Our Favorite Branding Trends To Look Out For In 2022

Hello 2022! We may be almost one month in, but we are still riding the new year, new you vibes. We’re also in the thick of building out our 2022 strategy, and that includes looking at trends. So, we are going to give you a behind the scenes look at those 2022 branding trends we are absolutely loving.

It can be tough to stay on top of trends. It seems like they’re always changing! Oh, hello there, Instagram. Our hope is that this content will bring some clarity to upcoming branding trends to watch out for this year in the ever-changing world of branding. Let’s get into it!

Why It’s Important to Stay on Top of Brand Trends

It’s hard to stand out in the overly saturated online world. Constantly changing trends don’t help, either. But you do need to stay on top of trends to give yourself a leg up on your competition. Plus, it’s so important to continually serve your audience the best and that involves a little research and learning as well. 

When done right, branding can create loyalty between a business and its customers. That’s because branding gives your business a real-life human personality. A well-built brand can show people what the business stands for, how it acts, and how it talks. Consider how would you portray a brand with neon pink and crazy fonts vs. a brand with pastel colors and simple fonts? You wouldn’t think of them the same, right? The bright, crazy colors and fonts give off a fun and playful vibe, while the other may have a chill and elegant vibe — and that is just based on visuals! We haven’t even dove into the messaging aspect.  

How you choose to brand your company matters, and that means including some of the latest and greatest branding trends in your strategy. This isn’t a branding checklist, but rather a branding brainstorm bucket list. Some will resonate with you, while others wont. See what aligns with your current branding and how you can incorporate it to better serve your audience. Or, if you aren’t happy with your current branding, try something brand new based on these branding trends and see how it goes! You might be surprised at how these trends transform the perception of your business.

7 Branding Trends to Look Out For In 2022

Let’s get right into seven branding trends to look out for in 2022.

1. Bold But Muted Colors

Bold but muted colors is a branding trend we’ve been absolutely loving well before 2022. Neutral is all the rage these days. Don’t get us wrong, we love a neutral palette, but our biggest branding concern is that your brand will fall flat and lose its competitive edge. Even if you love a neutral palette, using a bold color or two can really catch your audience’s attention and help you stand out amongst your competition. The best part is, you can use this color sparingly when you really want to call attention to something in particular. 

Here’s a peek at one of our favorite brand projects to date for a local salon and spa where you can see the beautiful bold and muted palette playing nicely across their various brand elements.

2. Monograms For Personal Brands

Monograms first made an appearance in the late 1990s and recently made a comeback in 2020. Brands are hopping on this trend by using monograms for personal branding. This fun symbol makes a statement of who you are. It’s the perfect logo for freelancers and solopreneurs.

We’ve also had so much fun using this branding trend to speak to the personality of our client’s businesses. Take a peek at this adorable interior design duo — Meghan and Vienna brought their individuality into their business name and we have to say bringing that into the logo is *chef’s kiss*!

3. Keep It Simple

We love a good, simple, minimalistic design. It’s the concept of using basic text, shapes, colors, and empty space to create an organized and uncluttered design. Minimalist designs draw immediate attention to the main subject of the graphic because there aren’t competing elements. Not sure what this branding trend looks like? No Wake Zone is one of our favorite brand examples that showcase how the simple clean lines can come together to create a compelling logo and pattern.

4. A Synchronized Social Media Effort

Have you ever come across a company on Instagram that seems to change its mind or direction every other week? You aren’t sure what content you are going to get and therefore you aren’t sure if they are a dependable brand or company altogether. This is exactly why branding goes so much deeper than your visual assets like a logo and color palette. 

Creating a synchronized social media effort increases brand awareness, brand recognition, and trust among your audience. Successful brands look cohesive across everything single thing they do. Creating a cohesive Instagram feed is just one way this comes to life. It all takes dedication, planning, and strategy — mostly strategy! 

Peek at one of our favorite clients, Sound & Circle. From website to product packaging to social media you see one beautifully cohesive brand. She takes home the gold star on this branding trend and we are certain that this trend isn’t just a 2022 thing!

5. Humanizing Brands

I’m sure you’ve heard this saying before, and if you haven’t, you need to: People connect with people. Period. 

Notice how it doesn’t say anything about brands? People want to feel connected to the company they choose to work with in some way. This is easy if you’re a one-woman show because you can show your unique personality and how awesome you are. That is why even with something as simple as creating your Gmail signature, we recommend humanizing it with a photo of your pretty self.

Have you ever looked at Wendy’s Twitter? They are known for “clapping back” and roasting people in the comments. They even recently did a campaign for National Roast Day. Why are we bringing this up? Wendy’s has found a unique brand tone, voice, and personality that is recognizable regardless of where they show up. People know what to expect when they interact with Wendy’s online. 

If you have a brand, you need to humanize it. Give it a personality so that it will connect with your target audience. When you do this, you start to build brand trust with your audience. It’s how your audience perceives your business and the confidence they feel when they work with you. This is a trend that won’t go away, so we recommend working on humanizing your brand asap if you haven’t already! Once you’ve identified your brands personality and voice, you’ll find that your content creation efforts across everything from social media to email marketing become so much simpler.

Curious how this comes to life in our brand style guides? Here is and example on how we help define your brand and business’ personalities. Take a peek at these two examples for vastly different brands we’ve worked with from fitness mentorship and business coaching to home builders.

6. Bold and Playful Type

This trend is so fun! You might even see it play out on our own Insta feed! It uses bold colors, fonts, and shapes to create a design that screams for attention. There are no limits to this design. The crazier, the better! Our favorite place to test the waters with our clients on playful fonts is the brand moodboard phase before we even dive into the real deal brand assets. Here are a few of our go-to favorite Canva fonts to play around with:

• Maharlika
• Signature
• Quiche
• Tan Ashford
• Tan Paradiso

Want to see how this branding trend comes to life in a bold and playful look? My Pop Up Party is by far the best example with an elegant, fun and playful font that elevates their brand and resonates with their audience.

7. Gradients 

Gradients are on the opposite side of the spectrum from minimalistic designs. They are beautifully orchestrated statement pieces for your brand. The best part about is that gradients can be so incredibly unique and versatile. One of our favorite branding projects for a fitness coach and mentor brought this branding trend to life beautifully across every brand elements from her logo to her social feed. 

 

That wraps up our favorite branding trends of 2022

Tell us in the comments below, what is your favorite branding trend from this list? If this got your wheels spinning, maybe you are looking to refresh your brand in 2022? If so, contact us today to get your hands on our Experience Guide! We’d love to meet you and bring your brand’s personality to life!