StrategySep 12, 2026
Before It's Seen: Why invisible work wins
The best marketing happens behind the curtain. Here's why the work nobody sees is the work that moves the market.
6 min read
DesignAug 28, 20264 min read
The gradient is not a trend
Iris Lindqvist
Design Director
BSM
Every few years someone declares the gradient dead. It never is. What dies is lazy gradients, the ones applied as decoration instead of as a point of view.
Why it keeps coming back
A gradient is a refusal to choose one truth. It says the brand is in motion, that identity is a range rather than a single point. Big categories, whose visual language is usually beige consensus, immediately read that as a threat.
- It signals ambition in a flat-crowded feed.
- It converts brand warmth without illustration.
- It scales from a favicon to a billboard.
A good gradient doesn't decorate the layout. It is the strategy, drawn.