The age of the metaverse is inching closer, and it may not be too long before people are spending most of their waking hours within virtual reality worlds. Companies need to start anticipating and planning for how things will look in this new form of the internet.
Logos and thumbnails are set to evolve dramatically and are likely to adopt new dimensions. These branding tools have already undergone massive changes over the years, but they could experience their biggest leap forward yet in VR.
Making Thumbnails Richer and More Detailed
In the fiercely competitive world of internet business, branding is crucially important. And as the web has become busier, the way brands connect with customers has evolved. The online casino sector is one of the best places to see how far this has come, with slingo bingo games coming with eye-catching thumbnails and logos. Titles like China Shores Slingo and Slingo Space Invaders have such rich and detailed imagery on their thumbnails that they tempt players to click and find out more. It’s not enough to simply display the title of a game and who it’s made by anymore. Players need to get a sense of what to expect when they click, with some detail about the title’s theme and storyline.
The challenge for graphic designers has been to convey this in a small amount of space, knowing that their offerings will be lined up alongside many other stunning thumbnails. In the metaverse, there should be ways to expand upon these ideas and provide users with even more information in a thumbnail.
New Dimensions and Interactivity
When people enter the metaverse, it’s unlikely that they will browse through lists of logos and thumbnails in the same way they do today. Branding, of course, will still exist, it will just be displayed in different ways. For example, people in search of online casino games may walk around virtual casinos in which the thumbnails of slots are displayed on the walls around them.
This is where the fun could come in for designers, and there’s an opportunity to turn these thumbnails into interactive portals. They could involve moving imagery that gives players greater detail about the product, and there could even be a chance to jump inside and see a glimpse of what’s on offer.
There could even be virtual art galleries, where every thumbnail floats in space around the metaverse user. These could expand to reveal more as the user approaches and could even include sounds and narratives. In addition to enhancing the discoverability of content, this also elevates the user experience from the initial interaction with a product.
VR tricks your brain into thinking it’s real, making this all the more important as consumers may have an increased reception to good branding. You can imagine the difference between walking into a virtual Apple store and holding an interactive Apple logo, compared to simply seeing a sticker on the wall as you enter. This strange new world will give brands the opportunity to truly immerse customers in their worlds.
There’s no doubt that the metaverse will bring about a plethora of new branding opportunities. Designers who push the boundaries early could set trends for the future. There’s likely to be a heavy focus on interactivity and engagement, with logos and thumbnails that grab people’s attention from the first point of interaction.
