Get ready to make some seriously great art after you dive deep into these graphic design trends. Once you become familiar with the best design trends 2022 has to offer, you’ll be feeling inspired and ready to get creative. 

It’s time to take your graphic design art to the next level. Let’s jump right in!

What Are Design Trends?

Since graphic design is all around us, it makes sense that the world influences what visual trends rise to prominence. These real-world reflections keep the graphic design world spinning. From infographics and packaging to motion design, it’s vital to stay informed of graphic design trends if you want your work to make an impact.

Visual trends take cues from current events, politics, and economics all over the world. While it might not be obvious at first, these things and how people respond to them affect the design trends we see year on year. All in all, graphic design trends, including 2022 design trends, are often tied to emotions. They relate to people in the present, even if that’s by reminding them of something from the past, or prompting a look towards the future for inspiration.

Graphic Designer Skills

You might be wondering what type of skills you need to master before you can dive into creating trendy graphic designs. Here are four graphic designer skills to look into, to get the design ball rolling.

Designing for Emotion

The best graphic designs trigger emotions within their audience. Knowing what emotions you want to activate will help you thoughtfully choose which styles and mediums to use.

Craft

While perfection is hard, and arguably even impossible to achieve, it should always be the goal. Constantly working to master your craft will keep you and your designs fresh and impactful.

Visual Principles

We know that almost everything, including graphic design, is done digitally these days. But it is still so important to understand the visual principles associated with various forms. Whether you are classically trained or self-taught, you are going to want to familiarize yourself with a variety of print media, to understand possibilities beyond the restraints of digital design. You can later use this knowledge to guide your ideas and creations.

Ideation

When it comes to creating a graphic design, a brainstorming session is essential. Start with an idea then throw more and more at it until something sticks. Yes, it can be time-consuming. Yes, you can go through hundreds of variations before landing on something. But being able to work your way through the ideation phase to reach your final graphic design is a vital part of bringing your design to life.

Graphic Design Trends of 2022

Cyberpunk Colorschemes

In case you weren’t already familiar, Cyberpunk is a trend where sci-fi meets futuristic dystopia. In some ways, it already feels like we’re living in the future, given all of the technological advances that continue to develop and become ingrained in our lives. This concept inspires design trends that use color schemes that reflect grungy cities lit by bright neon lights. Think of it as grunge meets technology.

We're bringing back the 80s and serving up some neon-noir with our Cyber Effects ? #cyber #cyberpunk #cybereffects #cyberedit #throwback #neon #freetoedivia PicsArt

Bevels and Chisels

Bevels and chisels keep up the futuristic theme. This trend gives a nod towards the classic struggle of skeuomorphism and flat design except that here, both are used in a balance to create a 3D effect out of hard lines. This takes flat elements and arranges them in a way that helps them better mimic real-life objects. When done correctly, the end result will be a flat image that you swear you could touch. It’s even cooler when applied to web design because it makes you think the image is about to pop out of the screen.

All you need is your 📲 to recreate this popular 3D style! 💁‍♀️💁‍♂️ #3d #3dedit #3dart #phoneedit #freetoedit via PicsArt

Street Art

While street art could be considered a classic trend, echoing popular designs from the 70s to the early 2000s, it’s clear that it’s gotten an update in 2022. The modern-day comeback has an inherent sense of rebellion to it. It stirs up feelings of revolution, hope, and freedom. Naturally, street art goes against convention, creating a fresh impactful look that gets viewers interested and excited.
Premier collage #freetoedit #art #drawing #streetart #viral via PicsArt

Super-Thin Geometric Designs

Geometric lines are the backbone of graphic design, but with the recent super-thin geometric design trend, geometric lines take on a new starring role. Like most popular graphic design trends, this one can also echo a futuristic, technological feel. It incorporates minimalism and gradients to create a trendy look. It’s great for any company from startups to big brands.

If you want to pull off a super-thin geometric design, you’re going to need some technological assistance, which is probably why this style is so big in the tech world. The designs are based on the basic shapes and lines we are comfortable with, but present them in mind-bending forms that hint towards a futuristic style.

弄ってたら出来た#design #designs #加工 via PicsArt

Motion and Animation

It is becoming more and more popular for brands and companies to get their points across using animation or motion graphics. In a world where almost everything and everyone is online, sometimes people need something more scroll-stopping and attention-grabbing than a still image. Continuous animation sequences build each scene out of the frames from the previous one, creating a GIF-like effect, only lasting longer. It creates a magical way to take users on a journey and helps create a better understanding of what the company or brand is all about. It can also make for some cool personal artwork, if applied in inventive, fun ways.

#drawing #stopmotion #gifvia PicsArt

Mixed Media

Gone are the days of sitting around with magazines, scissors, and glue trying to create your next multimedia work of art. Paper cut-out collages are the graphic design trend of the future now that they can be made with digital assistance. With mixed media, various textures and colors are mixed to create a cohesive, layered look. For example, designers will take illustrations and photographs and layer them in a way that contrasts with each other. Rather than perfectly blending the two, outlines and angular edges are left to create the classic collage look. The end result is an artistic design that compliments surreal themes perfectly.
#freetoedit #aiselect #collage #collageart #newspaper #newspapercollage #artistic #abstract #cloths via PicsArt

Unique Hand-lettering

Typography will always be here to stay, but now it’s seeing a wave of unique hand-lettering styles trend in place of classic font families. Creating a one-of-a-kind, bold lettering style is an easy way to be sure your graphic designs will stand out. People like to see types that closely resemble the styles they would expect from human production. It can be hard to evoke that feeling from common typefaces which is exactly why this trend is taking off.

#typography #handlettering #handdrawing #blackandwhite #quotesandsayings #nature #oldphoto #emotions #summer #photography #people via PicsArt

Dystopian Aesthetic

One design trend popping up everywhere is the dystopian aesthetic. It has become popular thanks to a recent wave of doom-laden books, television shows, and movies, so it was only a matter of time before it started appearing in graphic design trends, too. So, how do you apply a dystopian feel to your designs? It often starts with cold color schemes, glitch art, tech-inspired vibes, and mechanic-like typography. 

Pick a god and pray. #apocalypse #dystopian #old #art #death #destruction via PicsArt

Hyper-Pastiche

Last year, we saw graphic designers revive not one but all eras of art with the hyper-pastiche trend. Pastiche itself is an artistic work in a style that imitates that of another work, artist, or period. From Victorian to Art Deco to Modern, we’re seeing all sorts of time periods and styles pop up in graphic designs now. It’s fascinating to see so many classic art styles take form in the modern digital age, becoming their own separate and unique trend in the process.

Edit by: Parietal Imagination Art@paBernie Sanders Fine Art Inauguration Mittens Meme#berniesanders #mittens #inauguration2021 #davinci #seurat #parody via PicsArt

Live Data Visualization

When you want to communicate information quickly and effectively, the key to doing so will be with eye-catching graphic design. As live data continues to become more and more common, designers will need to become familiar with live data visualization trends in order to be sure their designs stand out while still giving information. Live data visualization trends tend to reflect computers and their style more than anything. The color scheme sticks to digital blues, dark interfaces, abstract polygons, and fonts that would make you think of a throwback 90s video.

Technology... #blue #emotions #mysterious #technology #tecno #hologram #hand #edited #globe #future #light via PicsArt

Minimalist

Minimalism is the art of saying a lot using very little. It’s about making an impact using only the bare essentials. Every element of minimalist design is necessary, so choose your details wisely. Minimalism first rose to prominence after the second World War, and witnessed a further spike in popularity throughout Western culture in the 60s and 70s. But its power and influence lives on. In a world filled with noise, distraction, and hyper stimulation, stripping visuals back can often help make the biggest impression. This is an approach often favored by brands in logo design, to ensure that products stand out in advertisements.

Add your own touch.Unsplash (Muhammad Syahid Abdillah) #white #can #background #backgrounds #remixit #freetoeditvia PicsArt

Social Media

For better or worse, a lot of our daily lives are spent on social media nowadays. That can’t help but influence visual trends, which inevitably spills into graphic design. Whether it’s Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat or even less traditional visual platforms like Twitter, what we see on social media everyday informs our impression of the world. And that inevitably feeds into the creation of new design trends. Graphic design has never had such an instant international network dictating and shaping its direction before. Keep your eyes peeled on the social trends to stay on top of the latest developments.

#freetoedit #70s #instagram #instastory #instagramstory #newpost #hand via PicsArt

Timeless Design Trends

Nostalgia

When the world gets rough, we tend to look back on past times to comfort us and inspire our current state of mind. This year is no different, and nostalgia has been popping up everywhere in graphic design trends. The look gives you comfort and familiarity when you see it applied to graphics for branding and advertising. While each year leans on different points in time to look to for inspiration, it seems to be that recent designs mimick big 90s pop culture phenomena like TV-shows, popular toys, and fashion trends.

#freetoedit #backtoschool #retro #vintage #90s #90svibes #2000s #backtoschool2020 via PicsArt

Pantone Colors

Each year, Pantone releases its color of the year. You may not have noticed at first, but once you do start referencing the color of the year, you’ll notice that it is everywhere in everything, including graphic design. For example, the Pantone color for 2020 was Classic Blue. 

If you’re curious about colors, check out all of our color blogs for deep dives on specific colors, their meanings, and how to design with them.

#blue #underwater #pantone #beauty #challenge via PicsArt

Zines

Zines have been around since the 70s, and since then, their styles have been popping up in popular graphic design trends. Naturally, they go against the mainstream. When you think of underground trends, chances are you are thinking of zine trends. The look of a design inspired by a zine trend is bold, personal and a little bit punk. It’ll keep developing as time goes on, but it’s looking likely to always be around.

#zine#stickers#localloca#wisik2016#papersniffers2016#art#loot#prints#flatlayvia PicsArt

Environmental Responsibility

The environment is always on everyone’s mind, and just like we talked about earlier, current events, politics, and pop culture always have a way of showing up in graphic design trends. Connecting with natural elements can help a company effortlessly communicate that they are eco-friendly, and as more and more companies go down that route, environmentally responsible graphic design trend pops up more and more.

#ircdesignthecan #designthecan #freetoedit #environment #environmental #green #environmentalist via PicsArt

Watercolor

The most defining characteristic of the watercolor trend is the soft, ethereal way that colors bleed into each other. For the look to be impactful, you’ll want to keep your color palette to a minimum. Watercolor designs also benefit from having a mix of textures incorporated. This gives the design depth. The best part about the watercolor trend is that it thrives off of the look of purposeful imperfections. The uniqueness of each design gives it a one-of-a-kind look that makes it feel custom for that one purpose or piece. 

 #freetoedit via PicsArt

Create Trendy Designs With PicsArt

Now that you have a little more direction on which graphic design trends you should dabble in, it’s time to get to work. PicsArt is your one-stop-shop for designing unique, one-of-a-kind digital graphic design. From Cyberpunk to Minimalism, you can hop on any popular graphic design trend using PicsArt Editor. Check it out.

1) Open the PicsArt Editor online. From here, you can choose from any of the available tools to get your design started. With each one, from Templates and Effects to Image Overlays, there is something for everyone.

2) Once you have your project started, have fun exploring various features. Use Stickers to create a freestyle collage. Tap on the Text tool to create an impactful typography design. Add a Photo or choose from the #FreetoEdit library to create mixed media. Have fun and bring your vision to life.

3) When you are happy with your design, tap Download in the top right corner to save your work to your device. Then tap Share to show it off to the world.

You can also design on-the-go using the PicsArt app. Here’s how to get creative with graphic designs on your mobile device:

1) Open the PicsArt app and tap the plus sign at the bottom of your screen. Now open a blank canvas or choose from one of the tons of available templates.

2) Experiment with editing effects, stickers, drawing tools, and more, to bring your ideas to life. The possibilities are endless. So have fun trying new things. 

3) Once you’re happy with the final result, click Next, then save it to your device by tapping the downward arrow at the top of your screen. Save your design and then share it.

The design world is always evolving, so find what works for you, and keep on adapting your look and style to the times. Whatever it is you are designing for, PicsArt is always there to help you bring your ideas to life.

Make Awesome

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