Trends in logo design — it’s something mythical: almost everyone talks and writes about them. But have you ever seen them in action? Instead of just giving advice on how to approach logo design better, let’s take a look at what real companies are doing.
So, what’s happening in the industry? Just like with general design trends, every year, we search for significant logo design trends, trying to help designers and entrepreneurs create a fresh and distinctive brand style. More or fewer colors, flat style or 3D, minimalism or maximalism — again and again, it’s the same choice for everyone. The funniest thing is that even when the choice is made, no one has a clear idea of what an appealing modern logo should look like and continues to do everything their own way.
In reality, every time a powerful trend emerges — as it happened a few years ago with logos based on restrained colors in the Scandinavian style — there are always thousands of studios that pay no attention to it. The same happens in other creative fields (or even outside the design industry), but logo design especially shows that any trend has thousands of exceptions. Guided by Turbologo’s intuitive interface, even design novices can embark on a seamless journey of logo composition.
That’s why we recommend focusing on something other than the popular trends everyone talks about and seeing for yourself what works.
Design trends, especially in logos, don’t change drastically from year to year. Can you imagine how volatile and unstable the entire industry would be if that happened? That’s why the golden formula of sharp branding is the most successful solution from the past year combined with fresher trends, where the decisive role, of course, belongs to the first component.
Logo Design Trends 2023 In 2023, logo design trends will likely continue in the overall direction, and we hope to see the above-mentioned aesthetics reimagined worldwide. However, we also expect a magnificent comeback of typographic aesthetics in all possible forms. You’ll be surprised to see that logo designers couldn’t resist the allure of minimalism and symbolism — instead, the industry has been filled with elaborate fonts. Certainly, we’ve seen many similar concepts before, but this time, inventive typography has finally made its way into real rebranding projects for real companies.
Simplified Geometry and Simple Shapes In 2023, it’s unlikely to impress anyone with a complex logo mark. Such logos are usually hard to remember, and it might be challenging for the target audience to associate the company’s name with its graphical representation. This could become a significant problem for a large business seeking to strengthen its presence and brand recognition. That’s why there’s a trend among companies to move away from such logos in favor of something more fundamental.
The primary geometric shapes include various triangles, circles, squares, dots, and lines, giving the logo design a simplified look. As compensation, designers offer the use of a vibrant, high-contrast color palette (sometimes associated with the brand’s history even better than the logo itself). Alternatively, switch to black and white and maximize the minimalist effect. Additionally, negative space is another great way to utilize simple geometry and maintain visual interest.
The “Less is More” principle is not something new in design, and it’s not a separate logo design trend. For example, last year, KIA and Google revamped their logos (which were originally quite simple and restrained) using simple shapes. This year saw a similar redesign from Citroën. And there will undoubtedly be more notable examples illustrating this fundamental logo design trend.
It’s important to note that the trend of using simple geometric shapes in logos doesn’t strictly apply to logo marks. In fact, it also applies to fonts, but this happens less frequently and is more connected to global typography trends and the overall popularity of minimalist fonts.
Wordmark Logos with Vintage Vibes As a design trend, vintage aesthetics come and go, but 2023 will be the first year when it becomes a full-fledged logo design trend. It was quite surprising to many that logo design remained relatively indifferent to retro and vintage trends for so long. Indeed, we’ve seen countless elegant old-school fonts that would perfectly fit wordmarks, but until now, nothing significant happened.
Most of them remained concepts, existing solely in designers’ portfolios and minds. Nothing is worth our attention, and nothing is applicable to real business needs. And then, suddenly, one successful redesign after another, all of them utilizing fonts from the 1960s-1980s. And they look fantastic. And they capture everyone’s attention.
This is a great sign that the logo design trend is moving beyond indie studios, small businesses, boutiques, salons, and individual logo makers, introducing the wider community to its own vision of good design. For them, a good logo design must be clear and memorable — not just a trendy designer’s whim. That’s why even the increased interest in retro design from real people means that this logo trend will go global in 2023.
In search of inspiration, it makes sense to check out Behance. There are numerous studios actively playing with experimental vintage typography and using it for branding purposes, so you’re likely to find someone who shares your personal sense of perfection. On the other hand, as the world becomes more interested in graphic design trends imposed by industry leaders, we can expect some major companies to “teleport” their wordmarks to previous decades.
Symbolism and Minimalism Over Realism There are many trends related to simplifying logos and minimalism, and this trend is probably the most prominent of all. Each of us envisions brand logos as true works of art. Animals, flowers, mythical objects and creatures, crests — inside the logo, they display skill and mesmerizing attention to detail. Such logos do look impressive (if the image is of high quality), but from an adaptive design perspective, they lose to other types of logos.
You probably remember responsive logos — a term introduced about five years ago. These were logos that could adapt to changing screen sizes or other mediums. For this purpose, designers could remove the wordmark, simplify, or hide the logo. Today, responsive design is no longer seen as a standalone phenomenon or trend. Instead, responsiveness has become a natural characteristic of a logo, and the movement towards symbolism and minimalism further confirms this.
Realistic logos are quite bulky and inconvenient, especially when placed on small screens or compact business cards. And here come simplified versions or entirely new minimalist logos that save a lot of time and effort for designers. They allow creating a unified logo design that looks great everywhere — or dividing it into separate elements won’t be that difficult. The main focus of this logo trend is not on visual beauty and style but on convenience. A logo based on symbols is much more flexible, and its elegant appearance is a bonus rather than the end goal.
Typography with a Twist If you think that the vintage revival is the only fresh trend in 2023, let us prove you wrong. Contemporary font aesthetics will have enough room to showcase all its aspects in logos, and we’ll finally see these quirky fonts in action! Back in 2021, it was declared the year of experimental typography — that’s when we first saw glitches and wavy fonts. Since then, they have remained in vogue, and major font designers on Creative Market and MyFonts release one bestseller after another.
Logo designers took two years to look at creatively drawn letters and figure out how to use them in projects. It was the same as with vintage logos. It all started with concepts where creative minds played with the most outrageous fonts, color combinations, patterns, and graphics. Then came the entrepreneurs who are always the first to try something new: hipster cosmetics brands, breweries, street food businesses, and more. As a result, the impossible happened: the German chocolate brand Nucao switched from a clear and highly legible sans-serif logo to a logo made with an experimental font.
Nucao is not the only company that dived into experimental typography and clearly benefited from it. Others include delivery services, food producers, 24/7 stores, and other companies targeting a wide audience. Something significant is happening, proving that fewer people are afraid of trendy branding, and even fewer designers and companies shy away from logo design trends.
