What is a background?
Backgrounds are the backbone of most, if not all, graphic design projects and play an important role in creating functional visual communication. Although it’s the brand or title holding the microphone on center stage in our made-up brand band, perhaps you can imagine the background standing in as the drummer, setting the tempo and a steady beat.
Let’s keep it between us, but the drummer can keep drumming even if the singer is a no-show. In addition to creating an atmosphere, backgrounds can tell an engaging story, support other elements on the page, and most of all, draw attention from your audience.
What is a background?
In graphic design, the “background” refers to the part of a visual composition that is located in the back and serves as the foundation upon which other elements, such as text, images, or illustrations, are placed. The background is a crucial part of the design because it can influence readability, balance, and the overall aesthetics of a graphic piece.
Backgrounds in graphic design can be simple, such as a solid color or a gradient, or more complex, like an image or pattern. Choosing the right background is essential for conveying the desired message and style in a design. A well-designed background can enhance the overlaid elements and make them stand out, or it can complement the theme of the graphic piece.
Backgrounds are always changing with the times. This is all down to public opinion and the mood of the general population. So it’s important to keep up with the latest trends and techniques. Welcome to Freepik’s engaging background trends for 2022!
Applications of backgrounds in graphic design
The visual world is as interactive as ever, with so much engaging content surrounding us at every given moment. Backgrounds are an essential element for potentially any form of visual content, whether it’s commercial or personal use. Check out some of these applications to get you started on the scale of varieties out there:
- Banner designs
- Poster designs
- Flyer designs
- Stationery designs
- Social Media posts
- PowerPoint backgrounds
- Zoom backgrounds
- Anime backgrounds
- Desktop backgrounds
- iPhone wallpaper backgrounds
A custom background will do a fantastic job representing content, especially when tailored to fit its purpose. It’s important to think this way to guarantee backgrounds resonate with the overall design and feel. Colors, composition, and imagery need to be accounted for as you layer up your designs. If you have the talent for it, tweaking as you design is the best policy. You can have plenty of fun moving elements around the artboard, watching on as your background reacts as if it were dancing the tango.
Another key observation is the contrast between your background and the essential branding elements and information on your page. Information should be easily recognized and readable in any scenario, so using a busy-looking background could work against your overall design, sometimes even making it frustratingly ineffective for your audience. For further study of backgrounds, take a look at this article.
For those lacking the technical skills, there are plenty of tools out there to help. You can even have a go yourself, creating your very own customized background with virtually no design experience using Wepik, a very intuitive online design tool available in your browser!
Background Types
With so many background types to consider, let’s take a closer look at some of 2022’s favorites and see what we can find out.
Vectorial
Vector is a design method used by graphic designers using software such as Illustrator, using geometric lines and mathematical equations to draw instead of pixels. Vector graphics have opened up huge possibilities, including creating stunning background designs using digital vector illustrations that scale up to huge sizes without losing any quality whatsoever. If you have any questions about Vector design, check out this article!
Solid
Simple is sometimes best. Flat or solid background designs use a solid color or no color whatsoever. It might sound uninspiring. However, for a design that holds a lot of weight, with tonnes of information and other elements populating the page, perhaps it’s something to consider. Text will have no problem fighting for supremacy, leading to a user-friendly experience for your audience. This is the reason why they are so popular, even today.
Gradients
Gradient backgrounds are getting more and more popular. Perhaps with all of us using high-definition smartphones, we can finally appreciate the explosive waves of color they provide. One aspect that is also inviting is the way they can interact with the page, creating waves of color you can take full control of, toning up or down areas of the page to help highlight important elements and information.
Photographs
If you want something that will fill space and interact on a human level then photography will fulfill such desire with great success. People like to see visual proof, and photography in a roundabout way, can confirm that. Perhaps verification of a positive lifestyle will help bring your audience onside or affirm the existence of a product you are trying to sell. It is good practice to use imagery to your advantage, thinking about its space on the page and using color tints for the image to work with other elements.
Videos
Videos are hitting it big in 2022. It might sound extreme to use videos as a background. However, they are becoming a very popular option for social media campaigns. They take engagement to the extreme with short, high-energy moving images that are often just a few seconds long on a loop. The introduction of show-reels has only helped its trend continue to progress. The downside of videos, for now, is the technicality and knowledge that’s needed to create them to the quality you are after. That’s where stock videos are very handy, meaning you can quite easily have a video background for your own projects. You can find background videos on Freepik.
The difference between wallpaper and backgrounds
The term wallpaper comes from the centuries-old definition, describing the decorating of an existing wall. In today’s digital world, it still holds out as decorating walls, whether they are digital or not. Wallpaper is often a repeated design, or image applied to a background, so the term can work with a background or be just as happy on its own. Background is the term used to describe the canvas to which background elements are applied. This could even include a wallpaper image or wallpaper pattern.
Background trends
Backgrounds can sometimes act as a reflection of the times we are in. The year 2022 is a year full of relevance as we gaze optimistically towards equality and a sustainable future. Let’s take a closer look at some of the popular background trends in use for 2022.
Photo trends
Since the restrictions of the pandemic have slowly but surely relaxed. The importance of togetherness has never felt so important as family and friends are finally able to hug one another, a very basic human need that has felt its presence in 2022’s photography trend. Promoting closeness and wellbeing amongst those who have been deprived of that dopamine hit has become popular and very welcome!
Other photo trends to spot in 2022:
- Photos in Motion
- Social Activism
- Photo Composition
Color trends
The use of Orange and Blue has been a definitive contrast for the most part of 2022. It’s hard to ignore the world’s support for Ukraine when bringing up these particular colors. However, the colors bring about a challenging contrast that helps bring out the best in your compositions, providing pronounced vibrance and positivity, with orange representing the sun and rich optimism, while blue represents protection and stability.
Other color trends to look out for include:
Click on each color palette for a free download!
Vector Trends
Traditional cartoons
Traditional cartoon designs have made a huge come back in 2022 and we are benefiting greatly from its fun and positive vibes. Its cheekiness almost plays with the current mood of despair felt around the planet, however it carries a strong positive stance against anything that is thrown at us or our freedom of self expression.
Other vector trends that have tickled our imagination include:
- Diversity and Inclusion
- Neutral colors
- Serif fonts
Let’s make backgrounds memorable and relevant to today by keeping up with current trends, giving your projects the fresh look they deserve. If there is more you’d like to find out about trends of 2022, why not check out our dedicated page here. There is so much to explore, and the more discoveries you make the more inspired you become. Here’s to whatever comes next!