LOGOLOUNGE.COM    THE 2007 REPORT BY BILL GARDNER

At LogoLounge.com, we look at a lot of logos and see plenty of trends. Some are aesthetic, some conceptual and some cultural. As the internet's largest database of logos, with over 50,000 to date, we can't help but notice the evolution of design and trends.

For instance, we have seen many more 3-D logos that are designed to be in motion, never still or flat. These designs have completely shaken the earthly bonds of CMYK and exist only in ethereal RGB. The old logo design rules just don't apply to them.

Another development: Today, for many trends, there is now a countertrend — and that is not only the case for logo design. The public and its likes and dislikes have become fragmented across the spectrum. Companies who need logos and designers who create logos are forced to respond accordingly. It has become increasingly difficult to simply look in one direction or the other.

It is also becoming disturbingly clear that logo design has become a public sport. As the public controls its own media more and more — TiVo-ing this, blogging that, YouTube-ing and Googling everything else — people are no longer satisfied to simply consume what is placed before them. They have opinions they want to share. So, when a large corporation reveals a new identity, there are hundreds of internet sites flinging their opinions back at it. Even when the village board of Remote votes on a new logo for its two police cars, citizens take to the streets waving pitchforks and copies of their own designs. Committee-cide seems to be rampant.

The full 2007 trend report follows. (For additional information and samples of 2007 trends, go to the "Trends" link at www.logolounge.com.) Whether we are noting social, conceptual or aesthetic trends, remember that none of them exist in a vacuum or in a single moment in time. They are the results of many trends before them and are developing taproots as we speak.

Also, you will note some amount of aesthetic crossover between trends. For instance, the Dos Helix and Ribbon trends do show similarities. But with these categories and all others, we are more interested in the differences between their fundamental concepts. Our observations are just that — observations. They are not recommendations. Finally, they are presented in no particular order.

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