Revealed! The three most impactful web design trends of 2022 so far

The world of web design never sits still, and when you've got your head down at work, it's easy to miss some of the biggest changes sweeping through the industry. So now we're more than halfway through 2022, it's a good time to take a bird's eye view, and share some of the broader trends every creative needs to know about.

We've pulled these three interesting trends from the 2022 trends report from Editor X, the advanced web design platform that allows freelancers and agencies to create responsive websites for clients, no matter how complex the creative expression or requirement.

We give you a flavour of each impactful trend below, but for more details and to discover the full list of trends, we'd urge you to explore the full report here.

1. Metaverse mayhem

The term metaverse refers to the virtual worlds where more and more people are now connecting and interacting, from Meta's Horizon Worlds to gaming platforms like Roblox. But this is only the start: investment in the sector is expected to balloon to the hundreds of billions by 2030. And wherever people are going to be, brands want to be there as well.

So even though the sector is still in its infancy, brands as far-ranging as Wendy's and Gucci are seeing big opportunities in the multiverse. Designers who can help them establish a foothold in these brave new worlds will be valued indeed.

Discover more in the full report.

2. Dopamine colour palettes

You first heard about 'dopamine dressing' – throwing on your favourite colourful clothes in an array of happiness-inducing rainbow hues. Now, the trend is moving from fashion to our screens. Bright, bold, and vivid palettes are all over the web right now, which makes sense considering how exhausting and demoralising the past few years have been. We need more joy in our lives, and adding colour is one of the ways to spark it.

It's said that the colossal appetite for nostalgia, as we look back on happier times, has also played its part in this trend. We're seeing the re-emergence of '70s-era psychedelia, for instance, with sites serving up a satisfying visual feast of colours to dazzle and delight the eye. Take a look at Mire Design Studio for inspiration or the Decentralised Archive.

Learn more in the full report.

3. Web kitsch

These days, most websites look clean, uncluttered and, well, quite samey. So it's not surprising that early 2000s nostalgia is on the rise. Designers are taking on the less-polished aesthetic of the early days of the web when it was not so templated, less corporate, and decidedly weirder.

This means web design that's intentionally low-fi is back. We're talking default fonts, patterned backgrounds, old-school browser windows, simple layouts, and decorative sticker icons like smiley faces and butterflies that convey an amateur look, even if the designer is anything but. Esther Rubanovich's portfolio leads the way as does Ryan Haskins'.

Explore more in the full report.

Read the full 2022 trends report

Above, we've summarised three of the most interesting web design trends influencing creatives right now. But that's just the tip of the iceberg! Discover more about where the industry is heading, by exploring the Editor X trends report today.