By: Marija Pavlović, Senior Copywriter & Digital Strategist, DNA Communications
In an effort to see what is affecting the current trends in the domain of logo design, the DNA Communications agency has talked to several of its graphic designers and art directors. Some of them have shown interesting case studies of recent redesigns, some point to what affects short-term trends, and some shared the principles of the iconic designers who they take as their models. Now we share these with you, not necessarily in that particular order.
Make my logo violet, ultra violet
The influence of Pantone’s color palette has become more and more widespread in the sphere of art, fashion, design, product placement and social networking trends. The culmination of this influence is reflected in the annual presentation of Pantone’s color of the year, which automatically determines the focus of the color palette for that year. This year’s color of the year is Ultra Violet (Pantone 18-3838), which the company presents as “inventive and imaginative, Ultra Violet lights the way to what is yet to come”. Although such representations are pretentious for some, and definitely viewed as a part of Pantone’s clever strategical tactics, it is undoubtedly a major influence on design every year.
In the domain of logo design, an example of this are the logos inspired by the Pantone color of the year.
These are logos created during 2018, with varying design quality and industry they come from, but what they clearly demonstrate is that Pantone’s influence is most certainly not negligible.
Make my logo simpler
Another interesting tendency, observed by the art director with whom we talked, was the unexpected simplification of some iconic logos. A radical example in this domain was previously depicted in the evolution of the (logotype) brand of Yves Saint Laurent, where evolution of the logo is equally controversial as the evolution of the brand’s image.
Recent example of that is the change of the “holy cow” among brands, the Burberry logo, which also suffered drastic simplification by famous designer, Peter Saville.
The first impression is that the fonts and labels of these logos are what connected them inextricably with the brand, and provoked instant recognizability. However, the tendencies in logo designs (just remember the serif versions of the Google logo) definitely confirm that this is a trend that has affected a large number of strong old and new brands. Take a look at the redesign of logos from 2017 and you’ll see what we mean.
Make my logo iconic
There are designers whose consistent approach to design is what built their careers, that are filled with iconic solutions. One of them is the modernist Paul Rand, who is regularly mentioned as a role model by some of our designers.
In an interview with Steve Jobs on the subject of this iconic professional, you can clearly see his attitude according to which he makes no compromises on his idea of a “solution” that he firmly stands behind. His attitude is proof that a clear strategic and creative vision does not necessarily depend on trends, but builds brand identities for the history books.
Make my logo fresh
And if you are searching for inspiration among new creative hopes and a combination of classic design with the culture of street art, we have examples for you that are a bit different from the classical ones. Just take a look at the Global Creative Collective, 123klan and Hydro74 crew.
And remember, don’t let the client persuade you that the logo must be bigger on the branding than it is. Make your logo superb.
