Photo by Anna Tarazevich from Pexels.

It’s interesting to look back at our post from last December on design trends to watch out for in 2021. We talked about the optimism and trepidation with which many of us anticipated the coming year. In honesty, we could easily have copied-and-pasted that intro straight into this year’s post.

It seems like all at once many things have changed yet many things haven’t. The world is still a very uncertain place, and lots of us still feel as if we don’t know which way is up.

But, again as before, we can always come back to the world of design for our fill of hope, inspiration, and a feeling of forward momentum.

Graphic design is an art and a craft, and as such it’s always expanding and evolving, it’s practitioners constantly pushing the boundaries and experimenting with new (and sometimes old) forms.

So in the spirit of a new year and a new beginning, let’s take a look at 5 graphic design trends to watch out for in 2022…

Geometric shapes

Perhaps it comes from a deep desire to patterns, details, and order. Especially when those features may be absent from real life. But whatever the case, geometric shapes may be much more common in the designs of 2022.

Expect lots of colours, quirky details, shapes, and sequences – especially in designs created to represent data sets.

Anti-design

One of the most interesting aspects of any art form is the constant back-and-forth between the establishment of new trends and the later upturning of the same. The evolution of order is represented so well here.

A bit Brutalistic in nature, the anti-design scene should see a pushback against uniform design trends, particularly those that have arisen in the digital landscape. We might expect to see lots of crowded aesthetics and clashing stylistic elements.

Textured packaging

Textured packing could be something we’ll see more of in the coming year. It’s a way of adding luxury and an extra sensory appeal to physical items. Embossed logos, lavish stock, and an all-round feeling of tactility and quality.

Psychedelic design

Amidst a general renaissance of psychedelic culture, there are some in the design world who are predicting a big comeback of psychedelic design in 2022.

This would entail complex, abstract, colourful, and highly expressive pieces. A sort of order-within-disorder style. It’s not to everyone’s taste, and it’s not in every designer’s wheelhouse. But when done right, psychedelic design can be deeply engaging and inspiring.

Escapism

Another completely natural response to the current global situation is a steep rise in escapist pursuits. Lockdown saw adults reading more books than they had since their schooldays. And the desire to escape the restrictions and uncertainties of the real world have definitely spilled over into the design world.

2022, then, could see even more designs escapist in nature. Expect to see lots of fantastical imagery. Illustration would be a particular feature of this style, with colourful, illogical, magical, Where’s-Whalley-esque scenes of strangeness and wonder.

Have a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year

That’ll be all from Red Square’s blog this year, so we hope you have a wonderful and relaxing festive season. And if you’re looking for something to do in your downtime, then why not sit back with a glass of mulled wine and enjoy one of these delightful documentaries for designers. Or get stuck into some good reading with one of these 35 books on graphic design.

Other than that we wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, from everyone at Red Square Design.