It is hard to keep up with the ever-changing latest trends in fashion, entertainment, and internet culture, but it is even harder to help create those trends. To be a successful designer or web designer, you have to be aware what is hot now, what was hot in the past, and have an eye for what will be hot in the future. If you can't imagine what will be popular in the upcoming months, you will find yourself wasting time designing or having someone design you a website that, after the time it takes to create it, will seem outdated or out of place amongst the more trend-aware websites that are your competition. While it impossible to be certain what will stand out or last as popular design, there are a few predictions floating around amidst the design world about what we may see in web design in 2022.
Serif fonts
Serif fonts are becoming increasingly popular in web design and nearly everyone with an opinion on what will be hot in 2022 agrees that we will be seeing more of them used in web design in the upcoming year. They create a nostalgic, comfortable feeling for users. After a stressful past few years due to the coronavirus pandemic, many designers are gravitating towards the comforting feeling of serif fonts in their designs. Not only do these fonts create a nostalgic feeling, they are also related to sophistication, and can easily polish up the look of a website or design. Serif fonts work for nearly any design style, which is why they have remained popular throughout the ages.
Accessible Typography
Clean, easily readable fonts are becoming more popular as we move towards 2022. Brands are looking to be accessible to more users, so many are leaning towards typography and fonts that stray away from the busier, more complicated lettering designs of previous years. By simplifying what will be read, it becomes much easier for those to communicate and relate with the brand. Accessible typography benefits the users who rely on accessible design as well as the business because with the world becoming more and more accessible to everyone, you will be ahead of those who do not yet design with accessibility in mind.
Custom Lettering
Many designers are predicting a trend towards custom fonts and typography in future design. Sometimes a designer can't find exactly what they are looking for to convey their message, but with upgrades in technology used to create custom fonts, a skilled enough designer can create exactly what they have in mind to complete their vision, and stand out from everyone else with a completely unique font for their website or design. A few popular tools for creating your own custom fonts for design are Fontlab Studio, Glyphr, and the Glyphs app.
Animation
Animation in typography has been popular this year and is expected to be used even more next year. Simple animations in displaying text are an easy way to grab the user's attention, especially when paired with the more accessible, clean, readable fonts that designers have been leaning towards lately. Reading important text is fine, but watching it pop up, slide in, or change as you read it can be a fun and engaging experience for the user that makes them better remember your brand or message.
Accent Letters
Accent lettering is also becoming more popular in design. Having a uniform look to lettering, with one letter within the design standing out with some difference, can really make a design pop. Think of the backwards letter "r" on the Toys "R" Us logo, the red letter "o" in the otherwise blue Mobil logo, or the red heart in place of the letter "o" in the Pom Wonderful logo. These small differences in lettering stand out to the user and can create a fun and memorable design, and when used properly, can even give more information about your brand's message. The backwards letter "r" that we mentioned before in the Toys "R" Us logo not only stands out to our eyes, but it also drives the message of the business home by showing that their brand is a fun brand aimed at children. The clean look of a uniform design with an accent letter as the most striking part of the design is becoming increasingly popular because it also follows the trend of easy to read, accessible typography.
Here at Vhical, we strive to keep up to date on the latest trends in design so that we can create the freshest websites and projects for our clients. To get started on creating your new project for 2022, contact us! We're located in the Southern Indiana area in New Albany, Indiana, minutes away from Louisville, Kentucky, but we're happy to use our skills to help anyone who needs us!