THE VISUAL TRENDS OF GEM AND JEWELLERY INDUSTRY

Print ads can reach more focused group of consumers, especially, if you place an ad in industry specific publication. An Ad should be such that it intrigues the target audiences’ creative side. Print Marketing is spotting fresh new designs to captivate attention. Innovations targeted at the sensory organs such as feel, scent and audio have proved to be impactful and heightened brand presence. With digital marketing, ads are now providing viewers with unique and sophisticated layouts.

A product like jewellery needs focused attention on the offering with subtle layout design, which does not over shadow the interest placed. So, how designing ads for jewellery are different from other products?  Jewellery itself is such an ornamental art that representation of the same should be an art by self.  Interesting artworks revoke the passion behind mesmerizing creations and enhance value appeal.

Jewellery Design Inspiration forms the key source of designing an advertisement. However, the modernity in expressing has seen various abstract themes and traditional layouts, arts and skills in fusion.  The artistic expression of the inspiration has ignited passion in designing jewellery ads and branding to a new level.

Breaking the monotony of background based advertisements, the graphic designers have gone a step ahead and taken inspiration from good old days of commercial art school. Flat designs, Typography, Layering, Interweaving, colorful visuals or patterns and an assortment of diverse shapes are few upcoming trends to look out for. The trend places a modern twist on a vintage idea of the collage by providing a collaboration of new and old media. The layouts vary from professional photographs to graphic design visuals, from illustrations to various texts placed throughout, from Monochromatic to color splash and paper craft.

Well known arts such as origami, illustrators, quilling, and sketches are no more restricted to particular genre of art. Such arts are re-livening in jewellery ads with modern applications. The design trends work on module of asymmetric layout that is pleasing to the eye and will potentially attract a larger audience. The season’s popular trends observed so far and coming up are given below to watch out for.

Origami: The Japanese art of paper folding has led to beautiful creations and these paper crafts are used as props to illustrate jewellery. Paper folding, layering, interlocking to give it a form has been source of inspiration for designers to depict the luxury crafts. The Banaras Collection By Zoya – The Tanishq Entity portrays Banaras with impressive paper arts and the pink enameled jewellery.

Monochrome: Monochrome designs and drawings use one color or shades of color. Usually, this effect is used to create drama and ads designed are symbolic of nature. Renowned jeweller, Amrapali known for its quirky and statement jewellery designs its merchandise with Monochrome applications.

Illustrators: Illustrator is a vector drawing often used in cartoons, comics, diagrams, logos and charts. The innovation in this art has recently seen application in jewellery artwork. As consumer demographics change to more lifestyle and art conscious, the advertisers provide an edge to match the compatibility of the audience.

Quilling & Paper Filigree: Quilling involves uses of thin strips which are coiled to make shapes and arranged to create decorative designs. These props are used to represent subtle, light weight jewellery. Minimalism and joyful depicts such layouts. Paper filigree is more of cutwork patterns used to depict flexibility, artistic design and target the emotional appeal of the consumer.

Typography: Matured from cursive styles, typography can be as influential in conveying the message as the illustration, photography, monochrome and other techniques outlined above. Leading international brands such as Boucheron, Van Cleef and Arpels and many others have been using typography design in the promotional materials.

With exposure to hundreds of advertisements daily, marketers need to focus on trends that resonate with customers and break the clutter.  Marketers need to stimulate the sub-conscious mind of their target audience

with variations in trends. You may find below visuals which are trendsetter for 2015 in Gem and Jewellery Industry.

Click Here if you’re looking forward to go for print ads of your jewellery brand, to get a fair idea of how effective it would be.

Creation of Brand Identities

The visual elements of the brand that together identify and distinguish the brand in consumers mind are brand identities. These elements are colors, design, logo, symbol, signatures, name, font style and size, which help us distinguish between two brands. We call these Identities power tools as they are retained for a longer time in consumers mind. The first step in Brand Building exercise is the creation of identities. Let’s begin with first identity – Logo.

Logos: Logo is a fundamental part of a business and the centre point of a brand identity. It is the first thing that customers see the most and by which they recognize the brand. However when it comes to brand styling, a logo is just the start. Logo as a composition contains several elements such as typography, textures, icons, patterns, emblems, symbols. Logo evolution dates back to industrial revolution. From early days of Industrial Revolution to Modern era, logo development has been re-positioned with every passing time. Today, it has developed into a brand equity asset.

Color: Color is an important element of visual brand identity and color mapping provides an effective way of ensuring that a color contributes to differentiation in a visually cluttered marketplace. Many brands associate colors with company values and same are perceived in consumers mind. Colors can be depicted in logo, products or packaging.  The particular Tiffany blue or called as Robin’s-egg-blue has made the Tiffany Blue Box® an international icon signifying the excellence of all Tiffany & Co. designs.  They have been able to do this by maintaining consistent use of colour across all their communications – boxes, shopping bags, advertising and other promotional materials. It is a trademark color and reference number given represents the birth year of the Tiffany & Co.  The color represents creativity, communication, modern & forward thinking, which acts as a stimulator for the brand Tiffany.

Typography: The style or way you write is Typography. It is an identity, which is common irrespective of the languages it is translated and spelled in. The font, style, size and color are usually identical throughout all markets, channels and aids in building brands. A much known example can be taken of Coco-Cola. The cola giant’s typography is recognizable world-wide. The Coca-Cola translated in various languages ensures the same font style and Color scheme. SO whether its Hindi or Russian, the Koka-kona will have the wave and the Gotham font with symbolic red color as the brand identity.  The power of brand identities is to secure a position in consumers mind by keeping it simple, clear and distinctive in all markets. Typography in luxury segments has been given due importance to spell opulence. The Indian Jewellery Industry segment is still naïve to develop brand identities. Internationally acclaimed, Harry Winston uses stacked “H & W” that are the first initials of its name in an emerald shape frame (which is an emerald cut diamond), giving importance to typography.

Symbols:  Symbols were supposed to be first language of communication. Egyptians encrypted special codes in form of symbols on the mummies.  Symbols convey different meanings in different regions, but there are few symbols which are common worldwide. It is important to design symbol in such a way that it does not hurt sentiments of mass and at the same time depicts the core aesthetics of the company. The twin interlocking C’s with one facing right and other left of luxury French Brand Coco Chanel is symbolic and constitutes their logo.

Packaging:  Packaging today has become very crucial for most of the Business. Apart from the product as the key strength of any business, it is the package that stays with a customer and gives first impression of the brand. Packaging has to be innovative, compact and offer protection to control damage. It also acts as a salesman. It conveys about both,the product and the Company. Hence,utmost care is taken while packaging. These days, due significance is given on protection of environment; hence eco-friendly packages are being developed by the companies. Jewellery Companies’ packages have also come a long way. Apart from the protective case to the product, the package also includes company product literature on how your product was made, imprint of company logo on the product for easy recognition, certificate of authentication and a digital story to give the whole experience every-time you open the box.

Jingle/Slogans/Taglines: Jingles or slogans have been in use for a long time. These slogans or jingles help the consumers’ to recall the brand in their minds. No one can eat just one – Lays, ting-ting-tining – Britannia, or as I am targeting Luxury Jewellery Segment let me say ‘Hira hai sada ke liye’- Yes, u guessed it right, Its De-Beers. De-beers is the Trendsetter for the jewellery Industry. They are the very first players in Gem and Jewellery segment to promote through advertising and connect to consumers with an emotional appeal.  For Indian markets, the above tag line caught instantly and till date it continues to use this in all its TV commercials. 

These identities have helped the brands to grow over the period of time and make space in the minds of their target audience. If they are communicated well, they become signature elements and Brand Assets.