The Death Of Design
Make it Make Sense
Brand makeovers are the new black, and if we earned a cent for every switch and change in logo- we’d have a skyscraper for an office! From ornamental monograms to scribbled sketches, 2023 has seen brands change their whole identity, let alone their typeface. While trends are a huge part of the marketing lingo, we wanted to find out whether following trends over building unique identities really makes sense for brands.
R
eposition With a Purpose
While hopping onto the trend train might seem ecstatic, it won’t come to fruition for your business if repositioning is done without an actual purpose. If your rivals boast a broader range of sought-after products or services than yours, a mere logo makeover won’t suffice! You must reassess and redefine what you bring to the table before a quick makeover.
Consider the emblematic shift in Warner Bros’ logo; it wasn’t just a logo update, but a manifestation of their evolution. However, the need for a change and what the change conveys to your loyal followers should be the hot topic here. Was a change really necessary? Such phenomenal shifts remind us that while aesthetics are important, they need to be directed towards genuine transformation.
H
omogeny Over Brand Identity
Most logos are dull and flat with design trends hitting a new note. Call it evolution or a downgrade, most logos in 2023 have adopted either a bold-faced font with minimal colours or a light-faced font with dark shades.
Let’s take the logos of all famous fashion houses like Burberry, Balenciaga, Saint Laurent etc. who have taken a similar approach. While ‘minimalism’ is a favourite and caters to the lifestyle of ‘quiet luxury’, it is really difficult to tell one brand from another. With almost no typographical element available to define brands’ identity, we are forced to ask if design is really dead.
“When you strip away too much of the non-essential, you lose the kind of craftsmanship that endows an object with soul and makes life feel meaningful.”
David Perell
‘T
hinking Beyond Trends!’ should be the new trend.
While Twitter’s logo was based on the element of ‘tweeting’ showcasing a bluebird, the sudden change in its vehement rebrand to X has left users confused.
“While the mobile version of the app still sticks to the blue-and-white colour scheme and features the bird image up top, official Twitter accounts, including Musk’s, have been updated to reflect the change. The company’s official handle remains @twitter, but the display username has been changed to a capital X and the profile photo to a black square featuring a white-lined X in the middle. “
Source: USA Today
Many users, since then, have started deviating from the platform and shunned the change causing a rift between “Xeet” (previously Twitter) and its loyal userbase. This fall in numbers can create a narrative of a ‘dying platform,’ which could be a self-fulfilling prophecy as users start to jump ship to other platforms that seem more stable or focused.
It is important to ask where the design industry is heading in 2023. In the past, the Mehrabian was an important principle many designers catered to while designing logos. The Mehrabian principle told us that nonverbal communication makes up 93% of our interactions with customers.
So, it was important for a brand to reflect its values, goals, and products through its logo. In 2023, not much of this has changed. With more and more brands popping up, the right typography in the logo’s design could help you fill in the personality gaps of your brand.
Dare to be different in the world of ‘look-alike’ logos.
B
ack to basics
Brands are often torn between the allure of minimalism, which can dilute their identity, and the complexity of over-design, which can overwhelm their audience.
Balance, therefore, is an important aspect of a well-designed logo. The balance between simplicity and complexity is very important. In a rapidly changing digital landscape, a logo should be timeless, adaptable, and evocative, acting as a beacon for brand identity.
It’s crucial for brands to align with foundational design principles. These principles show how important it is to communicate the essence of the brand without adding unnecessary components. Design choices need to be clear, consistent, and reflect the core values of the brand but above all, should solve a problem. Looking to upgrade your brand’s design?
Originally published on LinkedIn. Subscribe!
