Shutterstock Releases Its 2022 Color Trends Report

The data-driven report powered by Shutterstock.AI identifies the key color shades for elevating campaign performance in 2022

Shutterstock, Inc., a leading global creative platform offering full-service solutions, high-quality content, and applications for brands, businesses and media companies, today announced the launch of its annual Color Trends Report. By analyzing millions of image downloads and pixel data, the report identifies the three most rapidly-growing colors, as well as trending favorites in twenty countries around the globe. New to this year’s report is the highest performing color that leads to the greatest click-through rates (CTR) and conversions in advertising campaigns, as identified by Shutterstock.AI. The release of the Color Trends Report gives creatives new found confidence to action artistic insights to produce inspiring, engaging work that resonates with audiences and makes a meaningful impact.

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Using hundreds of billions of creative data points across years of digital ads, Shutterstock.AI determined that shades of green are predicted to be the most clickable color scheme for marketers and advertisers. Green is the core color associated with leading a healthy lifestyle — often included in fresh food marketing materials and to promote environmental efforts. Downloads on Shutterstock of nature scenes, where green influences the visual palette, have increased year on year, with mountain aerial shots, for example, increasing in popularity by 1,396%. According to the data, adding a touch of green into projects will improve performance of campaigns, increasing CTR and customer conversions.

This year’s Color Trends Report shows a more muted, minimalist and soft approach compared to previous years. No flashy standouts, no neon highlights, nothing artificial — just simplicity and subtle elegance. Serenity is the key in 2022 when it comes to selecting colors. The data highlights that designers are gravitating toward calmer tints and away from intense tones. The serene trio of colors that set the aesthetic for 2022 include:

• Calming Coral (#E9967A): A faintly fading peach, like a heavy filter over a beautiful sunset. This color evokes a rustic, toned-down shade in comparison to some of the brighter, cleaner shades of the past. When depicting health and happiness, put Calming Coral in your orbit. It plays especially well with dusty yellows and pinks for a nostalgic tint in design work. Or consider contrasting it with a sky blue to round out a comforting, natural palette.
• Velvet Violet (#800080): A vibrant shade of purple with pink undertones, reminiscent of the lasting luxury and elegance of the royal orchid. Some purples stand out and shout – this one whispers. And yet, it’s the boldest of the trending colors for 2022, drawing attention without feeling ostentatious. Its natural complement is a contrasting shade of green, like emerald.
• Pacific Pink (#DB7093): a cotton candy pink representing a perfect mix of vitality and tranquility — despite the bustle a new year brings, this color serves as a reminder to stop and smell the roses. Hot pink is cooling off and subtle pink is picking up steam. It looks marvelous when paired with other pink and peachy tones. And like its namesake, apply it to a complementary light teal to evoke the sun setting over a glimmering Pacific beach.

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“2021 has been a year of reckoning with the aftermath of the year that was. Now, brands and agencies around the world are adapting their color palettes to soothe, and evoke stability and balance,” said Flo Lau, Creative Director at Shutterstock. “We’re excited to be taking our creative insights to the next level for this year’s report with the inclusion of the AI identified color, helping creatives confidently optimize the impact of their work. With this report, we want to provide creatives with indispensable knowledge to make considered and impactful choices in whatever they are creating. We’re fortunate to have access to the content decisions of nearly two million creators on our platform, which allows us to predict where shifts are happening. These colors tell us that people are looking for tones that are natural, earthy, and calming.”

Data experts also decoded the numbers for the local favorites in twenty countries around the globe, highlighting the colors which will resonate most with local audiences. From Steel Blue (#4682B4) in Switzerland to Pink (#FFC0CB) in the UK and UAE, the report provides creatives with regional insight into what colors will create the most impact in localized work.

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