2022 Marketing Trends: Branding, Design, and User Experience

For your marketing strategy to be effective, you must be up to speed with the latest trends in the industry. In this article, we'll explain the 2022 marketing trends in branding, design, and user experience.

The 15 Branding, Design, and UX Trends for 2022

1. Bold Colors and Color Psychology

Color is one of the most important elements in web design. In addition to using a certain color to evoke a specific emotion or feeling for the user, colors are also associated with brand values. For example, green will continue to be associated with nature and eco products. In addition, bolder, brighter, and more saturated tones will take the place of lighter, pastel tones.

2. Intelligent Video

Video will continue to be one of the preferred formats for users to consume online content, especially considering the success of TikTok and Instagram Reels. However, consumers expect brands to go a step further and for audiovisual content to be more than just a video embedded on a website.

With intelligent video, information can be transmitted and communicated in a much more personalized and interactive way, offering a much richer experience.

3. Hero Images

Hero images are going to have more and more prominence. As an element designed to capture the user's attention, it will now be very common to see some that incorporate text. This means that they will become a visual element with a key message. At this point, typography, size, color, and spacing between characters will play a key role.

Image Source: MDirector

4. Color Gradients

A color gradient is a visual resource that adds depth and texture to an image, giving a much more personal touch to the product.

They can be used in any type of product and are not exclusively used digitally. For example, LaRoché launched a line of chocolates with a packaging that uses a very elegant gradient referring to the explosion of flavors.

5. Fogged Glass Effect

The fogged glass effect consists of adding color to different areas of a page without affecting legibility or how the images are displayed.

6. Hands-free Controls

The next step in the evolution of technology is to control a device without touching it. For example, controlling a screen by waving your hands or pouring coffee from a machine with your gaze. This latest innovation has been presented at Mobile World Congress 2021. The Azkoyen group and Irisbond have developed a coffee machine that captures the user's gaze through eye-tracking technology.

In recent years, more and more cell phones have been incorporating this technology, so it's a good time to start thinking about how you can include it as well.

7. Voice-Activated Interfaces

When it comes to mobile app interfaces, they are currently largely based on interacting with screens. However, with the improvement of Speech To Text technology and Natural Language Processing (NLP), conversational interfaces are becoming more widely used.

With gadgets like Alexa, Cortana, and Google Assistant, consumers are becoming increasingly comfortable using voice assistants to complete simple tasks, like adding events to calendars, pulling up product and store information, setting reminders, turning on and off devices, and more. Voice User Interface (VUI) is a speech recognition technology. With it, users can interact with devices using voice as the medium. A VUI accepts user input via voice, processes it, and then provides voice-based output.

8. Minimalism and Blanding

Intrusive advertising, alerts, and pop-ups… these days, the browsing experience is full of stimuli, hence the need for simple, minimalist sites. A clean web design with few, carefully selected elements helps your website visitors focus on what is really important and perform the actions you want them to.

This trend is seen in brand logos, which are becoming simpler and more minimalist, as is the case with Volvo. The brand has recently presented its new logo that signifies the brand’s evolution into the modern era. The new Volvo logo maintains the typography but abandons the deep chrome surface and iconic metallic blue and gray.

9. Block Web Design

According to Wix, block web design combines many pieces of content into a single geometric design. Thanks to the clever distribution of information in each block, the elements don’t overlap each other; rather, they contribute to the uniformity of the overall design. In this pattern, each block leads to a different inner page where the user can access more information on the topic of interest. It is ideal for content-rich web pages. This web design pattern is a good solution for a graphic design portfolio where each block clicks through to a different project.

10. Scrollytelling

Scrollytelling is a term for the evolution of the art of storytelling. In this, digital marketing professionals develop content using storytelling in conjunction with audiovisual material and data collection. Scrollytelling is a mix of the terms "scrolling" and "storytelling". It can be simplified as a way to tell a story by scrolling. Of course, if you are not using a mouse, the simple act of moving your finger down the screen of your mobile or laptop is also "scrolling."

Articles where scrollytelling is applied, are usually long-form, and, in most cases, combined with audio, video, and moving images.

11. Multimedia Elements

We are in the era of 5G and mobile devices with high-resolution screens. You can take advantage of this by incorporating 4K or 5K videos in your mobile web designs. Until now, the emphasis was on reducing the weight of audiovisual content so that the loading time would be shorter, but now, technology makes it possible to increase the weight of the content and enhance high-quality playback. 2022 will see an increase of 4K or higher multimedia elements.

12. Brand With Purpose

Brands are already much more than their services or products; many of them value improving some area of society. In fact, according to the Consumer Culture Report, 71% of consumers buy from companies that value a cause. Patagonia, for example, has made it clear that they are in favor of conscious consumption. The company values repairing or reusing clothing and buying sustainable products. In addition, it encourages its customers to join the change, and its website has a section dedicated to its cause. HP,, on the other hand, has created the "Planet Partners" platform to drive sustainability in its processes and to be able to use plastic bottles to manufacture new ink cartridges.

13. Nostalgia Marketing

Many brands have used nostalgia to connect with their consumers. While in 2021 the focus was on modernity and elegance, in 2022 brands will become nostalgic, especially those with a long history.

Burger King, for example, has modified its logo to make it more reminiscent of what it looked like in the 90s. Spotify in the UK shares tracks from the 80s and 90s to connect with the audience that grew up during those years.

14. Dynamic Logos

Another trend for 2022 will be the creation of dynamic logos or, in other words, logos that generate an optical illusion. It is usually something very eye-catching for the user and it is something that works very well when it comes to promoting technological or innovative projects.

15. Bauhaus Style

The famous art and architecture school popularized a design trend marked by geometric shapes and strong lines that give off a modern, minimalist, and functional feel. UKO, a tool that connects teams and streamlines workflows, incorporates Bauhaus style into the design of its platform, which includes flat, colorful geometric elements that are connected to each other. Through static images and animated illustrations, the brand conveys that the product is all about organization, connectivity, and problem-solving.