When Senior Living Executive magazine reached out after seeing some of my emails about design and marketing trends, I was asked if I’d write about how senior living communities could apply current trends to stand out from the crowd. It seemed straightforward enough and honestly, it sounded fun. Look at what’s working in design right now (bold color palettes, chunky letterforms, playful type and neon accents) and explore how those ideas could be translated for senior living.
To do that in a way that felt grounded, I decided to start with a little homework.
I planned to visit about 30 community websites, download their brochures, sign up for their newsletters and see how they were using design and messaging to connect with prospects. I wanted to understand the landscape before suggesting any trends to consider.
But here’s what happened instead: downloadable brochures were few and far between, and most of the forms I could find were geared toward “get more information” or “schedule a tour”. There really wasn’t a way to sign up for something that gave me a sense of what the community is all about or what it might be like to work with the organization itself. There was no way to raise my hand and say “I’m not ready yet but I’d like to keep an eye on you”. Almost everything required a phone number and felt less like a warm “come take a look” and more like the start of a sales transaction.
That’s when I realized: before we talk about which trends to apply, we need to talk about what I found when I tried to engage with 30 senior living communities as if I were an actual prospect (with, of course, a slightly creative eye).
Why this matters (and how we think about “trends”)
Trends, by definition, are about direction – the general long-term movement of something that is changing. In marketing, though, we often use “trend” to mean whatever is capturing attention right now: a visual style or tone of voice or campaign hook or format that suddenly seems to be everywhere.
Those attention-grabbing trends have a place. A well-timed social post or ad or campaign can nudge someone to try a new restaurant or download an app or sign up for a service they hadn’t considered. The decision is often quick, the stakes are low and if it doesn’t land people move on.
Senior living isn’t that.
Here, we’re talking about the decision of where someone might spend a significant chapter of their life and whether families feel confident about that choice. So when we talk about “trends” in senior living marketing, the more important question isn’t “What’s the latest typeface?” It’s: where is our marketing headed and who are we really appealing to?
The critical eye belongs on things like:
- How the direction of our messaging reflects today’s residents and families, their needs and hopes and language.
- Whether the way we present ourselves helps people picture a life here, not just recognize a familiar design style.
- How we’re using creative tools to express an identity and point of view that already exist rather than letting style drive the story.
Graphic design trends often sit at the edge of what’s comfortable. That can be useful in some industries. In senior living, the more helpful move is usually to start with the direction of your marketing – what you’re saying and to whom – and then decide which design elements, if any, can support that direction without overwhelming the seriousness of the decision.
What I looked at (and why)
I chose a very unscientific mix of 30 communities across the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic, South/Sunbelt, Midwest and West, mostly independent living so I could at least compare apples to apples. Some were nonprofit, some for-profit, some faith-based, some secular, some life plan, some stand-alone.
I wanted to see how communities introduce themselves to the two audiences who almost always share this decision: future residents (increasingly Baby Boomers) and their adult children and families.
For each site, I tried to do what a real person might do:
- Visit the homepage.
- Decide whether to keep scrolling.
- Look for a sense of what life there is actually like.
- See if I could sign up for updates or download something to help me learn more without immediately committing to a phone call.
Along the way, I asked myself five quick questions:
- Did it capture my attention enough to scroll past the first screen?
- Could I see myself or my parent living here?
- Did it quickly show life, wellness and experience, not just buildings?
- Did I see a sense of “why this community” before being asked about budget?
- What would it feel like to deal with this organization?
That last question turned out to be more important than whether the visuals were “on trend”. A site doesn’t have to be flashy to be effective. In some cases, a fairly simple design paired with thoughtful language and grounded imagery told a much more compelling story than a trendy layout with nothing to say.
As I went, I jotted down what the colors and photos felt like, whether the copy sounded warm or generic, if the homepage led with price or with people and whether there was any straightforward way to stay in touch such as a newsletter or guide.
The goal was to hold up a small mirror and ask “If this is how this community shows up online, what might it be signaling about the experience they’re inviting people into?”
What stood out: exceptions in a familiar pattern. Some bright spots did appear.
A handful of communities made me want to keep exploring. Within a few minutes, I could see people painting or dancing or doing yoga or learning Spanish or enjoying grandkids at a cookout or relaxing by the pool – and I could imagine the kind of resident who would feel at home there. Those sites tended to:
- Lead with real residents doing real things, not just wide shots of buildings.
- Use cleaner, more contemporary layouts and color palettes that felt current without trying too hard.
- Let their photos do the heavy lifting, with copy that added warmth instead of repeating generic promises.
On one site, a mostly black-and-white brand let the photography carry the color. The homepage felt modern and uncluttered; my eye went straight to residents engaged in activities and participating in a full calendar of events. Without reading much body copy, I could tell: this is an active place with a lot going on for people who like to be engaged.
Another community greeted me with a simple, well-produced video and brighter, fresher colors. The headline was playful and specific enough to feel different: “A lifestyle that’ll leave you wishing you’d hit 60 sooner”. The photography looked like real residents, not staged stock models in generic rooms. That line made me chuckle and think “Okay, there’s some personality here”.
But those were the exceptions.
More often, the first impression looked like:
- A large photo of the exterior building with an empty driveway and no people in sight.
- A hero image with a dark overlay that preserved the text but seemed to drain the life out of the scene.
- A form or “Get Pricing” prompt dominating the top of the page before I’d seen any evidence of what the place felt like.
There were a lot of stock images, posed vaguely familiar faces in generic rooms or empty common areas with no activity. As a designer, I notice those things quickly, but I suspect even a novice could feel the difference between vibrant images and video of real residents versus staged, dated, ho-hum shots. When image after image feels generic or a little sad, it quietly shapes the story: “This is what life here looks like.”
In several cases, I saw headlines that used words like “bold” or “vibrant” or “upscale” or “live fully”, paired with layouts and colors that told a flatter story. The words promised one thing; the visuals suggested another. From a design perspective, that mismatch matters. From a human perspective – especially for a Boomer who doesn’t want to feel “old” or an adult child worried about safety and engagement and fit – it can be enough to make them click the next result.
Life before price, value before forms
One question that came up again and again was: at what point does the community ask for my information?
On a number of sites, I was greeted by a form or “Get Pricing” callout before I’d seen a single image of how people spend their days. That’s understandable: budget is a real concern and transparency matters. But when price becomes the opening act, it can crowd out the story of why the community might be worth that investment in the first place.
By contrast, the sites that felt more compelling usually did three things in order:
- Helped me feel something: a sense of welcome or activity or warmth or calm depending on their positioning.
- Helped me understand something, what kind of lifestyle they offer, who tends to thrive there and how they see residents and families.
- Then invited me to take a step, schedule a visit or request pricing.
That same sequence applies far beyond websites. A postcard or print ad or event invitation also has to earn attention, help people picture themselves there and only then ask them to do something. In a category where many independent living decisions stretch over many months or even years from first exploration to move-in, there’s time to build that relationship thoughtfully if we design for it.
The quiet gap: staying in touch without pressure
Another pattern: in most cases, there was no simple way for a curious person to raise their hand and say “Not yet, but I’d like to keep an eye on you”.
Newsletter or “community news” sign-ups were rare. When they did exist, they often required a phone number and felt more like a sales inquiry than an invitation to follow the story. Downloadable brochures were not common either. The few I did get tended to feel crammed with information and laid out in ways that didn’t do the content any favors.
Given how long and emotional these decisions are, that feels like a missed opportunity. Families and future residents may need months of small, low-pressure touchpoints – stories or event invitations or glimpses of everyday life – before they’re ready to schedule a tour or talk through pricing. The website is often the first place they look for a clue about whether that kind of relationship is possible.
Trends, trust and where we go from here
In many consumer categories, it’s relatively low-risk to chase what’s trendy: a bold visual treatment one year, a quirky campaign the next, a playful “try something new” promotion. If it doesn’t land, people shrug and move on.
Senior living doesn’t have that luxury. Here, the stakes are higher:
- People are weighing identity and independence and “the rest of my life”, not just taste or convenience – especially as Boomers who’ve spent their lives questioning convention now face this choice.
- Adult children are balancing hope and guilt and safety concerns and financial realities.
- Communities are asking, implicitly, for trust over years, not just one transaction.
- How you present yourself has to help you come across differently from other communities, ideally with a clear niche or point of view, not just a different shade of blue.
Because the decision is so serious, the thinking has to come first:
- How do we want people to feel when they first encounter us?
- What kind of life are we inviting them into?
- What personality, point of view or niche can we lean into – creative arts, wellness, faith, intergenerational connection, something else?
Only then do we want to use design trends and humor and nostalgia and colors and layouts that help support that intent and help us stand out from others who haven’t taken the time to answer those questions. When those tools are used thoughtfully and in alignment with who we are, they can amplify a clear story. When they’re used casually, they can make a community look like everyone else or worse, like it doesn’t quite understand the weight of the decision.
Questions to take back to your own first impression
Every community has its own market realities and budgets and brand history. There is no one “right” look. But if this small snapshot is any indication, there’s room almost everywhere to align first impressions more closely with the experience leaders say they’re working so hard to deliver.
If you’re a community leader or marketing director, a few questions you might ask with your team:
- If a future resident or adult child never clicked beyond our homepage, what would they think life here actually looks and feels like?
- Do our first touchpoints, online or in print, help people see the value of a life here before we ask them to think about budget and logistics?
- Are we showing any real personality or point of view or niche, something specific enough that the right people can say “That’s us”?
- For someone who isn’t ready to talk to sales yet, is there any easy, low-pressure way to stay connected to our story?
In my next article, I’ll zoom in on that idea of personality and point of view – including how one community I reviewed leaned into being explicitly dog-friendly right on their homepage, a simple but powerful signal to the right prospects. We’ll explore how communities can use creative choices like leaning into a clear niche, drawing on real resident phrases and even borrowing a page from gentle, respectful humor to stand out for the right reasons across websites and brochures and campaigns and everyday collateral without losing sight of the seriousness of the decision.
Contributor Bio: Susan Harper is owner and creative director of Sharper Creative, a design studio she’s run since 2002. She helps businesses and nonprofits develop marketing communications that stand out and stay consistent, blending agency-caliber creative thinking with small-team ease.