Mokokoma Mokhonoana || Graphic designer » Logo design http://mokokoma.co.za Mon, 12 Jul 2010 09:13:35 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Logos are dead (the postmortem) http://mokokoma.co.za/logos-are-dead-the-postmortem/ http://mokokoma.co.za/logos-are-dead-the-postmortem/#comments Wed, 12 May 2010 14:25:02 +0000 Mokokoma Mokhonoana http://mokokoma.co.za/?p=4112



buyology book cover head barcode price tag martin lindstrom neuromarketing subliminal advertising“Logos are dead. And, logo designers are just being defensive and in denial, as this assertion sort of spell out an end to their livelihood.”

Talk about a kick in a logo designer’s baggy pants!

With the passing of each day, and browsing around the internet, I run into more and more “logo obituaries.”

While reading Buyology, a very insightful book on neuromarketing by Martin Lindstrom, I once again stumbled upon the assertion that “logos are dead.”

With this title, the author spends the book analyzing what makes people buy.

The author dedicated the fourth chapter of the book to subliminal advertising, and he discusses how companies selling cigarettes now rely on it to lure smokers, seeing that the government banned ads selling cigarettes.

Ironically, the ban (or rather: the reaction to it by cigarette brands) of cigarette advertisements seems way more profitable, to companies that sells cigarettes, than the return on investment that they saw from their advertising efforts before subliminal (and cigarettes) advertising was declared illegal.

Brief summary of the study:

A group of smokers were used to test the efficiency (or lack thereof) of subliminal advertisements.

From the study, the finding was that smokers respond profitably when a cigarette brand’s logo is not shown in their advertising. Aparently, the moment they see a brand’s logo, they see that as what it is, an ad, they deliberately ignore the ad.

That’s due to their conscious state of mind, which allows them to be rational.

However, smokers fell into the advertiser’s trap when the ads didn’t have the logo of the brand being sold. The advertisers strategically included things that they have, over time, built association to their brand around.

Malboro went as far as sponsoring Ferrari’s racing cars, after sometime, consumers have subconsciously associated “Ferrari Red” with that of Malboro. After that, a brain scan revealed that the sight of a Ferrari trigged whatever is responsible for a smoker craving a puff — all this is subconscious to the smoker.

So what the ads did was, not to sell the smokers smokes but, to trigger whatever is responsible for them to crave a cigarette, by merely showing something that the smokers have subconsciously associated with a particular of a cigarette brand.

Below is an extract from the study:
“In 1997, in preparation for the ban on tobacco advertising that was about to come into place in the United Kingdom, Silk Cut, a popular British tobacco brand, began to position its logo against a background of purple silk in every ad they ran.It didn’t take long for consumers to associate this plain swath of purple silk with the Silk Cut logo, and eventually with the brand itself.

So when advertising ban came into effect, and the logo was no longer permitted on ads or billboards, the company simply created highway billboards that didn’t say a word about Silk Cut or cigarettes but merely showcased the logo-free swaths of purple silk. And guess what? Shortly after, a research study revealed that an astonishing 98 percent of consumers identified those billboards as having something to do with Silk Cut, although most were unable to say exactly why.

In other words, the tobacco companies’ efforts to link “innocent images” — whether of the American West, purple silk, or sports cars — with smoking in our subconscious mind minds have paid off big time.”

(Martin Lindstrom’s conclusion)

“For companies, the logo is regarded as king, the be-all and end-all of advertising. But our study had just shown with what my research team assured me was 99 percent scientific certainty, the logo was, if not dead, then certainly on life support; that the thing we thought was most powerful in advertising was in fact the least so.”

Did the logo really lose its “magical” powers?

I think Martin is right. But, on a wrong expectation. A logo never had such power to sell, by simply dangling it in the eyes of consumers. And, it’s impossible to lose something you’ve never possessed.

A logo was, and should always be, used as a tool used by the owner to mark their products. That’s the most important responsibility of a logo.

Although, companies like Apple’s products can be identified with ease even with their logo out of sight, a logo is Apple’s way of saying “we made this,” which will attach whatever emotions and expectations you have in Apple’s products to any product that bears their logo itself.

In the context of branding, a logo will identify the brand it stands for, but it can never, at least solely, capture or communicate the entire brand story or philosophies.

What a vast number of people, like Martin, are expecting the logo to do is comparable to a job seeker expecting their identity (just the name – not their reputation) to sell them to the interviewer without them having to show their resume, their portfolio, or even utter a word.

The challenge is that an identity, verbal or visual, of a person or business, carries with it a reputation. But, what is supposed to make the sale is the reputation, memories, and experiences that a logo is meant to evoke, and not the logo itself.

Conclusion and a simple solution:

A logo is nothing but a visual brand name, and not a sales pitch. Furthermore, the term “logo” should be replaced with a more meaningful word.

A word that bespeak the role which the mark should be expected to fulfill.

In my next writing, I’ll explain and share what we as “logo designers” should do to move forward, and how colleagues like Andrew Sabatier are doing their bit to advocate branding led identities.
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]]> http://mokokoma.co.za/logos-are-dead-the-postmortem/feed/ 1 Does more backs and more macs connote superior work? http://mokokoma.co.za/does-more-backs-and-more-macs-connote-superior-work/ http://mokokoma.co.za/does-more-backs-and-more-macs-connote-superior-work/#comments Thu, 06 May 2010 09:09:51 +0000 Mokokoma Mokhonoana http://mokokoma.co.za/?p=4072



pencils HownowdesignA typesetter, a copywriter, a graphic designer and a photographer when working together are called a team. Likewise, a graphic designer, a graphic designer, a graphic designer and another graphic designer working collectively, are a team.

There are some things where more means better. Better product, better service, thus, a better (or rather: best) way of investing in design.

One of the things I love about the creative industry is that it’s a bit fair when coming to “whom do great ideas go to.” Working in a hundred-dollar-per-minute fancy office doesn’t connote superior work to that of a creative working from the basement.

(Although that will drive most clients the guy with the fancy office’s way)

A company with one graphic designer can, without doubt, offer a better visual communication solution than a company with a creative team made of thirty designers.

That’s the beauty of the ideas and creativity, they don’t discriminate on how deep (or shallow) the creative’s pockets are.

A great idea, is a great idea — it matters not, who the conceiver is.

I have silently observed and noticed how some design companies, like the one below, are using made-of-more-backs-and-macs team that will work on a client’s project as a means to make their offering more irresistible.

Here’s their identity design packages:

brandmark identity logo design packages

A client in need of a graphic designer’s expertise doesn’t really know (or give a damn) what goes on behind the scenes, but to most, the thought of having thirty graphic designers working on their project will definitely yield a sense of security, surety and a better end product.

But, is it fair to sort of make clients choose most expensive “design package” by merely promising them more hands working on their project, if it doesn’t really guarantee better work than that of a one, two or three wo/man team?

I’m not trying to discredit team work, nor am I attempting glorifying it — my question is, whether the promise of a large team is a justifiable client luring marketing tactic.

Since a team of thirty designers with a year’s experience each, isn’t equivalent to one designer with thirty years of experience.
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]]> http://mokokoma.co.za/does-more-backs-and-more-macs-connote-superior-work/feed/ 0 A Lesson from the story behind the Lacoste logo http://mokokoma.co.za/a-lesson-from-the-story-behind-the-lacoste-logo/ http://mokokoma.co.za/a-lesson-from-the-story-behind-the-lacoste-logo/#comments Wed, 31 Mar 2010 20:35:16 +0000 Mokokoma Mokhonoana http://mokokoma.co.za/?p=3967



lacoste logo brand identity crocodileLacoste, well-known for their polo shirts has a very brief, but quite interesting, story behind their widely known brand identity, that is made of a crocodile.

The company name derived from the surname of its founder, Rene Lacoste, a world renowned tennis player then.

Rene Lacoste was nicknamed the “crocodile” by the press after he made a bet with the captain of the French Davis Cup team. Apparently, Rene was promised a crocodile skin suitcase, something that was very important to the team, should he win the match.

Though he lost the match, the public stuck with the nickname “crocodile” and Rene then decided to have a crocodile embroidered on his blazer, which he wore to the court.

Fast forward to the time Rene had to get an identity for his business.

The crocodile was made part of Lacoste’s brand identity.

Though, it’s possible not to think of Lacoste when you see or hear of a crocodile. The crocodile inevitably comes to mind whenever you think of Lacoste.

So “technically” there is no meaning (but a story) behind the Lacoste logo, but it stands for something in the minds of the consumers. Some of you might argue that the story and meaning are one — nonetheless, both are not really about the brand itself but its founder.

At first the most prevalent thing that Lacoste brought to mind was “good quality polo shirts” but that was until they decided to add more products to their brand’s offering.

For that reason, to some people Lacoste stands for “fashionable footwear”, “uniquely scented fragrances”, “stylish handbags”, “elegant watches” and so forth but that’s another story.

The most important thing to take from this is that the brand gives meaning to the logo, and not the other way around.

I just found out about this and I thought this would be interesting to those that, like me, didn’t know the history behind Lacoste’s identity. Plus, this sort of support the points I made in the writing prior to this one.

And of course “crocodile” is likely to open an argument of its own as others would say that “It is not a crocodile but an alligator.”
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]]> http://mokokoma.co.za/a-lesson-from-the-story-behind-the-lacoste-logo/feed/ 0 Psst! Meaningless logos too can get the job done http://mokokoma.co.za/psst-meaningless-logos-too-can-get-the-job-done/ http://mokokoma.co.za/psst-meaningless-logos-too-can-get-the-job-done/#comments Tue, 23 Mar 2010 11:24:01 +0000 Mokokoma Mokhonoana http://mokokoma.co.za/?p=3899



wwf logo identity brandmarkA brandmark designer’s priority is to develop an identity that visually differentiates brands, especially those competing for the same consumers.

Apart from form of an identity, colour is heavily relied on to communicate something or evoke a feeling about the brand the mark represents. The biggest challenge for us, as brandmark designers, is that we don’t really have control as to what the colour red means to whoever is exposed to the brandmark.

Colour is a very subjective subject.

Apple’s logo gets the job done, whether people realize the meaning behind it or not.

The focus should be placed on how effectively does the logo express or at least fit a company’s desired brand image not on which colour can the designer use to communicate that the brand is “innovative.”

At times creative rationales behind logos are misused by brandmark designers as a tool to give clients an impression that the designer deserve the amount of zeros on their invoices.

The story behind a brand, what they do and/or how they wish to be perceived usually shapes the look and feel of the brandmark but this isn’t really a must do. The brandmark will give meaning or attach experiences with the brand to the brandmark, and not the other way around.

That’s whole point of having a brandmark; identify and call experiences to mind.

How useful is the green on a brandmark, if consumers aren’t getting the fact that it is intended to communicate “growth?” Anyways which brand isn’t in pursuit of growth?

The challenge is that offerings and aspirations of most brands are common. Aiming to articulate them in a logo often leads to monotonous brand identities.

As much as this is not what we’d like to hear as brandmark designers, consumers don’t really care about what we’re communicating with the logo. People use logos to identify brands, they don’t seek the brand’s history or philosophies that should supposedly be incorporated within a logo.

A professional will of course have the wisdom to know which rules to follow. Things like relevance, scaling without losing detail, working well in one colour and so forth.

The fedEx logo worked very well, some people still fail to see the arrow in created by the negative space, but the brandmark still does it’s job well.

More important than a logo having meaning, is finding a look and feel that has the tone that fits the desired brand image, brand message etc.

Great design is useless in this context if it doesn’t have any brand strategy behind. And on the other hand, a great brand strategy is easily suffocated by bad design.

It’s the uniqueness and relevance that makes a logo, not the meaning behind it.

It is the brand that will give meaning to the brandmark.
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]]> http://mokokoma.co.za/psst-meaningless-logos-too-can-get-the-job-done/feed/ 1 Consumers’ familiarity with the old, the barrier to a logo redesign http://mokokoma.co.za/consumers-familiarity-with-the-old-the-barrier-to-a-logo-redesign/ http://mokokoma.co.za/consumers-familiarity-with-the-old-the-barrier-to-a-logo-redesign/#comments Mon, 25 Jan 2010 13:38:24 +0000 Mokokoma Mokhonoana http://mokokoma.co.za/?p=3289



At times, at the root of a logo is an identity that is meant to capture what the company is about and sometimes what it aspires to be.

With the passage of time, companies change, be it in size, management, philosophy, offerings et cetera and in most cases a brand visual identity redesign is required to ensure that the logo is in sync with the current state of the company.

That brings the one word that terrifies most businesses to mind, change. The fear of the unknown kills a lot of great could-have-been redesigns.

Henry Ford II hired Paul Rand to rethink and modernize the familiar scripted oval Ford logo but eventually he decided not to change the logo.

Above is the logo that Paul Rand proposed as a redesign of the one that, though modified a bit, is still used till this day.

The first thing that one notices is that the proposed logo took its ‘looks’ from the logo it was meant to succeed.
I think Paul Rand was successful in making a ‘smooth’ transition between the then current and his proposed logo whilst sticking to the brief.

Not that a logo must illustrate what the company does, but, Paul Rand’s proposed logo design brilliantly captured ‘motion’ and ‘wheels’ amongst other things.

Apparently, one of the reasons Henry Ford II decided to stick to the old logo was that, what was good enough for his grandfather was good enough for him.

Fair argument? I think so, not.

I’d estimate an equal number of comments of people that are for versus those that are against Paul Rand’s proposed logo redesign that I’ve seen online, which sort of reminds one as to how subjective design is.
Just like with other (re)brands, a logo redesign seldom gets a thumbs up from everybody.

Was the proposed logo a victim of the familiarity factor enjoyed by the current logo or is the older logo simply the best design solution of the two?
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]]> http://mokokoma.co.za/consumers-familiarity-with-the-old-the-barrier-to-a-logo-redesign/feed/ 0 Logo design for Bothakga Design Studio http://mokokoma.co.za/logo-design-for-bothakga-design-studio/ http://mokokoma.co.za/logo-design-for-bothakga-design-studio/#comments Wed, 21 Oct 2009 09:30:37 +0000 Mokokoma Mokhonoana http://mokokoma.co.za/?p=2750



I was recently commissioned to design a logo and online presence for Bothakga Design Studio, a company that does, well, graphic design. I had an idea of how I’m going to approach the logo design, in regards to the concept, while the client was briefing me so I don’t really have any rough sketches or other concepts to share.

I worked on the execution of the idea that I had and I then presented just the one proposed design solution to the client — the client got back to me within 30 minutes saying that he’s very happy with the proposed logo design.

So that means that I’ll just share the creative rationale behind the logo in this post, since there’s no ‘other’ concepts to discuss and share. Which could have been more beneficial to you as I would have covered reasons why this+that didn’t work on this+that logo design concept, but here it goes:

Creative rationale:

Yes a brief serves as an outline of the client project’s objectives, rules and restrictions —  but creatives do experience some sense of freedom, that lies in front of them in a form of a blank page.

From the brief and the researching phase we take that blank page and we then jot ideas that come to mind with a pencil.

We in a way use the pen(cil) to bring an idea from our minds to being.

At the core of a graphic designer’s ammunition used to communicate lies visuals and characters (letters, words, numbers etc.) and since this logo is for a graphic design company I thought, “What better way  than to develop a logo by illustrating both?”



The concept that I had allowed the identity to illustrate both, but one thing I liked the most was the fact that I will only use characters and let the negative space formed by the characters form a visual , pen(cil) in this case.



So I opted for a way to present the cliched pencil in a fresh and more meaningful manner.

I modified the first “A” from the company name to create the top/tip of a pen(cil) using negative space.

To ensure a ‘complete’ pen(cil) I used the closing square bracket as the other end of the pencil.

The logo manages to illustrate without any dependance on colour, apart from the clients mentioning that they didn’t have any colour preferences, I believe it’s a good practice not to rely (entirely) on colour as some (or all) meaning will be lost when the logo is forced to be produced in black+white or one colour by the media it is applied on.

One more important thing I’m happy with is that this logo isn’t ‘trendy’ thus is unlikely to looked dated as we see more tomorrows.

I’m still working on the company’s online presence, business cards, letterheads of which I’ll add to this post once completed.

*As always all comments are welcomed, critics appreciated more.

Update:

Here’s a mockup of the stationery.

bothakga design studio letterhead business card stationery
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]]> http://mokokoma.co.za/logo-design-for-bothakga-design-studio/feed/ 2 Complexity: A fallacy to earning a creative’s worth http://mokokoma.co.za/complexity-a-fallacy-to-earning-a-creatives-worth/ http://mokokoma.co.za/complexity-a-fallacy-to-earning-a-creatives-worth/#comments Tue, 04 Aug 2009 09:24:19 +0000 Mokokoma Mokhonoana http://mokokoma.co.za/?p=2530



Creatives are in the business of selling ideas. Your work is labelled as “clever” should “they” think of it as a successful solution to the brief.

This usually lead to creatives trying to be clever or providing complex designs, unnecessarily, just so they justify their worth.

A ‘cool’ or complex design is futile, if it fails to do what its creators are hired to achieve.

Sometimes all a client’s design challenge needs is the most basic and simplest layout or design, but for some reason a designer would feel it will look “too simple” for the priced they charged the client.

Typically, creatives will settle for anything as long as it looks too difficult for the client to do by themselves.

There’s a lesson for graphic designers to learn from copywriters:

  • We try harder — Avis

  • I’m lovin’ it! — McDonalds

  • It keeps you going, and going, and going…  — Energizer Batteries

  • Let your fingers do the walking — Yellow Pages

  • Finger-lickin’ good — KFC

  • Beanz Meanz Heinz — Heinz Baked Beans

  • Just Do it — Nike

  • Keep Walking — Johnnie Walker

  • Be the first to know — CNN


One thing that’s visible from these slogans is that copywriters understand the power of simplicity and most importantly, they keep the targeted market in mind when developing a solution.

Copywriters work with language daily, so it’s safe to say they’re one of the most knowledgeable people when coming to language and it’s usage — but you won’t find them using bombastic words just to remind everybody “who they are” and that they know their language.

Most graphic designers suffers from what I’d like to call, visual bombast — complex visuals with little meaning, used to impress clients and justify what they charged.

This is where you will find meaningless work, designs filled with nothing that an over-use of photoshop filters.

This brings back a quote that I once shared to mind:
“Great designers seldom make great advertising men, because they get overcome by the beauty of the picture – and forget that merchandise must be sold.” – James Randolph Adams

The complexity of your work does in no way justify your worth. All you owe the client is to provide a design that answers the brief.

If that can be achieved by writing their company name in white on a black background — so be it.
Related Writings:
]]> http://mokokoma.co.za/complexity-a-fallacy-to-earning-a-creatives-worth/feed/ 6 Logo design for Pondo Culture and Heritage Festival http://mokokoma.co.za/logo-design-for-pondo-culture-and-heritage-festival/ http://mokokoma.co.za/logo-design-for-pondo-culture-and-heritage-festival/#comments Tue, 28 Jul 2009 07:42:34 +0000 Mokokoma Mokhonoana http://mokokoma.co.za/?p=2502



I was recently hired to design an identity for Pondo Heritage & Culture Festival.

The festival aimed at saving the culture of the Pondo people and teaching people about the tribe — as very few people know about the existence of the Pondos.

The challenge I foresaw was that the Pondo tribe will overpower the festival, which is to say, I might be required (by the client) to communicate more of the tribe than the festival itself.

The pondo people are known for their strong tribal ties and firm unity that has deep roots in their past. They were not involved in numerous wars between black and white (race) and they were never defeated in battle.

The festival will showcase: dance, music, arts & crafts, horse parade, reed dance, traditional sports (incl. stick fighting)

The client wanted an identity that will communicate any, some or all of this:

Unity, sharing, togetherness, diversity (festival attracts/inivtes other tribes), elephant (their tribe animal)

After the research phase, I played around different concepts, decided which communicates the clients intended message the best:



In the logo design above, I used the two elephant’s tasks, and an oval shape to create an icon.

I opted for a design that communicated as per my client’s request without relying on colour, as I think limiting the identity to few colours would be unfair for such a colourful tribe (attire, artwork, beadwork etc.)

Creative rationale (meaning behind the logo):

I created a calash using a negative space created by the two elephant tusks.

  • The calabash communicates sharing, event, gathering of people and entertainment.

  • The tusks are obviously a symbolism of their tribe animal, an elephant.

  • The calabash’s opening (oval shape) symbolizes continuity (Pondo culture)

  • The overall symbol created by all this elements communicates unity.


The logo above was the initial and only option that I presented to the client.

And this was here take on the proposed logo:

She said that while she liked it, she felt it lacked “something” and that it looked too urban. She mentioned that the people the festival is targeting would love a complex (logo) design.

The client then asked me to accompany her as she walked around the hotel asking people (that she bumped into) ‘s thoughts on the logo.

One waitress said that the initial design “looked incomplete, the top tap of the logo looked as if the design was ‘cut’ by the printer when I printed the page”
And the client’s friend said that the “calabash looked like an apple.”

From there on I put the client in the driving seat in terms of the direction forward.

The first thing I was asked to do was to modify the shape of the calabash so it doesn’t look like an “apple”.

She then asked me to add the stick and arrow at the bottom plus a cow and corn drawn in rock art style. And her request led to this design:



While the client is happy with this, I think the final logo’s attempt to create a calash out of the negative space formed by the two tusks isn’t as clear as the logo I first presented.
Related Writings:
]]> http://mokokoma.co.za/logo-design-for-pondo-culture-and-heritage-festival/feed/ 7 Does your letterhead and fax sheet communicate the same message? http://mokokoma.co.za/does-your-letterhead-and-fax-sheet-communicate-the-same-message/ http://mokokoma.co.za/does-your-letterhead-and-fax-sheet-communicate-the-same-message/#comments Wed, 22 Jul 2009 07:51:05 +0000 Mokokoma Mokhonoana http://mokokoma.co.za/?p=2487



First thing first, Let me get this out of the way — I say a logo’s most important responsibility is to identify.

But with that said most logos carry colour, something that contributes immensely on the message that the brand wish to communicate. We’ve all heard how professional graphic designers always advice on a logo that also works well in black and white (or one colour) version.

I agree with that. Take the ‘bp’ from the picture above and tell me if you would have thought ‘bp’ when you first saw the logo.

The human eye and brain experience colour to produce a mental and emotional response. As a result, colours themselves has meaning.

Let’s look at meanings behind some colours:

Red — passion, love, blood, battle.
Yellow — joy, intellect, youth, caution.
Green — fertility, money, success, growth.
White — perfection, wedding, virtue, purity.
Blue — knowledge, calm, peace, cool.
Purple — royalty, wisdom, spirituality, imagination.
Orange — creativity, invigoration, unique, energy.

These meanings are words which some companies usually would like their identity to communicate. So I think it’s fair to say that the second most important responsibility of a logo (if required) is to communicate a message or idea.

When applying a logo to things like fax sheets (yes, some people still do use fax), uniforms, signage etc. one is in almost all cases limited to a one colour logo.

Now we’ve seen a lot of creative rationales behind logo designs where most part of the rationale is mainly the logic behind the colour/s usage.
Is it safe to let colour communicate most of the client’s message?

If Amanda’s Wedding Planners’ logo was a wordmark that used two colours; red and white, to communicate ‘love’ and ‘wedding’ — Doesn’t her logo sort of lose meaning in mediums or instances where she has to use her logo in black and white?

Brand’s like Apple and Nike are not affected by this scenarios, not even a bit, reason is their identities doesn’t rely on colour to communicate.

Is applying your logo to a fax sheet (uniform, signage etc.) sacrificing what your identity communicates?
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]]> http://mokokoma.co.za/does-your-letterhead-and-fax-sheet-communicate-the-same-message/feed/ 8 The lack of common sense in following logo design trends http://mokokoma.co.za/the-lack-of-common-sense-in-following-logo-design-trends/ http://mokokoma.co.za/the-lack-of-common-sense-in-following-logo-design-trends/#comments Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:35:06 +0000 Mokokoma Mokhonoana http://mokokoma.co.za/?p=2323



logo design trendsWe all know that following a trend also means that your will be, whether intentional or not, forfeiting the “uniqueness” factor which is a requisite that helps in the ultimate goal of branding, differentiation.

It’s a no-brainer that when one follows a trend, there are already a whole lot of people following the same trend. Come to think of it, there has to be a lot of people already following a style, for it to be declared a trend.

The more the merrier, my behind!

Looking, acting or doing like others leads to blending — which is any brand’s biggest nightmare.

Any great logo designer will tell you that uniqueness is an integral part of their aspiration when designing a logo.
The common excuse that logos can get away with looking alike because they’re are not of companies trading in the same industry is utter nonsense!

When consumers see Carrier‘s logo, they shouldn’t have Ford within the same thought, competitors or not.

A great logo, or rather if a logo is to be great, it also needs to be timeless. In simple English, not affected by the passage of time or changes in fashion.

Please do take a few seconds to digest that.

With that in mind, define what a trend is. No matter how much our definitions may differ, one thing that is likely to be common is the fact that,
trends are short-lived.

Now if you agree with the two points from the previous paragraphs, that a logo needs to be timeless and that trends are short-lived.
Does it really make sense for a logo designer to try achieve “timelessness” by employing a trend to its design?

Yes, there will be times where clients are the ones suggesting a certain look because they believe it’s “the in thing” — but that’s where you stop letting someone in need of a designer, lead the designer — you stand your ground and explain that the problem with that is that, the logo (and corporate identity) will look “so last year, next year” — it will look outdated.

You can get away with trends else where, but not on a logo.
A logo should never, ever be given a lifespan only fit for a poster.

There is also the so called “respected” industry leaders that cash in on collecting, publishing and selling books that showcases “logo design styles that were ‘in’ this year” — come end of each year.

The problem is that the “current” logo design trends are not compiled to help logo designers to stay away from them, they’re sold as an inspiration. Tell me one thing, in trying to inspire someone to be rich, which would be more effective? Showcasing lives of the rich or the suffering of the poor?
The issue I have with a lot of followers (industry) is that they develop a habit of leaving the thinking to their leaders (so called gurus).

Jeff Fisher gave a simple and on point comment regarding logo trends on a post by Jacob Cass that it deserves to be shared. He said,
“When a graphics industry expert proclaims something a current ‘design trend’ it is a ‘breaking news’ message to designers everywhere that the specific ‘trend’ should be avoided from that moment on – rather than followed by a thundering flock of design sheep.”

Logo designers should only browse through logo design trends with one mission, to see what sort of style or looks they should avoid.
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