Why Are Logos Getting Simpler?
Why are logos getting simpler with each rebrand or visual update?
Branding agencies are fighting to make logos stand out in the sea of businesses because in this age, your logo should be recognizable even when driving past it at 120kmh on a highway or between hundreds of similar products online or at the supermarket.
Companies want to be recognized and remembered, which is why it is in their best interest to adapt their logos with time to fit certain design trends. These rebranding effors can famously get very expensive. Pepsi paid $1,000,000 for their new logo despite looking very similar to the previous one; Accenture paid $100,000,000 for their logo; and British Petroleum paid a whopping $210,000,000 for their current branding (source).
Read along to find out why there’s an ongoing trend towards simplifying current logos.
Current logo designs for: Pepsi, Accenture and British Petroleum.
Benefits of Simpler Logos
Why do we see logos turn progressively simpler with each rebrand?
They are easier to remember. Simple logos and branding require limited attention and brain processing power, and are thus easier to store in our minds and easier to retrieve from memory.
They don’t become dated as quickly. Simpler logos tend to stay relevant and not become cheugy or dated, while also being more versatile.
Scalability. From the tiny app icon to large scale billboards, simpler logos can be used and easily recognized across a wider variety of media. Simple logos are especially powerful when reduced to an Instagram profile picture or a website favicon. In addition to these factors, what if you want to embroider your logo on a t-shirt or stamp it onto leather? Perhaps it is better to think simpler rather than overcomplicated.
Former logo designs for: Samsung, Google and Mountain Dew.
Psychological and Practical Advantages
It is clear that visual stimuli are by far more engaging and recognizable than words. A study from 2014 about the effects of design complexity on brand recognition examined close to 200 logos on characteristics such as complexity, symmetry, roundness, balance, and so on, and although it is hard to quantify and measure qualities such as naturalness, the study suggests that some of these characteristics can achieve specific communication objectives such as being recognized, remembered and associated with positive emotions.
Obviously if you are exposed to a complex logo a hundred times, you’ll learn to identify it and remember the company regardless, but when you see a simple logo, you might only need to see it once or twice to get it stuck in your mind. It is advised to make your logo easy to remember because, as consumers, we tend to go with brands that we are familiar with and we trust.
Well established logos are recognizable even if they are visually complex by virtue of being on the market for years or decades. Given enough time, even complex logos can become recognizable regardless of the number of shapes and colors they sport.
But what if you don’t have 50 years of market exposure to your name, and you want people to know who you are? What if your company is new, and you want to make a splash from the get-go? Or what if you want to increase the recognizability of your business? You simplify.
Starbucks logo evolution.
Challenges and Considerations
Some designers say that if you can’t draw your logo in 10 seconds, you’re doing it wrong (source). After all, the purpose of a logo is to be recognizable, and cramming too many ideas or design elements into one mark is not going to achieve that objective. The truth is that creating a good logo is like walking on a thin line between simple and memorable versus distinctive and unique. You wouldn’t want your logo to be a simple black circle — that is unlikely to showcase your brand personality, but you don’t want it to be a mess of shapes, colors and fonts either.
All of that being said, a logo is only the face of your company’s branding, and it is crucial to understand that other brand elements such as colors, type, patterns, slogans and messaging are also going to make a difference in whether the public knows and trusts your business. Keeping all of these elements consistent is what helps your brand become iconic.
Logo designs and slogans for: Nike, Subway and McDonalds.
Final Thoughts
We’ve seen how companies pay a lot of money to keep their branding relevant because, at the end of the day, simpler logos are more adaptable, versatile and timeless. You could definitely make a defense of complex logos because some of them have stuck in our collective mind for a long time, but we should also consider how long we’ve been exposed to them.
You can have a lasting impression as a brand regardless, but should you want to stand out without investing years in making your logo a household, easy to recognize image, perhaps simple is best.
If you want the most effective logo design to show your business’ personality, we know the right agency to do the job.
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