Logos are one of the trickiest things to get right in the graphic design world. It takes almost zero talent to make a logo — virtually anyone can do it. However, making a good logo requires a lot of insight, artistic skill and patience.
Too often we see designers
falling into the trap of rushing into a logo design project and coming up with
ideas that are so overused that they’re downright cringe-worthy. Today we’re
going to take a look at five logo trends that fit this description. Read on to
see if any of your go-to techniques are on the list (and make a mental note to
avoid them in the future!)
Who Cares About Being
Unique?
Before we jump into some of
the logo ideas that you might want to watch out for, let’s address the question
of exactly why you should be aware of and perhaps avoid logo ideas that have
become a cliché. The answer here cuts at the very core of why logos exist.
From a branding perspective,
a logo is in many ways the face of your company. When someone thinks about
“Nike” as an entity, they immediately see that famous swoosh, the same could be
said of a million other brands such as Coca-Cola and Apple. This isn’t just
true for global mega-brands either, who could forget the “Monster” energy drink
with its claw mark “M”?
The reason you remember
these marks so vividly is that they’re unique, and companies will fight
viciously to protect that. Any time someone gets anywhere near a simple apple
icon, the Apple Inc. lawyers unleash their fury with significant monetary
backing.
Destruction from Within
If so many companies are
willing to invest so much into their brand’s unique identity, don’t you think
they see it as an important part of their success? Sometimes though, the most
dangerous threat in this area comes not from competitors or other brands, but
from people actually working for the brand itself! These individuals have the
power to completely destroy a long held visual legacy and cause mountains of
bad press for companies. The people I’m referring to are, of course, designers.
The past couple of years
have been filled with long established brands attempting visual updates only to
receive so much negative feedback and public outcry that they are forced to
retreat back to their original but newly appreciated identity.
As a designer, you wield an
immense power over the public perception of a brand. You owe it to your
customers to provide rich, unique identities that won’t be easily confused with
3,000 other similar attempts by other brands.
With these ideas in mind,
let’s take a look at five logo trends that designers just can’t seem to get
over.
Read more
on... 5 Cliche Logo Design Trends
to Avoid
Author: Joshua Johnson
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