- Aug 1, 2022
- 3 min read
It’s a new year which means new trends in design. Design trends are typically what has grown in
popularity in the previous year. Trends are not rules, they do not need to be followed, but they can be incorporated within design work to remain current. The trends this year morph 2D with 3D, motion, Anti-design, Maximalism, 90’s revival or nostalgia, parametric patterns and kinetic typography.
2D & 3D Design
There has been an insurgance of 3D design over the past few years, This year, there’s a significant blend between 3D and 2D design. The 3D elements are placed in a 2D scene with 2D perspective. Motion is also intermixed here, changing the 3D elements into 2D illustrations. This is more prevalent with the rise of AR and VR.
3D elements also contain textures which push them towards realism. These elements are typically displayed from a birds-eye-view, 3/4 view or isometric or one-point perspective like a portrait. These designs can be minimal but many have been heading towards maximalism.
Maximalism
Here’s a trend that’s been prevalent in the digital art space, especially with the rise of NFT’s. Maximalism is the idea of “more is more is more and never enough”. This trend started in the interior design space but has moved into graphic design. The idea is that the entire piece is taken up with elements, there is no negative space. It’s like design overload with loud colors, textures and sometimes motion.
The main idea is to grab the attention of the audience. With everyone's attention being pulled in different directions, Maximalism aims to break through the noise. An overwhelming amount of elements and color take up the page in a vibrant way. Maximalism often lends itself to nostalgia and is often confused with Anti-Design.
90’s Revival
The decades always come back around, this year the 90’s return. Design in the 90’s had bright colors, simplistic patterns, bold typography and introduced grunge as a design theme. Grunge, thanks to rock music, is already coming back with destressed fonts and layering textures. 90’s Design was a time where design rules were being broken. No one wanted the restraints of rules, so they broke them. There were also a lot of “bubbly” fonts or balloon fonts in illustrations from this decade. This era was unapologetically individualistic and lead to the creation of Anti-Design.
Anti-Design
Anti-Design is the destruction of the fundamentals of design. This was an idea to give designers the freedom to be expressive and create anything without constraints. A connection of creativity and information without rules or software. You can see how the designer thinks and how they express the message of the piece; it allowed designers to be more individualistic.
It’s raw, it’s messy and oddly attractive. Most of Anti-Design combines negative space with distressed and distorted fonts and elements. Many assume that Anti-Design is chaotic but it really isn’t. There’s multiple minimalist elements that are warped, distorted and repeated to create the “chaos”; it’s more of an organized chaos. The foundation of design is to organize information in a clear way to speak to an audience. Anti-Design still falls within the fundamentals of graphic design due to this key factor. It has the power to captivate the viewer and deliver a message.
Kinetic Typography & Parametric Patterns
These next two trends follow Anti-Design by adapting to and embracing the chaos. Parametric patterns blend variety of shape and movement with complex structures. Each area of the pattern is adaptable and dependent on each other. These types of patterns express emotion through the movement. These patterns are often seen with gradient overlays and 3D elements. They add dimension and often are paired with type.
Kinetic typography is for all the motion designers out there. This rose up in the advertising and marketing sector with a need to stand out amongst competitive messaging. This form of typography design is not always incorporated with motion but gives the allusion of motion. We see this a lot in films, social media campaigns and music/album covers. Most kinetic typography is monochromatic or duotoned. This trend alludes back to minimalism which has been a trend in recent years with type being the only element on the page. The most recognizable piece of kinetic typography would have to be Turbulent by Roberto Warner.
These are the graphic design trends for 2022. Which ones will you incorporate in your work? Are these going to remain trends in 2023? With Anti-Design in the mix with decades revival, kinetic type. parametric patterns and 3D reaching into every area of our lives, who knows what will stick around.
