For instant recognition of your brand, a logo embodies values and personality. But, as with everything digital, it must evolve – with you, your customers, with the online community. While maintaining the integrity of your brand is essential for loyalty, it’s crucial to be fresh. So what’s new in the logo arena? And is it time for an upgrade?
1. Simplicity
Keeping things simple is always top of the list in branding but check these companies paring it right back. Minimal fuss, maximum impact:
Airbnb: Moving from bubble lettering in baby blue was a signifier of a company maturing. The cartoonish graffiti targeted a younger clientele the businesses originally courted. But with a new, more sophisticated audience buying into the concept, the logo changed. What we see now is something streamlined and simple with a grown-up colour palette.
Mastercard: The evolution of the Mastercard logo followed a need to move with the digital times. The subtle simplification of the logo retains the colour palette and much of the brand personality that makes this logo so iconic, while removing the lines and the dated lettering from the middle of the graphic gives it a new lease of life.
2. Handwritten
As with typography, handwritten and line drawing is a strong look for 2017.
Karma Cola: One of our favourites, Karma Cola’s logo is full of life, reflecting their effervescence and abundance of personality. With the typography and vibe permeating every aspect of the online brand, the Karma Cola logo lends itself beautifully to each of its very individual products.
Tiny Leaf: Small but mighty, the beautifully-penned logo for revolutionary food waste restaurant, Tiny Leaf is a lovely example of the kind of hand-drawn visual that’s so popular with younger audiences right now. Harnessing simplicity and subtlety, the logo ‘does exactly what it says on the tin’.
3. Colour
With the complexity of the political landscape ever unfolding, 2016 leads into 2017 with fun, frivolity and bright colours taking our minds off things. Primary colour is prevalent but we’re also going to be seeing the more organic side of the palette with the trend for organic and ethical informing the consumer preference.
Glastonbury Festival 2017: Glasto’s giving it some here with all the colour. It’s fun, busy and a bit retro (another trend for this year). With this one, it’s not so much about sticking to a brand concept because the festival’s look changes every year. With this logo the consistent element is the name of the festival. There’s no question what the product is and the colour and intensity of the logo whip up the intended audience into a frenzy. Job done.
Eat Grub: The Grub logo is beautifully simple and flexible. Changing colour with each product on which it finds itself emblazoned, the logo embraces the more natural side of the spectrum, as you’d expect from a business invested in utilizing the planet’s more ‘earthy’ products (insects).
Subway: Somewhere between natural colours and primary boldness is the new Subway logo. With its curved edges and natural (but bright) colours, the new logo is somehow softer but packs more of a punch.
4. Vintage
Everyone loves a bit of retro every now and then don’t they? Vintage logos suggest quality and provenance, while oozing kitsch and cool credentials. Harnessed by hipsters and adored by millennials, the vintage logo speaks to a certain clientele and is usually reserved for a very specific product or service.
Innis & Gunn: Craft beer. Can we go more hipster? (Yes we can, stay tuned). The label suggests something old school and reliable – vintage and quality. With a logo like this we feel safe.
The Good Life Diner: Another hipster stalwart, the American diner is the epitome of retro cool. Here the logo encapsulates, as you would expect, an old diner sign and we instantly know what’s going on. It’s fun, it’s cool and simple. This particular logo also benefits from a simplification, retaining the main elements while streamlining.
Murdock London: As hipster as it gets, a Shoreditch-based London Barbershop, offering wet shaves and beard trims. The logo is a crest style badge, quite busy and not in keeping with the simple trend, though the colour palette sticks to royal blue and white. This particular vintage logo uses a hand-drawn element and depicts its services on each quadrant of the badge.
5. Animation
Though in its infancy in terms of take-up, animation is the emerging trend we can look forward to seeing more of. Google Doodles are a great first example of how logos morph from one thing into another, showcasing different elements and giving audiences a new perspective on the brand.
Others to note are the animated typography of BBC Newsbeat and the oft-cited simplistic animation of Giant Owl.
Need a fresh look at your logo? Come speak to us.