Graphic Design Trends in 2022

Trends might start small, as a single clever concept, before captivating people’s imaginations and snowballing into a global phenomenon. Trends are notoriously challenging to predict due to their organic nature. However, with enough data and an eye on the trailblazers in an industry, we can have a good idea of what will become hot and what will fade away. 

In this blog, we look at some of the hottest graphic design trends for 2022 based on what trendsetters are doing, what experts are saying, and key global events that influence people’s views.

Related Blog: 5 Graphic Design Trends for 2021

Experimental typefaces

Because the objective of a text is to be read, readability tends to be a top consideration when designing typefaces. However, readable text can be uninspiring (especially for headlines that make up a big part of a design). Therefore, some designers are making more experimental typefaces, tinkering with shapes, textures, and colors to create something distinctive and eye-catching. We expect typography that pushes the envelope of easy readability in 2022, resulting in forms that are expressive in and of themselves.

Visual escapism

Visual escapism is an art series created by Minjin Kang and Mijoo Kim of Mue Studio in New York. They aimed to create surreal, dreamlike environments that blur the line between reality and fantasy. Soft gradients and colors, natural sunlight, large bodies of water, stunning minimalism, and a sense of calm are the essences of this visual style.

3D design

3D effects (including 3D typography) have been a staple in graphic design for decades, but they have only recently become more accessible to designers. The increased computing power paired with 3D modeling tools such as SelfCAD, Maya, and Modo have made 3D designs easier to create — and we expect this trend to continue in 2022. 

Despite being well into the 21st century, 3D design has a futuristic air associated with modern technology, cutting-edge services, and innovative concepts. When it comes to the style’s aesthetic features, you can expect smart lighting effects, strong textures (e.g., glossy), and objects that float above their canvas.

Simplified logos

When you look at the history of graphic design, you will find a shift toward minimalism. 

The earlier designs were often busy and ornate (with more gradients, more colors, and curved/jagged shapes). However, the most recent contemporary styles are considerably crisper and cleaner (with sleeker fonts, fewer colors, and a cohesive design language). 

This progression is not set in stone, so we could see a return to the wild Art Nouveau-like designs — but for modern brands looking to project a certain image to their consumers, minimalism appears to be better.

Organic shapes

We tend to associate straight lines and sharp angles with artificial and man-made elements. Nature is packed with waves and spirals of limitless variation, immortalized in the spider’s web or the shrinking rings of a snail’s shell. When designers use these flowing shapes in their work, they instill a sense of the organic — of the great outdoors and all the amazing things that can be seen there. 

Nature calms us. It can help us feel more relaxed, happy, and creative, even improving our focus. So, by incorporating organic shapes into a design, a graphic designer may elicit tiny samples of these emotions in their audiences, resulting in compelling website designs, inbound marketing, and other vital marketing materials. 

Organic shapes can also work for a brand that wants to highlight its commitment to combating climate change and preserving our beautiful planet. The use of color can communicate a company’s mission, vision, and values.

Doodles

Doodles are fun, joyful, and a touch silly. They remove the seriousness from a brand’s website, packaging, and advertising, returning you to the school table where you wiggled your way through daydreams instead of listening to your teacher.

Designers can add more wonderful small doodles into their work, even generating full-blown doodle styles, as illustration tools become more commonly accessible and easier to use. They can draw inspiration from famous doodlers such as Alexander Pushkin, Samuel Beckett, and John Keats to create their own distinct doodling style in 2022.

Dark aesthetic

Dark designs are cool (and have always been), but they never made it to the trending page because designers favored the more legible mix of a white backdrop and black text. This has recently changed with the development and subsequent adoption of the ‘dark mode’ for smartphones, which minimizes blue light exposure in the evening and promotes sleep.

Dark designs are making a solid comeback. You may have already noticed that darker designs have recently become more prevalent in mobile apps, as app designers ride the wave and design slick software for their users. Because smartphones are so ubiquitous, you can expect this trend to spill over into other areas of graphic design this year.

Bright colors

Bright and loud colors, like experimental typography, can easily snare your attention and compel you to look at them, which is one reason we believe they will grow more popular this year. They can also be surprisingly stunning in a chaotic, unnatural sense.

The colors employed in this design style are evocative of psychedelic design, where vibrant colors overlap and weave into each other to create unreal visual effects. It is an eye-catching and bold impression that can work incredibly well for brands not scared to try new things.

Candy colors

As the world rebounds from COVID-19, moods are starting to improve, which might impact the colors used by graphic designers. Rather than somber grays or dismal blues, they could reach for a sticky-sweet assortment of neon greens, brilliant pinks, dazzling yellows, and other candy colors that inspire memories of spontaneous play.

Candy colors are undeniably cheerful, and they could be a response to the virus’s shackles. They are an excellent way for a brand to make a big statement about their mood going forward — we are fun and here to have a good time, so join us.

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