Have you noticed a trend in logo design lately?
When you look at big companies and logos, we can see that there seems to be more of a mass movement from complexity back in the direction of being simpler, more distilled, more symbolic, and more unitized.
Is this a new trend? Or are we going back and readapting the basic tenets of logo design?Logos have been used since 900 AD. They started off as Family Crests. Certain designs and colors represented a Noble Family.
Since only the Nobles tended to have access to education, establishments started using pictures / logos of their products to identify what they were selling for commoners.
As industries began to flourish, so did the demand for Logos.
Now, we jump to the 2000s, where people have started to spend loads of time on the Internet and have begun to buy off of the internet too! The logos now had to be dynamic and adaptable to screens. Designers used gradients, drop shadows, and metallic textures to bring depth to their designs.
Although, As the world became more comfortable with digital technologies, these effects were no longer necessary. Logo designs communicating key aspects in clean, simplified forms with maximum brevity, meaning, and impact are making a reappearance.
But the question remains: Why was there a need to drop these cool effects?
There could be quite a few reasons.
The Wit Agency, a logo design company in pune attempts to figure it out!
Here are some of them:
1. Complexity, simply for complexity’s sake, has run its course.
There was a very long stage of “because we can” in design. As technology made it easy to incorporate and assemble complexity (think filters, gradients, transparency, lighting effects) many designers wanted to explore it in all its layers and gratuitous wonders, whether it added essential meaning or not. But now, standing out from the crowd means going back to simpler designs.
2. Shortness of Human Attention Span
The proliferation of these exuberant and embellished logos requires increased concentration and engagement. And guess what? People don’t have the time, attention, or RAM to spare. With thousands and thousands of brands and logos in our digital hands daily, we tend to filter what we are seeing subconsciously. We’re natural filterers and that’s one of the things logos allow us to do: scan, filter, assimilate, and store information.
A simple, bold, clean and distilled logo can cut through the noise and can easily be filed away for recall. Simplicity helps to increase recognizability in shorter time periods and gets information across quickly.
3. Simple sells in a complex world
As our lives, technology and environment gets more complex, we want our lives to get as simple as possible. Visually associating your app, medical practice, dishwashing soap, or cab company with the idea of “simple” can be an instant added value and a sigh of relief.
4. Wisdom comes with age (and a changing economy.)
The dot-com era inspired rapid innovation and a start-up culture that made the entire economy more comfortable with the idea of transitory technology, business structures, and even visual style. In the new economy there is still a healthy respect for being agile, but we’re also looking for authenticity, trust, and a renewed value of the potential for longevity.
Simplicity speaks to confidence, authenticity, solidity, and a certain sophistication.
To conclude, we believe that Complexity can be meaningful, for sure. But for the majority of businesses, it’s safe to say that intentionally added complexity in a logo is the exception, not the rule.
Reach out to the Wit Agency, a logo design company in pune, to design the perfect for your company
