UPDATE: see 2023-2024 yearbook theme ideas. For more post-pandemic design trends, keep reading.
Using nostalgic designs, organic colors, and handmade elements, check out how you can harness the design and color trends for your 2021-2022 year(book) themes. The design world is unanimous: joy is back!
Treering has pre-released 15 new on-trend yearbook themes for 2021-2022! Log in to the app (for free) to see the full line of backgrounds, fonts, layouts, and artwork included in each theme to find some inspiration for your yearbook this year. Whether you’re a Treering user or not, you can always look and use our ideas no matter who is your yearbook provider.
Trending Now: New Yearbook Theme Sneak Peek
Check back in late August for the full collection of new themes joining the Treering catalog. In the meantime, check out our top on-trend themes below.
Our Top Five Yearbook Themes and Trends
2022 Yearbook Theme Design Trend: Nostalgia, Color
Nostalgic design is synonymous with retro and vintage with the caveat it evokes emotion. Research shows pieces from the past produce positivity in the present! Pair nostalgic elements such as colors, fonts, and images with old school photos from past yearbooks for a complete blast from the past.
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The 90s are back and with it memories of Lisa Frank binders, Zack Morris phones, and NSYNC songs. As you rock your acid wash jeans and baby doll Ts, check out the vibrant colors and iconic graphics in the Back to School yearbook theme that have as much pop as your fav boy band. Outdoorsy colors—think sunshine, spring water, and wildflowers—brighten up this design with drag-and-drop school supply artwork and backgrounds.
2022 Yearbook Theme Design Trend: Organic, Illustrative Design
In a year when we’re going back-to-basics in the classroom, you can bring them into the yearbook room. Celebrating living things is a tenet of organic design. Flora and fauna pop up in many of the new themes for 2021-2022 (hint, hint).
Hand-drawn images and line art continue to dominate the illustrative graphic design trends. Outlines, line art textures, and freeform shapes get their inspiration from the natural world.
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Now and Zen is an airy collection of crisp lines, layers, geometric shapes set in this yearbook theme’s neutral color palette. Like flannel, this design trend is meant to be layered.
2022 Yearbook Theme Design Trend: Nostalgia, Symbols
We’ve established nostalgia gives us all the feels. Neon’s century-long presence in the US conjures memories from riding in classic cars and drinking malts with grandparents to wearing Electric Youth perfume and sweating through skate nights.
Symbols can do the same. A thumbs up or a heart means you’re getting noticed. A border means READ ME! Arrows tell you to keep going because exciting things are forthcoming! And we all have our go-to emoji for wearing our feelings on our screens.
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We modernized the look of neon by adding emojis and icons you can use to divide academics, extracurricular, and personality pages. Because of this, Neon Lights is a complete theme package that will lighten the load for your yearbook team.
2022 Yearbook Theme Design Trend: Organic, Illustrative Design
After a year inside, the outdoors are calling! Natural textures, shapes, and colors are hot in the interior, industrial, and graphic design. They soothe. While it may not be as sappy as the nostalgic design trend—see what we did there—being in nature boosts creativity and reduces stress. And we need those two things for a budding yearbook program!
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The Beyond BeLEAF yearbook theme has illustrative, organic shapes and neutral colors that echo Treering’s commitment to sustainable business practices (shameless plug, I know…). Leafy borders, overlays, and frames hug your photos.
2022 Yearbook Theme Design Trend: Illustrative Design
The glory of illustrative design is its many manifestations: cartoon illustration picks up where the seriousness of the line art design trend leaves off. It’s whimsical and potentially nostalgic. It’s bold and bright. It’s fun and funky. If a playful yearbook theme aligns with your team’s vision, this is the trend to implement!
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By taking inspiration from popular games (that’s plural for a reason, people!), we created options for those who want their book to be timely, on-trend, and totally relatable to tweens. Start with the Crewmates theme, then Level Up.
If you’d like more help selecting a yearbook theme and design trend for your community this year, check out these five questions to ask your yearbook team.
