The Logo Trends of 2011, What Will 2012 Bring Us?

The end of the year is always a good moment to reflect and look forward to the things to come. I think that 2011 has been a good logo year (despite the economic depression). Why? I think people are getting more aware of what a logo can do for a company. This is also reflected in the numerous blogs on logos, typography, color usage, etc, that have popped up over the year.

So, what did we see this year? First of all, let’s talk color. I have seen a lot more bright colored logos (blues, greens and pink!). Most of them are eye-catchers and evoke a good feeling with their customers. On the other side, limiting your color choice is part of the logo design process, and some logos have gone too far over the top.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have never seen so many logos with colors combined into a band!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As 2010 was the year of the black logos, 2011 gave us more gray and brown logos. These logos are bit more subtle then the harsh black ones and the tone ranges vary from sepia to chocolate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It seems like in 2011 we unleashed the entire zoo onto the world of logos. There have been so many animals in logos: monkeys, owls,  dodos, lions, whales, mooses. The reason: most of the animals listed here have attributes that we would like to associate with a business: aggressive, powerful, dominating, strong, top of their class. It’s a psychological thing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fruit – bananas, apples, the lot. All these corporate identities are (probably) in some way related to nature or are sustainability oriented.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The triangle. Combining many triangles into a larger shape.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All these trends have affected many logos (for the good and the bad). It also affected the way clients wanted their logos. Personally I think that too many designers followed these trends and the upcoming years will show that some of these logos will have an outdated look and clients will be looking to update their logo, because customers fail  to recognize their logo. So what I hope to see in 2012 is a lot more variation and I hope that designers will be less affected by trends and will develop a tone of their own.

What do you think that 2012 will bring?

Related posts:

1. Logo Design: Earth In the fourth and final article of elements used in logo...
2. Logo Design: Clouds Today, I have rounded up a collection of beautiful and...
3. Logo Design: Air In the third article of elements used in logo design, I...
4. Logo Design: Water Today, I decided to get together some logo designs which...