Now that we are over halfway through 2022, we can see clearly see the graphic design trends that have become popular in the industry.
Design trends come and go – hence the term ‘trend’. They are constantly developing, evolving and disrupting the industry. This makes them a great inspiration to keep your business from becoming stagnant. Often, these trends are pushing the boundaries of design to keep up with the ever-evolving target audiences. As a modern design agency, we are always searching for new ways to make our work stand out from the crowd.
At blue bee, we’ve been monitoring the trends that have emerged this year – here are our top ten favourites so far.
Nostalgic design – 90s and Y2K
This year, there’s been a huge rise in nostalgic design. We’ve seen a resurgence of the 90s aesthetic with bright almost clashing colour schemes, retro typography choices, simplistic emoji-style graphics, old-school thick frames and bold seemingly random shapes and patterns.
The Y2K aesthetic has also seen a large rise in popularity this year, with its softer candy colour scheme. It takes inspiration from 90s media and brings textures such as metallic, plastics, sticker effects and hand-drawn sketches. This style appeals to the younger, generation Z audiences who idealise these decades.
Simplistic illustration and iconography
Illustrations are a great way to add character to your company and tell the story of your brand. One of the illustration styles we are seeing trending this year is brightly coloured, simple designs, that use minimal shapes to create strong eye-catching visuals.
3D illustrations
Another key illustration style that has become popular this year is realistic three-dimensional graphics that combine detailed 3D design with simpler 2D shapes. The mixed media of this style creates something more unique and fun.
This mashup creates a ‘best of both worlds’ situation for a business looking for a more approachable tone of voice that can be used across different applications from animated web design to classic print. It allows designers more creative freedom and blurs the line between realistic and heavily digitised design.
Experimenting with typography
Many designers are starting to explore experimental typography, playing with the legibility of words through alternative shapes and mixing font styles. This trend pushes the boundaries of traditional lettering and often creates kinetic movement within words.
Modern spin on serif type
This year we have seen a return of the once old-fashioned and corporate serif fonts. Designers and businesses are pulling the serif style into the modern world by pairing it with a softer palette and playing with its weight and layout. This modern serif typeface creates a balance between high-end sophistication and a playful youthfulness, perfect for a minimalistic brand.
Playing with texture
Texturized designs have become increasingly popular in 2022. We are noticing many designers adding textures like metallics, plastics, coarse paper, woods or tapes to their work to add more depth and interest. Adding different textures also helps to attract different target audiences with rustic wooden aesthetics appealing to the environmentally conscious audiences and metallic, plastic sheen designs attracting the 90s/Y2K nostalgia.
We also see a rise in the Riso print style aesthetic – again using rough textures paired with vivid colours and overlapping imagery attracting a more adventurous crowd.
Maximalism in design
Whilst minimalistic design may always have its place, we have seen a recent spike in maximalism, with many companies now looking for a bolder image to help them stand out from the crowd. These busier designs often include large bold typography and help to create a confident, eye-catching brand identity.
Geometric design
Geometric shapes are becoming increasingly popular, especially in logo design. We have seen them being used within the iconography of logos and within typography itself. They are simple yet eye-catching when executed well and can give brands a fun playful tone of voice and strong brand identity.
The beauty behind these shapes is they can be used either symmetrically or asymmetrically and still look perfectly balanced.
Holographic design
The holographic style had been climbing for years in popularity in the fashion and product design industry, but we are now seeing it appearing more in the digital and motion graphic world. The attractive pastel colour palette and shine helps bring movement and often creates futuristic and mesmerising design.
Anti-design
Anti-design isn’t anything new, but we have certainly seen an increase in many designers choosing to reject traditional design ideas and challenge the viewers with a disruptive approach. This trend often utilises asymmetrical, crowded design paired with bare backgrounds for a stark contrast. If your business really wants to stand out, then these unconventional designs can be the perfect way to showcase your creativity and break the mould.
If you are interested in giving your brand a new look to help you to stand out from the crowd and make sure you’re attracting your target audience then contact the blue bee team today.