Since just recently we have crossed another year mark on the calendar and 2017 is here in full swing. There is a lot of speculation about things, changes and trends which will set tone for the running year. As far as the design industry is concerned, there’s much to talk about the logo design trends. With the advent of digital era and technological revolution, people have so much going on in their lives all the time. Generally, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that people now have shorter attention span and designers have to put up with the rock-hard challenge to grab their attention in a jiffy. Let’s find out how it’ll affect the logo trends.
Forecast of Logo Design Trends
Having worked in the design industry for several years and after consulting with a number of professionals, here are my predictions for logo design trends. This forecast is the result of an extensive study of industry trends. And if I’m correct to say, this year will not completely overrule the design trends of previous years. There wouldn’t be a major transformation, but still you’d be able to find some logo design inspiration. May the odds be in your favor. Let’s take a rundown on the logo design trends:
1 — Use of negative space
Negative space is a technique to cleverly use the dual imagery to represent the brand. This has been trendy for several years for its very nature and it’s going to be the game-changer this year as well. It’s a unique way to grab attention with a bit of trick by using the empty space and that’s the beauty of it. Logos with negative space are usually memorable and work better to impress the customers.
Designing logos with negative space has been in the fashion for many many years, but this style gained more popularity after the shipping powerhouse FedEx unveiled its revamped trademark in 1994. The space between E and X formed the shape of an arrow, that characterized a service on the GO. Lindon Leader, the designer who created FedEx logo actually took inspiration from Bank of America logo that was designed in 1969.
So this was a bit of history lesson on negative space logos. With that, I think I have made my point and the conclusion is here. This artistic way of designing logo has been famous for decades and it’s popularity graph will be on rise in 2017 as well.
2 — Flat Designs
This buzz of flat designs is believed to start when Apple changed its theme to flat design in 2013. Since then the fashion of flat is on a rise and it is expected to gain more boom in 2017. Microsoft, Netflix, Google Chrome, Verizon, Lenovo, and Safari are few of big brands that changed their logos to flat designs in the recent years.
Now the big question arises, why would these companies go for simple flat designs. Trends change time to time, but there has always been something that creates the need to go for a change. Analyzing the cause that so many brands have changed their logos to flat designs you can’t help but notice the shift of audience from other mediums to electronic medium e.g. TV, Computer and cellphones, which have taken over the control of business communication.
Flat designs are simple and easily load up in any browser and on screen. That is one good reason that this style of designing logos has picked up pace. The logo trends in design industry, however, are like pendulum swing, you never know the styles that are popular today will be fade in the coming year. Something new or something from the earlier years will come back. But for now, we can say that these trends will take the better of design industry.
3 — Minimalism
I already highlighted this aspect in the start of my post that we’re living in a fast paced era. So, we need to say more in less and that’s one of the trends setting mood for this year. Meticulously this is called minimalism. Designing a logo with the help of minimal art would surely be among logo design trends. It Is something clever and unique that catches immediate attention.
4 — Broken Letter Form
Broken letter form is yet another trendy way for brand identification. Because of its modern and contemporary nature, this is going to be in fashion for sure. It’s amazing how sometimes inconsistency can be good and broken letter form is the prime example. It not only breaks the monotony of regular style form, but looks very creative and catchy. That’s why the broken letter form will be one of the hot logo trends in 2017.
5 — Handwritten
The ultimate purpose of every brand is to capture consumer attention and sell their products or services. Keeping this in mind, we know that a good logo design stands out due to its distinct style. Handwritten logotype is not only quirky and chic, but it’s unique and memorable. That’s why, this technique is gonna enjoy the limelight in 2017.
6 — Line Art
As I mentioned earlier, there are going to be more similarities than differences. Line art is also one of the trends that were popular in the previous years. It became the center of attention about two years ago, and since then it’s popularity is on rise. Not only beginners find inspiration in line art, but it’s a style preferred by many skilled designers. It is expected to be a mainstream logo style in 2017 as well. Let’s look at some of line art logos:
7 — Color Pallet Simplification
As the industry expert Bill Gardner says that it is going to be a good year for KISS because it’s always an intelligent way to create great logos. Please do not roll your eyes, the KISS here is “Keep it simple Silly”. Yes, the color pallet simplification will have its fair share in the logo trends of this year. Color psychology plays an important role in grabbing consumers’ attention. Whatever eyes accept, paves its way straight to the heart. Hence, we can say this trend of designing logos will be effective in 2017.
8 — Retro
Design inspiration can come from any side, be it modern or nostalgic. The vintage look is very classy and shows personality of the brand. That’s why, the retro style logo designs are liked by many a client. Designing in retro style would surely be among logo design trends. In today’s age when everything has a modern aspect, the retro stays in style on the bases of being different. The vintage logos stand out in the crowd of modern styles and have their own special feel.
9 — Creative Circle Break
Here’s another style from the logo design trends. As the design industry progresses with new ideas every day, some designs attain such success that they stay in fashion for many years. Creative Circle Break is one such simple yet elegant style of designing logos.
10 — Text Form
Typography is another popular style of designing logos. Text form is legendary among other logo design techniques. It is not very fancy, but it gives its own special vibe. Among other popular logo trends, text form will also stand out in 2017. It is better to feature the brand name as the main focus of the logo and for that there’s no better way than the text form.
I must mention here that text based logos look simple but they are enormously difficult to design. Simply because the whole essence of the brand needs to shown with the use of typeface. Designers either use available typefaces and modify them or create from scratch to ensure it’s unique and perfect representative of visual identity.
Your thoughts on Logo Trends !
I know, this is the time of the year when the internet is full of too many articles of the similar sort about logo design trends. I assume you came to read this post to get some good design ideas and it served the purpose. You can share your thoughts and opinions about logo trends in the comment section. Be a good sport and have your say. Cheers
