Best 12 Trends in Graphic Design
Hey everybody welcome back, let’s look at 12 trends in graphic design for 2022. Now trends are movements in design that have gained wide enough usage, that they can actually be recognized as a trend. They aren’t necessarily brand new in fact very little is. You Can Also Free Download Watercolor Painting Photo Effect Instagram Story Template
Very few things have actually never ever been done before. I recommend using trends to stay inspired. You can either follow them or you can consciously react against them. But knowing what is trending is critical to informing your work into informing your clients.
Trend number one is Diversity and Inclusivity
The design has always been instrumental in facilitating changes in society. Large fortune 500 companies are now responding to societal changes in areas of diversity and inclusivity and bringing it into the mainstream. Ethnic diversity mixed-race couples and families have been depicted in design for years now.
But diversity in gender sexual preference and physical ability are becoming much more prevalent and visible. We’re seeing it grow considerably in traditional advertising media in VR and illustration iconography and stock imagery. Expect this trend to magnify in 2022 as acceptance continues to grow domestically in the US as well as internationally.
Trend number two is the Metaverse
Mark Zuckerberg has made dramatic pronouncements about meta’s intention to making avatar inhabited virtual environments a priority for the company. It’s unclear exactly what this world is going to look like or what you’ll be able to do or accomplish. There but it’s not stopping designers gaming platforms illustrators and animators from starting to visually predict and to depict it.
Any design that can happen in real-life billboards – products – ads – branded environments – t-shirts – branded products will undoubtedly come to life in the metaverse. Probably things we haven’t even imagined yet. Designers are going to be on the bleeding edge of finding ways to leverage. This new virtual ecosystem is to their advantage for both themselves and for their clients.
Trend number three is Dataviz
We live in a data rich and some may say absolutely saturated world these days. Infographics have been around for years now. But there’s a new trend on how the format is being explored. But typical infographics have lost their appeal and their thumb scroll stopping power. So more radical layouts more inventive imagery not just the same old icons and stock characters are being used.
It’s being done in order to cut through the infographic noise. Infographics are becoming much more creative inventive playful and original illustration-driven designs.
Trend number four is Muted Tones
This is a trend that’s emerging where colors that are being used are much more muted softer they’re less jarring. This trend is a reaction against the intense colors that were being used in last year’s trends. Like electric fade, and bright geo.
Trends frequently emerged that are reactions against other trends and muted tones is definitely one of those. You’ll see that this trend bears out pantone’s color of the year choice. That I’m going to feature later in this post the colors used are soft pastels and cosmetic pinks taupes and blues. This trend shows up in consumer package goods in stock photography fashion and apparel.
Trend number five I call Vintage Apothecary
This trend celebrates vintage typography, flowing elongated serifs, and ornate borders. 18th-century black and white etching illustrations are also prominently featured in this design style. The trend shows up in beverages in food packaging – health and beauty aids – t-shirt design candles and the gift industry. It references the steampunk movement and is recognized by overlaying detailed layouts and vintage illustration styles. Vintage apothecary.
Trends number six is ECO Everything
Global warming isn’t a debate anymore it’s happening so much faster than anyone ever thought possible. So the eco-movement focusing on sustainability and reducing the human carbon footprint in virtually everything we do make or use just continues to grow.
It’s no longer fringe it’s almost a requirement for companies to stake a claim with their consumers about where they stand on the environment. The days of greenwashing that is giving lip service to sustainability are long gone.
Designers are leading the charge and finding ever more impactful and engaging ways to communicate and market products and services in the green economy. You can see this trend in hard good products and packaging physical environments illustration books and in color palettes.
Trend number seven I call Iridescence
Iridescence is somewhat of a continuation of last year’s trend. that I called the electric fade. It’s also related to the vaporwave trend of a few years ago. But iridescence is made possible by new innovative print substrate materials. That have reflective and light amplifying properties. It’s being seen in technology marketing in the sportswear industry in iconography systems in print ar and in VR.
It’s also beginning to show up in interface design and I wouldn’t be surprised if it actually finds its way into the metaverse too. The shapes associated with it can be curvilinear and flowing like neon tubing. They can be sharp and defined and angular. In geometric cubes and geological crystal shapes.
Trend number eight is Modular Geo
This trend is an evolution of the bright geo. The color used is flat and unmodulated, many times a primary palette is used of bright reds blues and yellows. The shapes used in this trend are circles and squares triangles parallelograms and trapezoids.
The aesthetics of the modular geo trend have hints of the work of fine artists like Mondrian and Matisse as well as the work of early Bauhaus design. This trend is being used in print and poster design packaging environmental wayfinding and editorial illustration.
Trend number nine is Trippy Type
As I mentioned earlier in this video sometimes. Trends happen in pairs with two diametrically opposed aesthetics that are polar opposites of each other. This is the case with trippy type. It’s the polar opposite of the sharp lines and structured rigid compositions that you find in modular geo.
This trend is signified by 60s and early 70s psychedelic typography. Often it’s hand-illustrated in shapes with that type and shapes itself becoming the primary element or the main focus of the design. You’ll find this trend in new font design in printed books illustration consumer goods food packaging fashion and even motion graphics.
Trend number ten is Moving Marks
Now it’s not like animated logos have never been seen before. But it’s the extent at which we’re seeing them that has really changed. Animated logo gifs are showing up on corporate email blasts on website headers and in apps on a regular basis now. It’s the true definition of a trend. A more fringe movement an experimental one that’s gained a lot of popular usage.
That it can now be considered trending. What’s remarkable is the enterprise-size companies that are starting to use these logos on the regular. As opposed to only periodically in ads on traditional broadcast media. It’s just another indication that everything is going to post. Even the simple static company logo can’t be counted on anymore to stand still.
Trend number 11 is True Grit
Now true grit isn’t so much of a design style per se as it is a treatment. This trend is recognized by the usage of rough distressed textures and textural overlays. That makes images and text look like it’s weathered or partially destroyed.
It’s a reaction against the clean type and stripe design of modular geo or Bauhaus or swiss design. It shows up across design genres and it’s used to add a level of visual interest to a design by aging. It by giving it provenance or history, by adding character true grit shows up in t-shirt design print and posters in the music industry in motion graphics. Also in broadcast entertainment.
Finally trend number 12 Very Peri
Pantone’s color of the year for 2022 is called very peri, it’s basically the color periwinkle. It’s not a graphic design trend in and of itself, but it’s a color story trend. Last year in 2021 Pantone named illuminating yellow and ultimate gray as the colors of the year.
But the popular zeitgeist in society has moved towards embracing colors that are more calming and muted like trend number four muted tones that I showed you.
Because of the ongoing stress of the covid pandemic Pantone is forecasting and encouraging a more comforting look for 2022. This color trend is already being heavily adopted and you can see it being used everywhere in
- Product design
- Website design
- Sports apparel
- Editorial print
- Promotional marketing
- Travel entertainment
Even the financial industry. So that’s it I hope you like this video on 12 trends in graphic design for 2022.