The International Day of Light is celebrated on May 16th. If the initiative was created with the aim of raising public awareness of energy efficiency and sustainable design, even the 2022 trends in light design speak green. From the desire to return to nature sanctioned by biolific design to the Japanese-Scandinavian synthesis of the Japandi style, trends are increasingly careful to tell the challenge of the circular economy.

“Everything is illuminated,” Jonathan Safran Foer would have said. From the world of music to that of cinema, it would seem to be just like that: the key to the story of contemporaneity is all in the light. This is demonstrated by Coldplay‘s concert light staging, the photograph of Paolo Sorrentino’s latest work “It was the hand of God” which earned Daria D’Antonio the David di Donatello, the chromatic composition through the use of light in David LaChapelle (on display with “I Believe in Miracles” which was at Mudec in Milan).

Light as an artistic tool but also for technological and scientific innovation oriented towards environmental sustainability, as evidenced by the International Day of Light, a worldwide initiative that every May 16th, since 2015, celebrates the anniversary of the first successful laser operation in 1960, enhances and promotes the value of science and investment in light design research, with the attention for energy efficiency.

According to international experts in the sector, there will be ten the trends that will forever change the way of lighting indoor and outdoor environments: lines and minimalism, Japandi style, sustainable LED, suspension lamps to characterize the environment, floor lighting to define spaces, bio-based design, increasingly smart lighting, mini lamps, collectible works of art and wireless lighting. This is what emerges from a series of research conducted on the main international newspapers in the sector by Espresso Communication for KDLN, top brand in the light design sector.

According to the president of KDLN, Stefano Bordone, the light design trends that will revolutionize the future of lighting will be different and stimulating: “Green economy, sustainability and technological innovation aimed at optimizing an experiential and functional customer journey: this year we will see some good. This year we will determine the trends of the next two years, if not more: we are already seeing it with the Metaverse and what it is entailing in the implementation of the digital dimension in the use of light design “.

The lighting design trends decline different needs, from attention to energy saving to the consumer’s desire to purchase more and more unique elements that, in addition to illuminating, are elegant, functional and smart.

Here are the 10 trends that will define the new development assets of light design:

1) Lines and Minimalism. 2022 marks the return to the geometric and industrial shapes of the early 1900s, just think from the Esthetique Industrielle to the Bauhaus, passing through the figurative avant-Gardes.

2) Japandi Style, less is more. Material and chromatic simplicity is back, to give the rooms a touch of unique elegance through basic and neutral colors but in a less cold and warmer look, thanks to the encounter between the Scandinavian and Japanese styles.

3) Sustainable LED. More and more trendy, LED and energy-saving lights in general are suitable for any environment and guarantee sustainability, significant savings on bills and high luminous efficiency.

4) Suspension lamps to characterize the environment. Ceiling and suspension lighting are once again the protagonists as in the interior design of the 60s: a particularly important elements that can give character to apparently more bare and neutral environments.

5) Floor Lighting to define spaces. Fundamental in open spaces, floor lighting creates virtual divisions of spaces, delimiting the environments and emphasizing their beauty.

6) Biolific Design. Archistars and interior designers are focusing on organic materials, which fit well into environments, such as wood and glass. Key element: they are all non-toxic and recyclable materials. An excellent strategy to make the beautiful, functional and with a low environmental impact, but also economical.

7) The home gets more smart. The personal home automation system will facilitate the relationship between the consumer and the home through smart devices. This will lead to energy savings (no more lights on and high bills), the right atmosphere in each room and the automation of daily actions.

8) Lamps at your fingertips. Tiny, discreet, almost imperceptible lighting bodies. The new trendy lighting products are characterized by micro dimensions and mini light sources, thanks to the miniaturization of the LED.

9) Luminous, Collectible Works Of Art. The new lamps are increasingly focusing on a FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) effect: collectible and limited edition art objects, presented in capsule collections. Scenic and sculptural, the new lamps are furnishing accessories even when turned off because, in addition to illuminating, they characterize the rooms.

10) Wireless and modular. One of the strongest trends is certainly represented by wireless lights, cable-free lamps and fixed systems. Nomadic objects with batteries that last between six and eight hours at maximum power, or even more than a day if used at low intensity. If modular, they allow you to create different sets each time.