Includes our 8 key insights from the event.

Event: Adobe’s Creative Forecast: Trends Shaping 2026

Date: Wednesday, February 25, 2026

Presented by: Adobe & WGSN (featuring Cassie from WGSM)

Executive Summary

Adobe’s 2026 Creative Trends webinar revealed a key shift in creative strategy—where technology amplifies rather than displaces human creativity. With content demand projected to grow 5x-20x through 2027[1], knowing these trends is critical for brands seeking effective engagement. The webinar identified four core trends that integrate technological innovation alongside an authentic human bond: All the Feels, Connectioneering, Surreal Silliness, and Local Flavour. These trends emerged from extensive research using Adobe Creative Cloud data, cultural pattern analysis, and feedback from global creative communities[2].

The Four Defining Trends of 2026

1. All the Feels: Multi-Sensory Brand Experiences

Core Insight: Audiences are craving immersive, multi-sensory experiences that surpass traditional visual content as a response to digital fatigue[3].

Key Characteristics

  • Multi-sensory engagement: Content that activates texture, sound, taste, and emotion beyond pure visuals

  • Experiential branding: Creating brand messages that “awaken the senses”

  • Rich tactile elements: Vivid colours, exaggerated typography, motion-filled elements, and amplified textures[4]

  • ASMR and sonic branding: Sound-led videos and audio experiences that boost emotional connection

  • Maximalist aesthetic: Visual overwhelm that makes audiences feel and react instinctively

Strategic Applications

“Our lives are so screen-focused that since the COVID-19 shutdown, people have had a voracious desire to have all their senses engaged,” according to Brenda Milis, Principal of Consumer and Creative Insights at Adobe[5]. This trend is notably powerful for:

  • Food & beverage brands (texture, taste, sound)

  • Beauty and personal care (haptic experiences)

  • Travel and hospitality (immersive environments)

  • Retail experiences (physical touch points)

Real-World Examples

  • Glow Recipe: Their social media feed showcases “an ensemble of squeezes, taps, scratches, and pumps that practically let you feel the product through the screen”[5]

  • Nature connection initiatives: Forest bathing and “Koyia” concepts emphasising time in nature

  • First-person POV content: Immersive videography that drops audiences directly into sensory events

Implementation Recommendation

Move away from flat, screen-based content toward experiences that stimulate multiple senses. Create visuals with depth and detail by crafting AI prompts that incorporate how something might feel, sound, and smell—not just how it appears[6]. Pair sound design with visual content and emphasise textural elements in photography and video production.

2. Connectioneering: Engineering Emotional Bonds

Core Insight: In an attention-scarce, scattered world, brands that forge authentic emotional connections will stand out and create enduring loyalty[7].

Key Characteristics

  • Human-centred storytelling: Content that represents lived experiences and creates instant relatability

  • Unity and closing gaps: Bringing diverse people together using shared emotional experiences

  • Heart-searching content: Motivating audiences to think and feel deeply about their emotions

  • Forging friendship: Building communities rather than just audiences

  • Joy and reinvention: Optimistic narratives that celebrate transformation

Strategic Applications

Connectioneering represents “the visual equivalent of a knowing nod”—content that makes audiences come across within seconds[8]. As Per Levander, co-founder of Maskot Images, notes, this approach plays an integral role in creating work that reminds us what it means to be human[9].

The emotion-driven decision-making principle is critical: “It’s tempting to think we buy on logic, but real connections—and lasting brands—are built on how they make us feel”[10].

Real-World Examples

  • Café Curious: A concept café opened by Perplexity AI, incorporating technology with physical community spaces

  • Rouse Coffee concept: Creating gathering spaces centred on authentic human interaction

  • Running clubs: Physical community endeavors promoting joy, connection, and shared achievement

  • Gote Burger Shops (Korea): Restaurants promoting running clubs and joy through community building

Implementation Recommendation

Design content that taps into universal emotional experiences—joy, nostalgia, affection, and inspiration. Focus on authentic, credible storytelling over polished perfection. Build brand experiences that facilitate true human connection and community formation. Prioritise emotional effect instead of purely aesthetic considerations.

3. Surreal Silliness: Playful Escapism Through AI

Core Insight: Audiences are embracing absurdity, humour, and dream-like creativity as an escape from reality and a tribute to imagination[11].

Key Characteristics

  • Alive and dream-like: Surreal imagery that feels both funny and deeply engaging

  • Humorous and playful: Visual jokes, “Easter eggs,” and unexpected elements[12]

  • Unlocking imagination: AI-powered creativity that breaks standard boundaries

  • Low-fi aesthetic: Embracing “low-quality memes” and deliberately rough, surreal content

  • Absurdity as strategy: Using the unexpected to command attention and create memorability

Strategic Applications

This trend leverages AI tools like Adobe Firefly to create striking, unconventional visuals from simple prompts[13]. The approach acknowledges that in a world of polished perfection, deliberate imperfection, along with absurdity, can cut through noise more effectively.

“Surreal Silliness” offers audiences permission to not take everything so seriously—a refreshing contrast to information overload and social pressure.

Real-World Examples

  • Pine-Sol: Brand campaigns embracing absurdist humour to stand out in commodity categories

  • Low-fi meme culture: Deliberately rough, authentic social content that seems authentic

  • AI-generated surreal imagery: Brands experimenting with dream-like, impossible scenarios

  • Playful product launches: Using humour and absurdity to create viral moments

Implementation Recommendation

Give creative teams permission to experiment with the unexpected and absurd. Use AI generation tools to discover unconventional visual directions. Don’t fear imperfection—embrace it as authenticity. Create content with hidden surprises and humour that rewards closer inspection. Balance playfulness with brand identity to maintain recognition while standing out.

4. Local Flavour: Celebrating Cultural Authenticity

Core Insight: As globalisation and AI homogenise content, audiences progressively appreciate authentic, culturally-specific stories that spotlight local artists and traditions[14].

Key Characteristics

  • Local cultures and traditions: Celebrating regional craftsmanship and heritage

  • Authentic, traditional content: Real photos and videos over staged productions

  • Lived-in and spontaneous: Unpolished, genuine documentation of culture

  • Spotlight local artists: Platforming regional creators and makers.

  • Humanises brands: Creating a unique identity through cultural specificity

  • Something unique: Differentiating through place-based storytelling

Strategic Applications

Local Flavour represents a strategic counter-movement to generic, AI-generated content. It acknowledges that cultural specificity creates differentiation and deeper emotional resonance with spectators seeking authenticity.

Per Adobe’s research, this trend performs particularly well when brands show authentic respect for and investment in local communities rather than superficial cultural appropriation[15].

Real-World Examples

  • Nike Local Café Soup Bowl (China): Hyper-localised activation celebrating regional food culture

  • Aldi event partnerships: Connecting with cultural moments like the Oasis revival tour

  • Regional artist collaborations: Brands spotlighting local creators and craftspeople

  • Place-based product lines: Limited editions reflecting regional aesthetics and traditions

Implementation Recommendation

Invest in understanding and authentically representing local cultures within your target markets. Partner with local creators, artists, and cultural ambassadors. Create region-specific content rather than one-size-fits-all global campaigns. Document real cultural moments with spontaneity rather than over-produced staging. Use local language, references, and aesthetics to build a real connection.

Critical Strategic Understandings

Insight 1: The AI Paradox—”Harmony of Intelligence”

The Challenge: There exists a fundamental division between audiences who want to see AI in advertising and those who emphatically do not[1].

Strategic Response: AI should boost human creativity, not replace it. The webinar emphasised that “the biggest concern is the false way of thinking that AI can do it for me. It always needs people to be at the centre of the creation.”

Key Principle: Technology is not a replacement for creativity but an amplifier of it[16].

Insight 2: People-Centred Creativity is Non-Negotiable

The webinar concluded with compelling reminders about creative fundamentals:

  • “Every film is a little bit about love”

  • “Every brand is about people”

  • “Culture is discovery’s greatest act”

These principles ground all four trends in human experience rather than technological capability.

Insight 3: Curiosity and Understanding Drive Connection

Understanding people—their desires, fears, joys, and cultural contexts—remains the basis of effective creative work. The trends reinforce that audience insight must precede creative execution.

Insight 4: Algorithms Stunt Creativity

Excessive dependence on algorithmic optimisation and data-informed decision-making can homogenise creative work. The report advocates for:

  • Taste and originality over formulaic approaches

  • Creative risk-taking rather than safe optimisation

  • Human intuition balanced with data insights.

Insight 5: Collaboration and Joy are Essential

“Collaborate and have fun” emerged as a core message. Creative teams that prioritise experimentation, playfulness, and authentic collaboration produce work that strikes a chord more authentically with audiences.

Insight 6: Digital Fatigue Demands Physical Experiences

The move toward multi-sensory, physical experiences reflects audience exhaustion with purely digital engagement. Brands that can create hybrid experiences—digital discovery leading to physical connection—will capture significant attention.

Insight 7: Content Volume Requires Trend Awareness

With content demand growing 5x-20x through 2027[1], understanding visual trends that resonate becomes essential for cutting through noise. Trend-aware content performs better in crowded landscapes.

Insight 8: Emotional Design Outperforms Aesthetic Design

Adobe’s research demonstrates that content “engineered to spark emotion” markedly outperforms purely aesthetic work[17]. Emotion drives purchasing decisions and brand loyalty more effectively than visual polish alone.

Conclusion

Adobe’s 2026 Creative Trends arrives at an important moment—when technological capability could either homogenise or humanise creative work. The four trends identified offer a clear direction: audiences reward authenticity, emotional connection, cultural specificity, and creative courage.

The most successful brands in 2026 will be those that use AI and advanced tools to boost human insight and creativity as opposed to replacing it. They will prioritise:

  • Emotional effect instead of aesthetic perfection

  • Cultural authenticity over global standardisation

  • Multi-sensory engagement instead of purely visual content

  • Creative playfulness over algorithmic optimisation

  • Interpersonal connection instead of technological sophistication

As the webinar powerfully concluded, creativity and people must remain at the centre. Every brand is about people. Every piece of creative work is, fundamentally, about love—for craft, for audience, for culture, for the human experience itself.

The trends of 2026 invite creative leaders to be bold, be curious, collaborate joyfully, and never forget that technology aids humanity, not the other way around.

References

[1] Adobe. (2026). Adobe’s Creative Forecast: Trends Shaping 2026 [Webinar].https://business.adobe.com/resources/webinars/adobes-creative-forecast-trends-shaping-2026.html

[2] Adobe. (2025). Innovation and authenticity — Adobe’s 2026 Creative Trends forecast.https://business.adobe.com/au/resources/creative-trends-report.html

[3] Adobe Express. (2026, January 13). Experience the wonder of All the Feels.https://www.adobe.com/express/learn/blog/microtrend-all-the-feels

[4] Calibre Careers. (2026, January 10). Adobe Creative Trends Predictions for 2026.https://calibre.careers/editorial/insights/adobe-creative-trends-predictions-xxvi

[5] Adobe Blog. (2025, December 8). The four creative trends that will define marketing in 2026.https://blog.adobe.com/en/publish/2025/12/09/four-creative-trends-define-marketing-2026

[6] Yahoo Tech. (2025, December 16). Adobe’s creative trends report embraces the silliness of AI.https://tech.yahoo.com/ai/articles/adobes-creative-trends-report-embraces-070000904.html

[7] Adobe Express. (2026, February 1). Spark a genuine human connection with Connectioneering.https://www.adobe.com/express/learn/blog/microtrend-connectioneering

[8] Adobo Magazine. (2026, January 21). Adobe says human-centred marketing will define 2026.https://www.adobomagazine.com/insight/from-automation-to-emotion-adobe-says-human-centered-marketing-will-define-2026/

[9] Adobe Blog. (2026, January 7). How creators are leveraging Adobe’s 2026 Creative Trends.https://blog.adobe.com/en/publish/2026/01/08/how-creators-leveraging-adobe-2026-creative-trends

[10] Nic Te Cuevas. (2025, December 17). #AdobeExpressAmbassadors [LinkedIn post].https://www.linkedin.com/posts/nictecuevas_adobeexpressambassadors-ad-2026adobecreativetrends-activity-7407214978216357889-wLJ_

[11] The Creative Store. (2026, January 30). 4 Creative Trends for 2026, According to Adobe.https://thecreativestore.com.au/creative-talk/design/4-creative-trends-for-2026-according-to-adobe/

[12] Adobe Express. (2026, February 15). Engage in playful escapism with Surreal Silliness.https://www.adobe.com/express/learn/blog/microtrend-surreal-silliness

[13] LaBaSad. (2026, January 15). Adobe Creative Trends 2026: Emotion, AI and Authentic Design.https://www.labasad.com/en/adobe-creative-trends-2026/

[14] Adobe. (2025, August 11). Innovation and authenticity — Adobe’s 2026 Creative Trends forecast.https://business.adobe.com/blog/adobe-2026-creative-trends-forecast

[15] PPC Land. (2025, December 19). Adobe forecasts four creative trends shaping 2026 advertising campaigns.https://ppc.land/adobe-forecasts-four-creative-trends-shaping-2026-advertising-campaigns/

[16] Brian Johnsrud. (2026, January 20). The Adobe 2026 Creative Trends Report [LinkedIn post].https://www.linkedin.com/posts/brianjohnsrud_the-adobe-2026-creative-trends-report-is-activity-7419763251762348033-fBTo

[17] Emma Sumpton. (2025, December 10). Connectioneering in B2B: 500,000 ways to build emotion into your content. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/connectioneering-b2b-500000-ways-build-emotion-your-content-sumpton-cz5ye

[18] Adobe. (2025). Adobe Creative Cloud Business Resources. https://business.adobe.com/au/blog/adobe-2026-creative-trends-forecast