Creative Trends Guide 2022: Merging The Future And The Past

Another year went by, as we continued to watch the world change in surprising and significant ways. There have been a number of technological breakthroughs and major shifts. At the same time, nostalgia is prevalent in our culture more than ever, and references of the past keep getting stronger. Somehow, they exist side by side. This duality is key right now, which is why we’ve chosen it as the theme of our forecast for 2022.

The 2022 Creative Trends is your guide to valuable insights and ideas; they will help you join bold creatives who are changing the world right now. Dive in to explore!

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Creative Trends 2022: behind-the-scenes

What should we expect from 2022?

This question understandably has an additional sense of urgency and importance these days. And there is more: how can we remain relevant and ride the wave of innovation, while also appealing to customers worldwide? We’ve worked hard on this report to help you prepare for a new year of exploration, creativity, and commercial success.

The Creative Trends is our annual project and a very special milestone every time.

We’ve been following and analyzing the most impactful events and statistics of the past 12 months. We narrowed down our conclusions to 8 key trends. They can be valuable to independent content creators, photographers, marketers, designers, creative entrepreneurs, artists of all kinds.

Each trend is accompanied by thematic collections of content that you can use in your projects or rely on for inspiration throughout the year.

The Creative Trends project is our way of empowering designers, photographers, marketers, and all content creators to make something bold. Our goal is to help you understand the ever-changing environment we live in, to make better-informed decisions, and to achieve your most daring goals.

Experience and expertise matter a lot, which is why we’ve reached out to artists and professionals from innovative companies in the field of marketing, design, content creation, and music. These insiders have agreed to share their vision on upcoming transformations and the future.

Our list of experts includes:

We Are Social, a socially-led creative agency that delivers a global perspective in the age of social media.
99designs by Vista, a creative platform that makes it easy for clients and designers to work together online.
Mubert Inc, a collaborative platform that pairs musicians with AI.
Y2K Aesthetic Institute, a research project dedicated to the visual culture of the late 1990s-early 2000s.
Interwoven Design Group, a multi-disciplinary product design and development studio specializing in wearable technology and smart textile solutions.
David Wehmeyer, a graphic designer and contemporary artist.
Synchrodogs, a duo of art directors, photographers, and visioners.
Dogstudio, a multidisciplinary creative studio at the intersection of art, design, and technology.

Creative Trends 2022 in a nutshell

The big idea behind the Creative Trends 2022 report is the combination of the future and the past.

Facebook became Meta and prices of NFTs kept growing, while the reemergence of Y2K aesthetics became impossible to ignore. Total immersion, AR, and VR technologies are already transforming the digital space and our day-to-day reality. At the same time, people all over the world are nostalgic about the past.

“The trends we’re already starting to see have the potential to inspire people in finding alternative ways to get away and escape, especially with all that is going on in the world. These trends will prompt people to think more creatively about how they can explore and have new experiences within the limitations of where they are”, – Megan Dell, Director of Design at 99designs by Vista.

We understand how important it is to be capable of adjusting, while also staying true to who you are. It’s a challenge for a lot of independent creatives and companies of all sizes. The research that we’ve done, the statistics that we’ve gathered, and the content collections that we’ve curated can become the starting point for your forward-thinking projects.

In 2022, we encourage you to learn more about the upcoming transformations that will shape the world we live and create in. We invite you to explore the contrasting nature of our interests, drawing inspiration from both the future and the past. Our forecast will enable you to do that in the most efficient manner. Tomorrow and yesterday meet today and co-exist together. Let’s go on this exciting creative journey together!

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