting the need for more sustainable practices as the world faces increasing freshwater scarcity and climate-related pressures.

Conclusion

To stay competitive in 2025, your business needs to adapt to these trends while staying true to its identity. Whether through innovative branding, thoughtful UX, or smarter tools, the key is to embrace change while delivering meaningful experiences for your audience.