2022 design trends: Yay or Nay
In 2021 I wrote on Design trends: Yay or Nay, and even though not all trends stood the test of time, we saw a massive shift in a lot of trends sprouting out of nowhere, as designers in a constantly changing world we need to understand what's required from us, and although trends come and go we still need to be in the loop with these changes as they help our growth.
With that being said I’d be looking at a few trends and giving my judgment after careful consideration and research whether or not these trends would are here to stay or just for fun and engagements, I would be carrying these assessments based on how feasible they would be in an actual design project and not just a couple of dribble posts.
Let's dive in!!!
3D Animations: Yay
I was excited about this last and I’m so glad I saw it come to life in a lot of designs, although we see it now evolving into a simpler version of what we’ve seen before. With Claymorphism becoming the newest and most popular style in 3D illustration and UI elements. The 3D objects are similar to clay objects (simple in shape, cylindrical/oval, with both inner and exterior shadows to generate depth), but in a different, more fluffy 3d way than neumorphism.
Minimalism: Yay
For a lot of reasons minimalism and simplicity never go out of style, rather we see an increase in its application year after year, when you look at the most well-known, top IT companies, you’ll see a strong preference for straightforward, informative, and basic.
Large Typography: Nay
Right now, it appears that you may do everything you want with your headers and paragraphs — the only limit is your creativity. Mix typefaces with shapes, images, and emojis add a texture, select a font with a sophisticated form — and play about with the grid as much as you like.
It can provide an exciting, eye-catching look, but it can also be entirely unreadable and annoying. I would still advocate designing with the user’s comfort in mind first and foremost. C interfaces (Revolut, Meta, Oculus, etc.). With more companies adopting this style.
NFT: Yay
NFTs are the largest internet craze right now, whether you understand them or not. NFTs have offered practically everyone a new way to make money: if you can produce anything visually appealing online, you can sell it as art. The term “democratization of art” refers to the fact that anybody may sell their work online and that nearly anything can be classified as art. I believe they’re here to stay whether or not you should hop on this trend is entirely up to you.
AR, VR and the Metaverse: Yay
You should be ready for a new playing field in which virtual reality is incorporated into website design. Because things are changing, we recommend learning the necessary skills immediately. The sooner you incorporate trends into your design, the more you’ll be able to distinguish yourself from your competition.
Designers must go beyond the screen interface to integrate physical interactions to truly engage the viewer with the web page. One of the UI 2022 developments is Augmented Reality, which makes this feasible. Google and Apple offer AR development platforms that combine the digital and real worlds.
While the Metaverse as a notion is a more romantic, Web3-based concept, the largest players will most likely control the entire cake through more Web 2-style tactics.
Neon/Holographic: Nay
Although this cyber holo/neon trend appears to be a good fit for the Metaverse, virtual reality, and hologram interface period, I do not see it scaling long term. It’s also commonly used in the crypto-space to demonstrate how futuristic the interfaces are.
All of the new possibilities that virtual worlds have to offer are inspiring designers and because of this, we would see a large scale of trends towards that. This movement is characterized by vibrant, brilliant colors, abstract, circular forms, and hologram-like textures.
Summing Up
While nobody knows how exactly 2022 trends would stand out and would be soon forgotten, we may already predict that the rise of an entirely different reality in terms of AR/VR with Metaverse will shape the other trends that follow suit.
As a designer staying updated to date with the latest design tools and trends would help in the long run. If you have any questions regarding these trends, reach out on Dribbble, Twitter, Linkedin.
