Top Design Trends of 2022

Feb 15, 2022

This year, we are seeing a major clash of design trends. From minimalism to ‘chaos’, we will explore four design trends that will help brands stand out in our digital-forward society.

Simple & Flat Design for a Seamless UX Experience

As the world becomes more digital, design is becoming more simple. With the overwhelming amount of services shifting to digital-based platforms, designers need to illustrate and communicate complex processes in a clear and direct way. As consumers navigate everyday tasks online -  paying bills to booking doctor appointments,  individuals expect the UX experience to be  seamless.

UX Planet describes flat design as:

  • The use of simple shapes
  • Minimalism
  • Functionality
  • Clear and strict visual hierarchy
  • Avoiding textures, gradients, and complex forms
  • Strict use of grids

The influence of flat UX (user experience) / UI (user interface) design has transcended to many levels of design, especially visual identity development. Brands such as Volvo and CIBC have recently refreshed their logos to reflect this growing trend in which depth, detail, and colour have been stripped back. Designer Eric Park from COLLINS agency anticipates a spike in symbol-based systems, "a great symbol can contain a more unique personality, carry rich metaphors and deliver meaningful references for a brand. A concise and simple symbol can be easy to instantly memorize."

Living in a digital society, logos have to be visible and identifiable in extremely small applications such as your Apple watch and website navigation bars. Complex logos with great detail are not optimized for the digital applications that are necessary in 2022.

AI (Artificial Intelligence)

How does AI affect design? Miklos Philips, a UX designer suggests that by understanding the customer experience data, designs can be adapted for the best optimization. Being aware of how users see and read content allows designers to restructure layouts, emphasize key features, and ease the user experience.

With the shift of traditional interpersonal services going digital, and flat design simplifying complex interactions, there is a loss of humanity that users are looking for in 2022. Deloitte explains how AI (artificial intelligence) has expanded the functionality of chatbots to include a live contact component that “embeds humanity within their customer journey and creates an opportunity to expand the view of customer service beyond the point of sale.”

With AI and integrated data, agents at customer contact centres are instantly provided with live updates of a user’s goals, experience, and pain points as they navigate the digital service which in turn allows for the agent to best serve the customer.

Holographic Elements

In the era of metaverse, VR (virtual reality), and hologram interfaces, holographic neon elements will continue to be a leading trend in 2022. The combination of high-gloss, multidimensionality, and neon hues give a  futuristic aesthetic which is gaining popularity in the numerous cryptographic spaces like bitcoin, Ethereum, and NFT's (non-fungible token).

Anti-Design

As the influence of simplified flat design grows in 2022, we can expect the rise of an ‘anti-design’ movement. In a response to the rigidness and structure of flat design, individuals are looking for emotion, creativity, and expression in 2022 designs. Anti-design, although it appears chaotic compared to streamlined app design, it does not mean to break all of the rules and blow up grids, it can be described as organized chaos. 

This style can be compared to the Grunge art movement that was popular in the 90’s which combined textures, emotional typography, photography, and layering techniques. David Carson, one of the founding fathers of Grunge explains the thought behind the so-called ‘chaos’, “the point is to show you that there's a reason, what sometimes appears chaotic or random, is almost never the case. Graphic design has gotten pretty conservative and automatic and I think has lost a lot of the…rebelliousness.” 

Keep your eye out for more expressive and individualistic designs this year.

How will you design this year? Will you follow suit and ride the flat design trend, or will you rebel and make some organized chaos? Either way, let’s get creative!

 

Blue Door is a public relations, digital marketing, and design agency based in Toronto. We pride ourselves on being a modern agency with a sophisticated approach to marketing. As an award-winning agency, we have earned the trust of major organizations across the country in virtually every sector from hotels to healthcare. Check out our Services Page to learn more. Is your business in need of a brand but not sure where to start? View our capabilities deck here and connect with us at hello@bluedoor.agency or 1 855-854-5594

 

 

About the Author:

Julie is our driving creative force at Blue Door. As our Art Director, Julie is responsible for managing all design projects, developing rich content marketing strategies, creative direction, design execution, and implementing organizational processes.

 

About the Author:

As our Lead Graphic Designer, Hyungi works on creating designs for BELLEBUD Cannabis Co., Fresh Restaurant, Spectrum healthcare, and Opal Hospitality.