Hey, it’s Josh from Printful.
Every year we dive deep into the world of graphic design trends and find the best ones
for print-on-demand to share with you.
But why, you might ask?
After all, practically anything can become trendy overnight, just to be forgotten a few
days later.
However, despite the limited lifecycle of trends, our experts found some that withstood
the test of time, have historical roots, and will reappear once again in 2022.
Our selection comes with a cultural heritage that’s a treasure trove of references and
inspiration for your next best-selling collection.
So, whether you’re an experienced store owner or just starting your ecommerce journey,
after this video, let me know down in the comments which trend you’re looking forward
to the most and why.
Let’s get the conversation going.
First on our list is Pop Art—an art movement from the mid-20th century.
It originated in the UK, where it flourished through the works of a British painter and
collage artist Richard Hamilton.
He was the one who defined Pop Art as a popular, short-term, and expendable form of art.
This movement was picked up on the other side of the Atlantic by none other than Andy Warhol.
His experimentation in merging high art and consumerism has brought us gems such as Souper
Dress.
It’s a disposable tissue paper dress with an all-over print of his Campbell’s Soup
Cans painting.
Since Pop Art originally represented a colorful satirical take on consumerism, it will once
again reflect the current state of the world.
If you find this trend is for you, I recommend looking for free stock footage of antique
sculptures and combining them with the main elements driving today’s consumerism culture.
The finished result can look rugged, witty, and vivid.
In terms of products, this makes a good match for a DTG technique.
Pop Art designs use bright colors, so you need to use a product predominantly made from
cotton for the print to be more crisp and opaque.
Then again, depending on your artwork, you can also create a pattern out of it in Printful’s
Design Maker and use it for an all-over print product.
Our next entry is a trend taking roots in an old art technique, trompe-l'œil, French
for optical illusion.
The intent of this kind of art created is to trick the viewer with the illusion of three-dimensionality.
Throughout history, artists looked for ways to create art indistinguishable from reality
while being portrayed on a flat surface.
One particular variation that caught our attention is the hybrid illusion.
It works by overlaying two images to be visible at different distances.
Since it uses layer semitransparency, you can get the best results if you create all-over
print products with this style.
When printing semitransparent designs with DTG, the result will not come out as intended.
That’s because, with this technique, ink is applied in specific pigments matching the
design’s color rather than its opacity.
For this example, we used an all-over print hoodie to create a simple text design.
You can see the word Create from a distance, and as you come closer, you can see the other
part of the message become visible.
These days social distancing has become the norm.
So why not own it and turn it into a selling point for apparel and give the whole distancing
thing a positive twist.
Apart from that, designs with optical illusions draw attention online and in real life, helping
make your products stand out in the saturated market.
The all-time classic takes a spot among the top trends this year as well.
After all, custom embroidery represents a bold, personal, and fresh take on products
that otherwise might seem ordinary.
This trend will remain in the limelight for years to come.
For a simple reason—it has endless potential.
Our teams are busy making the embroidery technique available for more products and innovating
it across our global locations.
Right now, you have the option to create large center embroidery designs on Printful’s
Design Maker.
That’s not all, though!
You can now combine two techniques.
Our team has made it possible to add DTG inside or outside labels for embroidered apparel
products.
Our innovations open a new world for branding and expanding your clothing line.
In 2022, you can experiment with embroidery designs inspired by nature.
Nature is the ultimate remedy for people worldwide who’ve been homebound for so long.
Our Design Maker has a clipart collection with minimalistic nature-inspired designs
that you can pair with text captions.
This way, you can apply minimal effort to try out this trend in your store.
But if you’re looking to create designs of your own, we have an in-depth video about
embroidery guidelines to help you out.
Our product catalog isn’t just apparel.
We’re steadily expanding our home & living product collection every year.
So here’s a trend that’s returning to home decor after its last global acclaim celebrating
the glamorous golden age—Art Deco.
Similar to past trends like Retrowave art inspired by the 80’s nostalgia, the popularity
of Art Deco is driven by the same romanticized nostalgia of the 1920s, especially among new
generations that haven’t experienced it.
It’s an all-embracing style that combines the brilliance of geometric minimalism with
elaborate details, like fictional and futuristic objects.
The art movement originated in France in the 1920s and had a huge impact worldwide in the
visual arts, architecture, and design.
Compared to the other entries on our list, this trend doesn’t have any deep philosophical
intent and is purely decorative.
When it comes to creating designs, you can express yourself in the graphic editing software
of your choice or use our ultimate free tool—Printful’s Design Maker.
It just so happens that our graphics team is in tune with the global trends and has
added a wide range of Art Deco shapes, backgrounds, and elements that you can incorporate in your
pre-made designs or use to create something authentic from scratch.
It only takes a couple of clicks to create Art Deco pattern designs for posters, pillows,
and blankets that you can bundle together as a 2022 collection in your store.
Outro Thank you for watching this video until the
end.
I hope you found a trend that’ll inspire you to create outstanding products in the
following year.
If you’re just starting your ecommerce journey, check out the Printful Academy, where you’ll
get essential knowledge to run your business and free points that you can exchange for
goodies.
If you ever need help creating designs, you can always reach our Graphic Design Services
team.
This was Josh from Printful.
See you next time.