Abstract and Three Dimensional Aesthetic Takes Over Developer Marketing Design

Developers value authenticity and depth. This is exactly what the latest developer marketing design trend is all about.

It seems like developer marketers have had a design identity crisis over the past few years. The design aesthetic adopted by developer brands was a corporate, tech-inspired look: flat colors, sans serif fonts, and often just a simple wordmark as a logo. Take a look at the websites of Dropbox, MailChimp, Slack, Buffer, Hubspot, etc., and they all look very similar—a bit like a tech company from the 1990s.

This style of branding has become well known as "Corporate Memphis." There is even an online generator for Corporate Memphis logos that you can use to enter your brand name. It left the developer marketing design space feeling stale and uninspiring.

Examples of Corporate Memphis style

As technology advances, innovating companies are elevating design aesthetics. With more agility to keep up with design trends, these are often gaming companies or those in the innovation space like Blockchain. With a better pulse on the market, companies can rapidly move their design direction forward.

The aesthetic replacing Corporate Memphis has shifted into the abstract, vibrant, and colorful. Combined with 3D characters, motion, and shapes, this has produced striking results. Branding like this often feels like digital fine art because it feels exciting, bespoke, and bold.

Unity Gaming Services is an excellent example of this new style. On their blog, Unity says of their new 3-dimensional design: "It’s now fully 3D; symbolically, it’s where our technology (the X-axis), Unity creators (the Y-axis), and the incredible experiences they create (Z-axis) intersect."

Another brand where we see this energized movement into the bold, iridescent 3D design is Cosmos, a developer of innovative tools for Web 3. According to the company, the branding represents an acceleration into the new world of decentralization and interoperability.

Like in previous cycles of design history, brands are learning that in order to stand out visually, they must avoid slipping into what already feels familiar and easy. Now is the time to be creative and visually exciting with your brand.

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Catchy identifies five new trends in developer marketing, including the latest design trends. Discover the first trend in our series, the Decentralisation of Developers. The second highlights the Influence of Individuals on your developer marketing strategy. The third explains the integrated roles of Buyers and Builders in your sales journey. The fourth explores the two of the fastest-growing developer marketing channels.