Color + Design Vision 2022: Designkind
The series has been going strong since 2015 and has developed into a popular program that all look forward to seeing each year. Researched and authored by Royce Epstein, A&D Design Director for Mohawk Group, the main goal is to report on important cultural shifts that are happening and how they affect design today and into the future.
Topics explored since 2015 include a resurgence of artisanal craft; the rise of digital design; slow living; biophilic design; on demand living; and the return to humanity. Each Color + Design Vision explores how history shapes design futures, and how materials and craft shape design.
For 2022, Mohawk revisited a past topic from 2017 (on its fifth anniversary and still very relevant) called DESIGNKIND, which examines how design will elevate mankind and how mankind survives and adapts through design. While the stories and main categories differ from 2017, the main theme of resilience and sustaining people, place, and planet continues.
Each Color + Design Vision presentation is a CEU accredited by AIA and IDCEC for licensed design professionals.
Imagine a new world where we break with the past and begin again. For many, the post-pandemic world is causing major shifts in human behavior and design is following suit. We call this Designkind, where humanity is in flux, pushed to the limits, experiencing the vulnerability and fragility of life as we know it, and rethinking the value of what’s important. This will create a new design language in unchartered territory focused on rebuilding a more resilient and inclusive world where mankind sustains during these extreme times. Our 2022 Color + Design Vision explores these relevant cultural themes and trends affecting design today. We will also share the 2022 color forecast while giving examples of how culture influences color and design direction.
The learning objectives will examine how design can elevate mankind:
- Explore how mankind harnesses nature to endure and sustain (Sustainers)
- Show how design can have social impact to benefit global communities (Social Signs)
- Rethink materials for health and survival while sustaining people and planet (Material Mend)
- Reclaim built spaces and nature for stability and regeneration (Homegrown)