Logo Trends

In addition to noting these trends, it is also helpful to take a look back at trends noted by LogoLounge.com in the past several years to gain more perspective. All of the following are past trends that seem to still have plenty of forward momentum.

Droplets are still everywhere. The new Bahamas’ logo is an extended version of this notion of drops that merge or almost merge. There is a fluidity and motion to all of these marks. This year’s Line Dots may be the next step in this exploration.

Natural Spirals and Cave Rings, noted in 2002 and 2003, respectively, blend geometry and the natural world, much as a spiral seashell does.

The Human Touch, noted several years running, is still very necessary in our scary world. A logo that looks handmade, such as this forecast’s collection of Folly Stars, still has special appeal.

It’s still good to be Green. Even entities who are not especially ecologically-minded like to believe themselves to be.

The forward motion of Slinky-like logos is still evident, too. A sister to this year’s whip trend, logos with this notion seem to want to suggest progression.

Photoshop continues to be an irresistible enchantress, especially with Glassine effects. Highlighting flat surfaces has been moved up a notch with candied and Puffy.

Dialog Boxes are still incredibly strong, and some are very well done, indeed, such as OPEN’s new Bravo logo.

Particle Fields are coming together over and over, but in new and even more interesting ways. Witness the 2006 Torino Winter Games logo by Husmann Benincasa.

As production and printing processes become increasingly sophisticated and affordable, Transparency and Prism effects are being explored more. This year’s CMYK trend is a natural outgrowth. This year’s Blow-out and Blur are breaking the same rules as Transparency does.

Bill Gardner is principal of Gardner Design and creator of LogoLounge.com. To learn more about logo trends and exciting new directions in identity design, you can check out the website or sign up for The Big Brand Theory tour, which will be visiting Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Seattle and Atlanta in 2005, and for which Gardner is a featured speaker (http://www.creatas.com/bbt/).