Each year brings a plethora of trends followed by people the world across. However, where do these trends stem? Designers from across the world work year-round on developing concepts, testing, tweaking, and retesting them, ensuring that these designs and trends appeal to consumers all across the world.
While most of us understand the tough work done by fashion designers, the truth is that graphic designing is not very different from that. Developing design concepts that work best for people all over the world is a task more daunting than it seems. Graphic designers understand that a static picture is not very appealing to the eyes of the consumers at all times. For the same reason, creating different concepts that are eye-catching is of utmost importance to them. Let’s discuss the graphic design trends that will dominate the creative industries in 2022.
Importance of Graphic Designing
The way a product looks is the first thing that registers from the viewpoint of the consumers. This first impact is what propels the consumers into making a purchase. Graphic designing helps refashion this first impact into a dynamic impression, thereby helping the business attract consumers and increase their ROI.
For most businesses, their brand image is everything. Their vision, mission, and business ethics are all reflected in the kind of business logo they have. Business logos and overall visual definitions help establish the business’s identity in the minds of the consumers. To this extent, developing a different and consistent visual identity helps. It helps manifest the very nature of the business while increasing its recall value in the minds of the consumers.
Top Eight Graphic Designs to Lookout For in 2022
The year 2022 is especially important, though, when it comes to graphic design trends. The last two years have seen the entire concept of life, and work is transformed due to the deadly virus pandemic. This transformation is reflected in the designs created by graphic designers. The lines between the real and unreal have blurred, and people are opening up to different abstract designs. While that is one of the main underlying themes of all the graphic design trends for 2022, we have curated especially for you a list of the 8 topmost trending graphic designs for 2022.
- 1. 3D Designs
In a bid to provide unique designs and viewing experiences to the consumers, Graphic designers have introduced the concept of 3D images. While 3D concepts were used in the past, the mash-ups between 2D and 3D designs are a comparatively new approach.
Pic source: Dribbble
The use of the mix of 2D & 3D designs applies not just to illustrations and pictures but also to animations, web designs, and typography. Some of the emerging apps are also using the 2D-3D mashup. The point is, combining 2D and 3D brings about a multitude of benefits – the first is it adds to the depth of the picture/illustration/animation. Secondly, it cuts down the time and cost of production.
Pic source: Graphic Design Stack Exchange
Furthermore, the recent trends seem to have introduced 3D characters into the fore to breathe life into your message deliverers.
Picture Credit: Breadnbeyond
Pic Source: BlenderNation
Not only do these 3D characters excite the child in us, but make the whole viewing experience fun for the viewers. In the end, the characters help register the brand’s message in the viewer’s mind.
- 2. Innovative Font Styles
Long gone are the days when sticking to the standards was thought to be proper. Thinking out of the box is the new trend, and marketers want the shock value of their marketing illustrations and images to catch the attention of the consumers. Imperfect is beautiful, and the same is being reflected in the ways people are distorting and designing new fonts to bring about the feel of their product.
Pic Source: Bashooka
The images here showcase what we are trying to explain here. The fonts are unconventional and abstract. Yet they can impart to the viewers the feel of the message.
Pic Source: Adobe Stock
However, to say that distorted fonts are the only in-thing would be wrong. The classic fonts too are making a comeback, especially when you want to impart a vintage feel to the product. The elegance and nostalgia that these old font styles (SERIFF) exude have helped many companies increase their ROI by attracting more consumers.
Pic Source: Creative Market
Pic Source: Heritage Type Co.
- 3. Surreal Chaos
Yes, you read that right! Chaos. A chaotic picture showcases the designer’s mind – full of images, objects, graphics, and sublime messages. Combine this clutter with bright colors and you have a message that instantly grabs the eye of the viewer.
Pic Source: Canva
Pic Source: Dezeen
When it comes to graphic designs trends, More is More. Filling the image or illustration with maximum objects like hoarding is being considered to be amongst the top trending graphic designs. The antithesis of minimalism is maximalism. Maximalism converts into chaos, and this chaos sells huge in the market. It may have something to do with the psychological state of the human mind, that given the state of affairs around the world, is in a state of chaos itself.
Another distorted version of maximalism is where designers unfollow the conventional design guidelines. They put into their design asymmetry, striking fonts, crowded elements, contrasting/nonsymmetric color schemes, etc.
Pic Source: 99Designs
Pic Source: Behance
Another aspect of the same theme is also seen in psychedelic designs which are abstract and somehow reminisce the good old days. Abstract designs combined with a plethora of colors are making a comeback amongst artists. Chaos clubbed with symmetrical patterns and colors is becoming the next big thing.
Picture Credit: Design You Trust
Picture Credit: Dribbble
- 4. Candy Love
Each year brings a different color theme that rules all others. The trending color scheme for the year 2022 is Candy. Remember how we loved the brightly colored candies, m&ms, or the sprinkles we would want over our ice-creams? Our love for these was so great that eventually, they made their way into the illustrations and graphic designs. The craze about this candy scheme is such that it is topping the charts when it comes to the top graphic design trends for the year 2022.
Pic Source: Decoist
While candies come in all colors, there are certain gradients to the various color schemes. For once, there are the bright-colored candies, like in the image above. Second, there come candies in pastel shades. Depending on the designer’s choice, one may decide which scheme to use.
Pic source: Freepik
Picture Source: Bootcamp – UX Collective
This trend of using candy colors is generally clubbed with stark contrasting colors to create a shocking effect on the viewers. Combining contrasting colors helps create vivid images and illustrations, generating viewer curiosity and delivering the target message.
Picture Source: Dribbble
- 5. Not So Monotonous Monochrome
In keeping with the trend of creating unusual and striking images, monochrome is going big and strong in the top graphic design trends list. By using more than three color variations of the same color palette, designers create an image or illustration where lighter or darker tints of that one color give depth to the design.
Picture Credit: InDesignSkills
The image above uses simple grey and black as the color palette to create that monochrome effect. In the ongoing trend, however, you are free to choose any color of your choice.
Picture Credit: Design Shack
Picture credit: Pinterest
Picture Credit: Pinterest
Monochrome is used by advertisers and marketing teams because it helps focus on the message of the illustration rather than the striking colors. Further, monochrome helps balance and unify the colors and illustration scheme.
- 6. Muted Minimalist Approach
Minimalistic designs as we know it has undergone a revolution in the past year. While the earlier definition of minimalism was black text on white background, this has been replaced by neutral colors or muted colors.
Picture Source: CMBell
Muted color palettes are widely used to create sophisticated, simple designs. Muted colors are bright colors toned down using white, greys, or blacks. It gives the colors an earthy feel and adds a gradient to the illustrations or pictures.
Several big companies are making a shift from stark bright colors to muted tones. One of the examples of the same is LinkedIn. LinkedIn has transformed its logo design. While the company always insisted on using a minimalistic logo design, it recently adopted a muted blue as its representative color.
 |
 |
| Old Logo | New Logo |
According to the company representatives, the color blue brings about a warm, friendly feel to the entire platform.
- 7. Geometric Affair
Abstract shapes are being increasingly replaced by geometric shapes in 2022 when it comes to graphic design trends. It has brought about a change and an element of surprise for the viewers.
Picture Credit: Bashooka
In most cases, graphic designers combine geometric shapes with contrasting colors and add a dash of scribble here and there. It creates an interesting image full of little details that take your mind off the simple shapes.
This love affair with geometric shapes works best when integrated with other graphic designing trends for 2022. Consider, for instance, the image below that has geometric shapes combined with the muted minimalistic color scheme.
Picture Credit: Pinterest Danielle Weinberg
The trend is also following up with interior designers, and companies are adopting logos and designs based on geometric patterns.
Picture Credit: 123RF
- 8. Textual videos
The trend of textual videos has emerged solely due to the pandemic that has forced people to change the way they view the world and their surroundings. Ever since people were forced to stay indoors and distance themselves socially, the trend of creating advertisements that focussed on the image more than the text has gone for a spin. With a lack of photograph options, graphic designers worldwide are using more text-centric designs to convey their message.
Picture Credit: Canva
The point to notice is that text is not being used simply in print advertisements but also in videos. Shooting without a subject is easier to assemble and execute, requiring few things. Simply create a few animation slides, fill them in with your text message, and you are good to go. Post the video / animated slides on any platform of your choice, and you will surely receive good views for your product.
Another distortion of this trend is using data visualization, which is nothing but data placed in a creatively narrative fashion that makes it quick for the viewers to browse through and understand the message.
Picture Credit: TapClicks
Picture Source: Humans of Data – Atlan
In the images above, the information is engaged creatively. The text is placed nice and clear, and anyone viewing the image/illustrations/videos can understand the data within no time.
Expert Tips
Most of the upcoming graphic design trends for 2022 have made it to the list above. However, the fact is that there is no exact definition of right and wrong when it comes to graphic designing. Anything that works in capturing the fancies of the viewers is good.
The point to remember is that while creating a graphic design for a particular business, first understand its core business values. The whole point of graphic designing is to create a visual identity of that business. Therefore, its business values must reflect in the designs.
While the trends mentioned above create stand-alone results, they work equally well when combined. For instance, using muted colors in a geometric-shaped illustration, candy colors with data visualization, maximalism with stark fonts, and the list of permutations and combinations go on. Ultimately, have fun with the picture/illustration/video you are working on and enjoy the process of creating something unique and beautiful.
Follow and like us on LinkedIn,Twitter and Facebook &Instagram.
Comments are closed.