If you share a flat with a pet, it is normal for you to have your mobile phone full of photos of them. Because that’s how it is, we love to show off our little animals, their impossible poses, the tricks they are capable of doing or how adorable they look while they nap.

Aware of this, Apple has proposed that we take better photos of our pets in the new edition of its “Shot on iPhone” campaign. Photographer Jason Nocito has been responsible for photographing a dozen pets using the iPhone 12 Pro and the High-Key Light Mono effect, which provides studio lighting for portraits.

In addition to the outdoor campaign that will bring these mascots to the streets of various cities around the world, Apple will offer a free virtual class taught by Jason Nocito on July 29. In it, he will teach iPhone users how to take better photos of their pets.

Meanwhile, the company has shared a series of tips that the photographer always takes into account when taking pictures of pets:

• To get and hold your pet’s attention, hold a toy or treat over the camera lens
• If you’re shooting outdoors, place your pet in indirect light and against a wall or plain background.
• Place your pet in the center of the frame.
• If you’re having trouble getting your pet to pose with High-Key Light Mono mode, take some normal photos with portrait mode. From there, you can apply the High-Key Light Mono effect later.
• Lastly, shoot lots of different photos and keep the best one.

By the way, the agency behind this work is TBWAMedia Arts Lab.

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The Le Chocolat des Français brand has launched a limited edition of chocolate bars with ginger, known for its aphrodisiac properties, on the occasion of Valentine’s Day. The funny thing about it is that they have had 5 illustrators who have been in charge of designing a collection of very “suggestive” packaging.

And it is that the illustrations that accompany each of the tablets use “optical illusions” that give sexual ambiguity to some everyday elements that we all have at home: a flower, a bowl of fruit, a candle, a glass…

Illustrated by Aurore Carric

The campaign to present this limited edition is the work of TBWAParis and it presents several bored couples who have fallen into a routine while doing the dishes, doing a puzzle together or watching television. In this context, the tablet is presented as a way to add a “spicy” touch and liven up your Valentine’s night.

This is not the first time that the brand has collaborated with illustrators, in fact since its birth in 2004, Le Chocolat des Français has had more than 400 different artists to bring its packaging to life.

Illustrated by Laurene Boglio

Illustrated by Paul Thurlby

Illustrated by Anaïs Lefebvre

Illustrated by Simon Landrein

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Typefaces are everywhere: banners, brochures, posters, logos, applications, web pages… Any graphic design job that contains text involves making use of typefaces, and sometimes finding the right one for each project can become a chore. quite complicated.

And it is that choosing the right font can help us convey emotions, differentiate the brand from the competition, create impact or simply help the message to be transmitted better. This implies being clear about the objectives of the piece that we are designing, knowing the recipient of the design well and, of course, investing some time in researching and looking for the typeface that best suits what we want to convey.

To make this last task a little easier, today I wanted to round up some of my favorite fonts that I’ve found and used over the past few months. All of them have a free version for personal use and some require a license for commercial use, although in general it is usually quite affordable (and even more so if you use it for a project for which they are paying you).

I leave them here and I hope you like them 🙂

Miju

This typeface, designed by Jérémie Gauthier (France), is inspired by Japanese culture. It has letters full of contrast that make it a typography as original as it is impressive. It’s free for personal use and licenses for commercial use start at $20.

Download miju

soul craft

Massimo Studio (Brazil) are responsible for this variable typeface that allows you to change the width and slant of each character individually. As they say, this “allows to replicate some peculiar characteristics found in the use of sans-serif letters in street signs and walls, giving an energetic and dynamic feeling to the compositions”. It is free for personal and commercial use and they have a space to donate if you want to thank them for their work.

Download soul craft

LERTY

Over here we have a curious typography created by Kai Javier. The wavy and irregular shapes of it give it an organic and fun touch, perfect for great headlines. It is free for personal and commercial use.

Download LERTY

SK Concrete

This experimental typeface designed by Tikhon Reztcov and Andrey Karter (Russia) is “inspired by the works of great masters of type design, such as Adrian Frutiger, Eric Spickerman or Claude Garamon”. The result is a typeface steeped in the “spirit of modernism and monumentalism.” You can download it for free for personal use, for commercial use licenses start at 8 dollars.

Download SK Concrete

trap*

Aayush Mayank (India) is the author of this san serif font that is designed to work well at both large sizes and smaller texts. This typeface was free, but currently the designer uses the formula of “pay what you want for it” starting with a dollar (come on, for a dollar -for commercial and personal use- it is as if they gave it to you anyway).

Download trap*

N. T. Wagner

Let’s go now with this retro typeface created by Artem Nevsky (Russia), ideal to add a nostalgic touch to your design. It’s free for personal use and commercial licenses start at $18.

Download NT Wagner

S.K. Pupok

SK Pupok is “a decorative typeface with smooth, rounded shapes, perfect for experimenting with compositions and typographic styles.” It’s designed by Valentina Zigangirova and is free for personal use (for commercial use, licenses start at $8).

Download sk pupok

Onekta

This typeface was designed to celebrate the 21st anniversary of Flúor Studio Design Advisors (Lisbon) and they have made it freely available to the public. The shapes of the letters are formed “by rectilinear lines that contrast with marked and elegant curves.”

Download Onekta

Daily Offer

Over here we have a nice typography inspired by the price signs that we can find in some markets and traditional stores. Its designer is Eduardo Ramalho and it is free for commercial and personal use.

Download Daily Offer

Publisher New

An elegant typeface “designed for large text” by Mathieu Desjardins for Pangram Pangram. As its author explains, “it is perfect to give your designs a retro touch from the mid-90s while remaining contemporary”. It’s free for personal use and commercial licenses start at $30.

Download Editorial New

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Visa has just presented its new image, a movement that responds to the need to convey that it is much more than a simple plastic credit card. Under the slogan “Meet Visa”, the company has accompanied this rebranding with an advertising campaign that presents the brand as a network that allows people from all over the world to “move money from here to there”.

The timing of this launch is not accidental. It coincides with the start of the Tokyo Olympics where Visa is the exclusive payment technology partner. And his ad will be seen on television for the first time during the opening ceremony of the sporting event.

To enhance its visual identity on small screens and dynamic digital platforms, Visa has updated its branding to a lighter shade of blue. In addition, they have also presented a simplified logo consisting of three horizontal bars in the 3 classic colors of the brand: blue, white and yellow.

While the advertising campaign is carried out by Wieden + Kennedy, the design studio Mucho has been in charge of all the rebranding of the brand. In fact, the latter have a lot of experience in the sector since they have worked with brands such as Paypal and Venmo.

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That is so: the global pandemic has changed our way of life and the way we see the world around us. And if 2021 has taught us anything, it is that we are not yet going to say goodbye to COVID-19, at least in the short term. In this context, we start a new year in which it seems that the “new normality” is here to stay: remote work, digital transformation, relationships through online channels…

And it is that after months of restrictions, social distancing and various quarantines, people are thirsty for optimism. And precisely this insatiable thirst for fun, humor and entertainment is going to mark the creative creative trends that we will see in the coming months. On the other hand, the uncertainty created by the pandemic has made us more eager to create authentic and meaningful connections that help protect our well-being and that of our loved ones.

From Adobe Stock they have been analyzing these two great motivations through user data and in a multitude of campaigns that brands from around the world have carried out to create their creative forecasts for 2022. In them, they bring us the most relevant trends in fields such as photography, illustration, vector graphics, motion graphics or 3D.

Visual trends for 2022

the power of fun

Far from more cautious or sober messages, brands have thrown themselves into optimism and fun: bright and bold colors, games and dances, animated elements and a good dose of nostalgia. And it is that beyond sympathy, what really moves this trend is the courage and determination to move forward and keep smiling in the face of the growing challenges that are presented to us.

Credits: Left: Adobe Stock / miriamdrawings, Right: Adobe Stock / Gerardo

take care of yourself

We are all struggling with a certain degree of exhaustion and insecurity due to the pandemic. In these moments of uncertainty, people are turning to the courage to prioritize and maintain our mental health. We have seen this even in world-class elite athletes who have refused to compete in high-level sporting events to protect themselves and make us see that we all need to set firm limits for ourselves in the service of our mental well-being.

Credits: Adobe Stock / Hayden Williams/Stocksy

Prioritize our planet

Concern about the environment and climate change continues to increase, largely due to the different natural catastrophes that we have experienced during 2021. Fires, floods or heavy snowfalls have made headlines in the press, raising this problem to public opinion. However, this trend goes beyond the need for greater sustainability, but seeks to capture the need to regenerate and reverse our course towards environmental devastation. In this way, as consumers become more aware of issues related to the environment, the big brands continue to work on emphasizing their alignment with these values.

Credits: Left: Adobe Stock / IKON Images, Right: Adobe Stock / Jen Grantham Photography/Stocksy

Moving

Movement as a central theme in brand campaigns not only responds to an aesthetic criterion, but is also a way of experiencing the corporeality of elements without having to touch them. Whether we’re alone, working remotely, or socially distanced, these visual elements help us stay connected sensorily, at least in our minds.

Clockwise from top Credits: Adobe Stock / Rennie Solis, Adobe Stock / master1305, Adobe Stock / Sergey Filimonov/Stocksy

Design trends for 2022

Soft Pop

Playful and flexible shapes define this trend: emojis, cartoons, symbols full of personality, soft and rounded figures… “Soft Pop” is closely related to the visual trend “The power of fun” as it radiates a playful optimism to through its shapes and sweet colors. In this case, typography also plays a major role through voluminous fonts, in the form of bubbles, etc.

Credits: Left: Adobe Stock / 3Djustincase, Right: Adobe Stock / Alexey

new naturalism

The aesthetic of the new naturalism is defined by its pristine modernism and its almost clinical elevation of the organic. These visual elements are inspired by process art, post-minimalism and clean living. Thus, we can find it in fresh and contemporary designs that highlight the elements of the composition to make a statement, seeing how it appears in many industries, especially in fashion, beauty and interior design.

Credits: Adobe Stock / rawpixel

craft patriotism

Folk art, patterns, illustration and design are the starting point of this trend that materializes in different hyperlocal and regional artistic and design elements that mix the colorful and the chaotic with organic and geometric shapes. In addition, they also feature an abundance of figures and nature-related themes, as well as decorative serif or hand-drawn typefaces. This trend is especially powerful in textile and pattern design, as well as in packaging, graphic identities, illustration, stationery and layout.

Credits: Left: Adobe Stock / Happy Dragon, Right: Adobe Stock / Wiji Lacsamana.

visions of another world

This trend starts from a slightly cynical but imaginative and progressive alternative reality. Combining influences and elements of Afrofuturism, the solarpunk and aesthetics vapor wave, these designs can include smooth color gradients, ethereal illustrations, optical illusions, and wild design combinations that explore dreamy contrasts.

Credits: Above: Adobe Stock / pixelbuddha, Bottom: Adobe Stock/ orangeberry

Motion trends for 2022

The expansion of the metaverse

Much is being said lately about the metaverse, that world of virtual spaces with which users can interact, connect and explore online. More and more brands are getting into this game, which is slowly spreading off the internet and into our physical reality with a barrage of visuals incorporating digital effects, grids, and 3D graphics.

Credits: Adobe Stock / irina

Get active

An extension of the “On the Move” visual trend that follows the huge popularity of movement, dance and rhythm in today’s hottest arenas. Brands like Apple, Adidas or Toyota have already shown in their advertising that the world not only wants but needs to move.

Credit: Adobe Stock / DMegies

three-dimensional delicacies

Hyper-realism meets a sense of sweetness and whimsy, using cutting-edge advanced technology to create surreal levels of fun. This moving trend is appearing everywhere on the internet and especially in outdoor advertising, with visual campaigns that play on scale, optical illusions and cartoon effects to convey a sense of depth.

Credits: Adobe Stock / RocknRoller Studios

Texts and captions

Texts, photo captions, subtitles… Text elements are essential for content on social networks in 2022 since most videos are consumed without sound (either by user choice or because the platforms play them silently by default) . This is why adding text overlays has become an essential part of creating successful video campaigns for Instagram, TikTok or Facebook.

Credits: Adobe Stock / Wavebreak Media

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2022 is officially here and it’s time to look ahead to analyze the creative trends that will be present during the next 12 months. In a situation as changing as the one we are facing due to the pandemic, this can be a very complicated task since we are in a quite different scenario than a few years ago.

Be that as it may, at Depositphotos they have done this exercise and they bring us 8 trends from different creative disciplines that will hit hard during 2022. To develop them, the Depositphotos team has compiled and analyzed the search data from their library, which shows a clear increase in the demand for certain topics such as “logo in Augmented Reality” (which has grown by 742%) or “spontaneous faces” (term which has increased by 383% compared to the previous year). With this, they have drawn some conclusions about what brands and content creators can expect this year.

The Metaverse, Artificial Intelligence, the aesthetics of the year 2000 or psychedelic art are some of the trends that are included in this study. «2022 is the year of contrast, where the future walks hand in hand with the past. It is a time when AI-generated music and the metaverse gain momentum to elevate the user experience. On the other hand, the content creators return to the aesthetics of the 2000 effect and the psychedelic art of the 70s to better connect with their audience through nostalgia. This duality is a powerful tool in the hands of creatives. It is what creates new perspectives and inspires unique projects ”, says María Sibirtseva, Head of the Content Team at Depositphotos.

Creative trends for 2022

1. The Metaverse

Facebook and its name change have put the metaverse on everyone’s lips and, obviously, it is one of the trends that will hit the strongest in 2022. The lines between the real and the virtual are becoming increasingly blurred and this will make digital spaces gradually acquire a more realistic appearance with the help of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality technologies. Thoughtful 3D elements, interactive motion graphics, ambient music, and immersive sounds will all come to the fore in creative projects in the coming months.

urzine – depositphotos.com

2. Psychedelic Art

It is time to look back to recover the fun and striking graphic elements of the 70s. A trend that responds to the need to escape monotony and evade reality by generating new experiences. This will translate into striking color mixtures, high contrasts, holographic and grainy backgrounds, abstract shapes … All of this will provide designers with a space for experimentation where they can let their imagination and creativity flow.

Vvicca – depositphotos.com

3. Music generated by Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence has been influencing the way we consume content for years, making the decision process simpler and offering recommendations based on our interests. The future is to use AI in the creation of content, making its production more profitable, both in cost and time. Thus, musicians and creators will increasingly use Artificial Intelligence to create personalized content for their listeners, a golden opportunity in a context in which live concerts are an uncertainty due to restrictions due to the pandemic.

Olga 456 – depositphotos.com

4. Aesthetics of the 2000 effect

Again, it’s time to look back. And it is that the lack of new experiences and positive emotions caused by the pandemic has made a part of the population feel nostalgic for the old days. Millennials and Gen Z are drawn to the 2000 effect aesthetic because it evokes the happiness and serenity they experienced in their childhood and adolescence. Pastel color palettes with pink, yellow, green and blue leading the way and retro-futuristic photography projects with film post-production will be a trend in the coming months.

AlessandroBiascioli – depositphotos.com

5. Science, not fiction

History is replete with examples of “science fiction” innovations that have become reality. And it is that science fiction has been inspiring technological advances for years and years… and also design. That is why in 2022 we will see more extraterrestrial forms, illustrations of super-intelligent robots, dark tones, metallic textures … A trend that goes beyond our own visual interest, but also seeks to theorize and imagine what the future holds for us and what we can do today to achieve a better tomorrow.

80schild – depositphotos.com

6. Acts of self-love

The concept of self-love is called to reach its peak in 2022 and will manifest itself in different creative fields such as photography. Thus, during the coming year, brands should be more open to working with different types of beauty and bodies and embrace diversity as it makes us all feel more visible and important.

Rawpixel – depositphotos.com

7. The art of sliding stories

How to tell stories that attract audience participation? That is one of the great challenges for web designers, who are experimenting with new multimedia formats that mix videos, animation and sound to achieve truly immersive experiences. Asymmetrical compositions, oversized fonts, 3D motion graphics, sound effects or inspiring videos will lead this trend.

valex113 – depositphotos.com

8. Everything is immersion

In an ever-changing world, brands are constantly rethinking their advertising formats and strategies to stand out from the competition. And given the myriad of approaches and tools that we all have at hand, leading companies agree on one thing: the key is immersion. 3D ads, augmented reality filters and virtual reality glasses will allow us to closely interact with a product, test it or even customize it before buying it online.

ArchiVlz – depositphotos.com

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The Spanish proverb says that “you will not go to bed without knowing one more thing” and if there is an Instagram account that has taken this saying seriously, that is the one of @factourism. And it is that this profile collects curious data on any daily topic that you probably had no idea about.

For example, did you know that in Wisconsin it is legal for a child of any age to drink alcohol in a bar as long as they are accompanied by a parent? Or that there are so many varieties of apples in the world that it would take us 20 years to taste them all if we eat a new one every day?

The creators of @factourism is the design studio Ferdio from Copenhagen (Denmark), who started the account for fun and they ended up releasing a book that collects 150 random data accompanied by colorful illustrations in the same way they do on their Instagram. I love it!

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Following an initial trial in 2020, Kellogg’s is ready to launch its accessible boxes for the blind and visually impaired in the UK. And how it works? Well, the packaging includes a color code that can be scanned with a smartphone to reproduce the ingredients, nutritional information, allergens and other information included on the label.

Kellogg’s has decided to use NaviLens technology, which works in a similar way to QR codes: its application allows you to scan the color codes to transmit information through audio.

These boxes will begin to appear on the shelves of supermarkets in the United Kingdom at the beginning of 2022. An advance in terms of inclusion that the brand intends to share with other companies, passing on its experience to improve the accessibility of supermarkets for blind and disabled people visual.

The idea for this packaging came from a meeting between Kellogg’s and children from a Liverpool school for children with sensory disabilities. There, they set out to find a solution that would help them overcome the barriers of vision loss in everyday moments such as grocery shopping.

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The Absolut Vodka bottle is probably one of the most recognizable containers in the world. Its design inspired by medicinal bottles, its large blue logo and the excellent advertising it has done over time have made its packaging become an icon for the brand and a very powerful element of communication.

When you have to work on the redesign of a design icon like this, the challenge is really big and I guess the pressure too. And this is the biggest update that has been made to the Absolut bottle since it was launched in 1979.

This new bottle aims to nod to its place of origin, the craftsmanship and the work carried out by the people behind the famous Swedish vodka. Thus, this new design includes a beautiful illustration of the original distillery in which this vodka began to be manufactured, which is located in Åhus, a small town located in the south of Sweden.

In addition, they have also added the address of this distillery on the front label as a gesture of transparency about the origin of the brand and the text “Country of Sweden” in relief on the very glass of the bottle.

Another of the most notable changes is that Absolut leaves behind the text that occupied much of its front under the logo and has simplified it into the slogan “Swedish Vodka” written by hand. The legibility of the logo, the most recognizable element of the bottle, has also been improved, making it a little larger so that it takes on more prominence.

This new design has been created hand in hand with the Brand Union Sthlm agency in collaboration with Destrito and the glass supplier Ardagh Group.

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Every year, Pantone announces its color of the year with which (supposedly) they reflect and forecast the trends that we will see in the coming months. And if in previous editions the chosen colors have been more or less predictable, this time, it is a tone that has taken us completely by surprise. Why? Well, because it is the first time that the Pantone Color Institute has created a new color for its “Color of the Year” program.

That said, it’s time to introduce the PANTONE 17-3938 Very Peri, a shade that “brings a new approach and insight to the blue color family by embracing the qualities of blue and featuring a purplish-red hue.” This color is presented as a “symbol of the spirit of our current global era and of the transition we are living today” in which it is difficult to differentiate where our analogue life ends and the virtual one begins.

Image: Pantone

“With trends in gaming, the growing popularity of the metaverse and the rise of the art community in the digital space, PANTONE 17-3938 Very Peri illustrates the fusion of modern life in correspondence with color trends in the digital world and as together they manifest themselves in the physical world and vice versa “, they explain from Pantone. For her part, Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, defines it as a color that “shows a cheerful and lively attitude, as well as a dynamic presence that awakens the courage to create through imagination.”

On the color selection process, the Pantone Color Institute conducts an in-depth study and trend analysis every year in search of new influences. This search is carried out in different fields such as the entertainment industry, art exhibitions, fashion, graphic design, tourist destinations, lifestyles, gaming and entertainment trends, and socioeconomic conditions.

Image: Pantone

Image: Microsoft / Pantone

Image: Microsoft / Pantone

Image: Cariuma / Pantone

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