Plasmatic, looped, transparent, wavy, vibrating, colour blind and more…

Even the biggest brands are not immune to logo trends

The capability of printing complex logos on different surfaces and displaying them with more accuracy on computer screens is slowely changing the classic laws of logo design. A growing number of world’s leading brands are starting to apply unconventional design trends into their well established icons.

Let’s take a look at the ‘Apple’ logo. It was first designed over 30 years ago as a flat, one-dimentional and multicoloured icon with a bite taken out of it, which by the way is a reference to the Bible story of Adam and Eve, in which the apple represents the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge.

When ‘Apple’ decided to refresh their company’s logo, a trendy 3d effect was applied, adding depth and fluidity to an otherwise static icon. Whether this modification brought an improvment is highly speculative. All we can say is that it works just fine, for now. However, it is certainly not the final look and the ‘Apple’ icon will keep transforming ever so slightly, influenced by always changing fashion trends.

How about more more recent logo designs? Can trendy logos survive for a longer than one season? The danger associated with trends is that they come and go fairly fast. A trendy looking logo by today’s standarts can leave your company’s identity looking dated before it is rolled out. Moreover, the notion of a trendy design contradicts the very purpose of a logo, which proclaims longevity and originality. Following trends when designing a logo is regarded as an insult to most logo artists.

Take a few minutes to check out the 10 new trends of the last couple of years in logo design.

Transparent

Transparency allows different design elements to overlap, offering an additional shape, colour or highlight. It creates an illusion of multiple perspectives and movement.

Vibrating

Designers using wave lines for their logos, build their strength through numbers. The multiplications are usually asimetric giving the cluster an illusion of a solid mass. These fragile elements tend to flow freely through space but as they unite into a single shape, they create familiar images.

Plasmatic

An evolution of a living cell would be the best description for these fluid and friendly units. The richness of forms displayed in the amoeba like shapes suggests adaptation and fexibility.

Looped

Like an offspring of the Infinity symbol, these continuous bands present a group of logos displaying a lack of perfect symmetry and appearing to be more like snapshots of motion rather than solid shapes.

Thin-liners

These delicate, hairline weight drawings don’t require a chisel and hammer to drive a subtle message. All you will need is a pair of reading glasses to encrypt the meaning hidden in those secret cryptograms.

Stiched

Some of the knottiest textile patterns are used by these fashion logo designers, who don’t shy from dipping into their grandmothers’ baskets for the victorian and rococo inspirations.

Ornaments

Luscious typography full-grown on steroids identifies these flourishing entities. The excessive font treatments reveal a ferocious love affair between their designers and calligraphy.

Global

Just as the globes disapeared from the horizon, seemingly beyond the point of return, a new breed of orbs with more vigor and colour has re-apeared in the twilight of the 2000’s.

Colour blind

It is hard not to smile at the visual cheerfulness these confetti shapes evoke. This technique is based on perfect circles, well thought out colour combination, and a boundless love for the 70’s op-art .

Waves

Swooshes and swirls are out, waves are in. These fluid shapes offer a lot of flexibility and flow, making logos seem as if they were stopped in full motion. The effect is graceful and highly aesthetic.

Take a few minutes to check out the 10 new trends of the last couple of years in logo design.