Jana Visagie, Graphic Designer at The Blue Room, shares her insights into the logo design trends we can expect to see this year.
When starting a new business, one of the first things that comes to mind is a logo. But a logo is not only a thought: it is the face of your business, and the one thing that needs to make your business stand out from the rest. You will need a clear concept of what makes your logo unique and stand out from your competitors. It needs to capture your brand and who you are as a business, to ensure you don’t lose your audience.
When thinking of a logo, understanding graphic design trends and basic human psychology are a must. Your logo needs to be trendy, but also have longevity. It needs to adhere to a great wisdom that exists in the world of graphic design: less is more.
5 NEW LOGO TRENDS TO LOOK OUT FOR, AND KEEP IN MIND, IN 2020:
1. GRADIENT LOGOS WITH A 3D-LOOK
A trend that will evolve more this year and become more popular is gradients and adding a 3D effect. This type of logo is perfect for a company based in the digital marketing arena.
With a group of colours, gradients are a great way to add life and energy to your logo, which will give your logo depth and a 3D effect. Using gradients that are tapered will also continue to grow in popularity this year.
A word of caution: using 3D gradients in your logo might be difficult to print. For this reason, these logos are recommended strictly to digital companies that offer SaaS and rely on soft copies of everything.
2. RETRO & VINTAGE LOGOS
For all the years that have passed, the ‘80s are making a comeback in logo design this year. You can expect to see designs inspired by ‘80s-like video game logos, as well as pop music logos that emerged from that era. These logos are old enough to become retro, but also, they have become cool and collectible. Cassette collections are being built up again, as well as vintage arcade cabinets, and now logos are joining in on the fun too. Not only will the logo return, but also the attitude that comes with that logo. In these logos you can expect to see chrome, neon lights, and pixels, as well as typography and design trends from that era.
Just like the ‘80s logo trend, vintage logos will be one of the emerging trends this year, and a lot of the 1930s’ logos will be joining. In a fast-paced world that is constantly moving, people are starting to look for things that they are familiar with to keep them grounded.
3. RAW & IMPERFECT LOGOS
Hand drawn logos will also start trending and the beauty in these logos will be found in their imperfections and accepted, as they have a manner of authenticity about them. Also, in a crowded market of sleek, perfect logos, a hand-drawn logo does stand out. As this trend grows in population, we will see many creatives ditching their creative suites and getting back to basics with a sketching pad and pencil.
These logos that more often than not have uneven lines and shading, have been making their way for a while now and will finally be getting their place in 2020 to showcase – and will be more like sketches and stamps as they continue onwards this decade.
4. LOGOS WITH GEOMETRIC COMPOSITION
One of the logo designs that are becoming more prominent in 2020 is the geometric design. Sacred geometry and golden ratio come together in heometric logos, which display their building blocks and convey an idea of how much designers rely on basic shapes and guidelines to get the perfect shape.
With some logos, designers only use geometric within their presentation to clients (showcasing skeleton of the design and the structure that made it what it is), whilst others incorporate these shapes in the actual logo design. In the end, this trend makes the overall design satisfying.
5. OVERLAPPED LOGOS AND MULTI-LAYERS
Logos are going a bit further and designers are taking logo design to new heights through using a layer on layer effect, with each layer becoming more colourful. This helps designers go beyond flat designs, despite the shapes still being flat and simple, layers can be created using highlights, shadows, and colour that overlaps.
Shading and semi-transparent layers are also used to create logos without using colour. By using elements that overlap and layers, consumers’ eyes will be drawn deeper into the logo – making it more impactful.
In a world as evergreen as graphic design, only time will tell which of these trends will truly stand the test of time.
The Blue Room’s in-house design studio can help you create a logo that is both on trend and offers longevity. Interested in finding out more? Email us: info@theblueroom.co.za
Written by Jana Visagie: Graphic Designer, The Blue Room