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Hate them or love them, you need to be aware of them. These are the biggest trends in logo design, branding and identity.

Logo design is one of those activities that are perceived to be so easy yet it is one of the most uphill tasks to pull off successfully. A logo carries a sneak peak of what the organization behind it is all about.

Over the years, we have seen the re-brand of Kenya’s top organizations such as Britam from British American, National bank among others. These organizations have benefited from the re-branding strategy and have grown significantly.

International organizations have not been left out of this re-brand strategies. Popular brands such as MC Donald’s, Mercedes Benz, General Electric, Shell, VW, Canon, Microsoft, EBay and Pepsi have found it necessary to evolve their brands to suit market needs.

All the same, this is not a cue to re-brand all the time. It should only be done if necessary and in a very long time. Re branding, especially for a big and reputable company costs a lot of resources to ensure the client base is not lost. This will be discussed on another day.

We have also witnessed failed re-brands and launch of new products that had the wrong identities. Softa, a soft drink in the 90’s makes it to this list. However, do not be mistaken that the identity was fully responsible for the failure. By the time a company goes to the ground, other factors both internal and external have an impact.

When designing a logo, it is a massive task to come up with something that attracts positive attention in a market place that is crowded.

Part of this task is to create something that is contemporary and current without shortening the shelf life of your logo. You do not want the logo to look too old school and neither do you want it to look too current that it will quickly fade.

Snitch marketing team has rounded up 20 of the biggest trends in logo design. However, these are not the gospel truth but they should be able to guide you through to create a logo with a lasting impact without needing a redesign.

Black and white

Every logo needs its own black and white version. The classic combo of black and white is a big trend as designers stray from vibrant colors to stand out with bold typographic treatment. This combination rarely gets outdated.

Simplification

Over the recent past, we have seen logos being stripped to their bones. The likes of Microsoft and Harvard University have taken this trend. Over time, a logo is simplified as it becomes more familiar.

Mosaic patterns

This kind of logo is gaining more popularity especially in organizations, brands and entities that want to represent concepts and values such as growth, multicultural, values etc. The kind of sophistication in incorporating mosaic patterns into logos is increasingly impressive using only a small number of elements to come up with the arrangement.

Sky blues, muted browns and grassy greens are increasingly becoming more popular by the day.

Energetic

This kind of visual impact is not easy to create. Energetic logos are popular in organizations and brands that are sports related. They bring out a charismatic and vibrant identity.

Serrated edges

This year’s Transformers 4 embraced this kind of logo and the harsh serrated edges of the logo work brilliantly to attract the attention. The movie is definitely going to be a high octane, machine filled, gun action one. This was also incorporated in the 2012 London Olympics.

App store influence

The influence of smart phones and the app store in branding has definitely been felt. App design has gained a lot of popularity and this has seen the specially crafted, slick icons that dominate the applications stores make a move into branding and logo design.

Airline/ freight

Bold, clear and timeless are just but some of the adjectives that can be used to describe this trend. Specifically, ‘airline’ refers to a worldwide aesthetic, a truly modern look and simple designs with simple colors. This kind of design makes the brand feel very global and presents it as a reputable and strong corporate identity.

Transparent overlaps

This is created through fusing shapes and colors together to produce a slick logo.

Honest and simple

This is a simple badge to deliver a simple and clear message. It creates a notion that it is as genuine as it can get.

10. Focus

Selective focus on various parts of the logo can be used to create subtle misty qualities that bring a logo to attention by fading it into the background.

11. The reveal

Re-branding a huge company such as DC is no mean feat – and one that Landor Associates were brave enough to tackle. The beauty of this method is that it reveals the C from a D – a clever and simple mark that you immediately get.

The logo – or the ‘reveal’ – could be applied to multiple DC properties, such as The Green Lantern, Watchmen and more, with the ‘D’ peeling back to reveal hints at the different superheroes.

“We were looking for a living, breathing identity that could celebrate everything that DC Entertainment is about, but which could also be forward-looking, bold, provocative and allow us to celebrate the owe of our stories and characters,” says Amit Desai, SVP of Franchise Management at DC.

12. Tessellations

A tessellation of a flat surface is the tiling of a plane using one or more geometric shapes, called tiles, with no overlaps and no gaps.

This essentially involves mosaic like pattern.

13. Incomplete

Using missing links and simple illusions can result in the creation of a very sophisticated branding solution.

14. Splatters and watercolor

Watercolor and splatters are a huge trend especially in the fashion and design industry. Recently, Smirnoff rolled out an advertisement where it was pretty much based on splashes and splatters. It creates a beautiful and stylish identity.

15. Moiré patterns

These patterns are created through converging and merging grid like patters. They are patterns that are quickly becoming very popular. Traditionally, they have been used a lot for fabrics but now they are making their way into the logo and graphic design industry and power houses.

16. Basic shapes

Basic shapes create and incredible impact in logo design. Simple silhouette-like identities can pore to be extremely stylish.

17. Abstract and sharp types

There is just something spectacular about modern, sharp, handcrafted typographic logos. They just hit the spot. They are eye catching, legible and extremely fresh all at the same time

18. Word searching

This technique involves pretty much having fun with the words in a logo, turning them into puzzles or codes, inverting them or even hiding parts of their identity.

19. Script/ retro

Classical theme is the first thing that comes to mind when this technique is applied to a logo. In the example above, the style results in a beautiful logo that accentuates the tastiness of the goods inside the packaging of Willie’s Cacao’s Chocolate.

20. Grown up

EBay transformed their logo from playful to grown up. This brought up an uproar among designers. It is rather bland compared to its old one. However, that was probably the point.

Have your logo done at Snitch marketing’s graphic design studio. Drop us an email for inquiries and comments as you please.

Till the next post, #keepitsnitch

When the first aromat advertisement appeared on television, the first expression i had was a smile. It was a great comic relief to the “repetitive news” that happen every day.

*Like seriously, there is hardly anything new. Its all just said in a different way. I could tell you off the top of my head that the headlines have been majorly about terrorism and bomb scares, newly found political weapon called impeachment that politicians are misusing terribly, with sporadic society imbalances such as illegal brews, student strikes etc. *

Back to aromat… i knew these guys were up to something. It was a silly yet very effective advertisement that would cause a viral sensation bigger than sauti sol’s “nishike.” Its what people needed during prime time news. I completely applaud the creators of that advertisement.

So lets review the aromat ad from a marketing point of view

1. Prime time advertisement: This is when most households are having their last meal of the day. Assuming most households owners work, not everyone has that energy to make food taste like heaven everyday. Anything that would make this change would definitley be a winner

2. Target market: Lets start with kids. The tone of the voice over just makes kids want to bang their heads on the floor at a super market/shopping mall until the aromat is bought. After all, they want to be the coolest kids in school who put aromat on their food. I know one child who cannot take her food without aromat.

As for adults, the comic relief and knowing that food will taste better, these are all factors to make a rational decision

3. communication: the whole essence of aromat is to transform food from boring UNBELIEVABLE. That is effectively communicated through the ecstatic voice over. The internet memes that have been going round have just reinforced the message. The craze for trolling people such as Eric Omondi, Octopizzo, and even vehicles such as Probox will ensure that this is a brand that will stick in the minds of people. It is another “blue band” in the making.

For us, the aromat ad is a complete HIT. Well done. In case you missed any of the memes… here are some