As design changes with the modern world, so do logo trends. Early iterations of logos in the 1960s and 1970s had flat designs and lots of bold colors to catch a user’s attention. In the 1980s and 1990s, we saw logos become more three-dimensional with the rise of 3D animation. In the last few years, we’ve seen logos trend toward minimalism, with big brands like Airbnb and Spotify simplifying their designs and removing details. How do you create (or recreate) your logo to keep up with modern times while remaining memorable? Here’s a few logo design mistake to avoid in 2023.
1. Overly Detailed Designs
With many big corporations trending toward minimalism, we’re seeing less detailed logos and more text-based designs. This is great for companies like Coca-Cola or Pinterest, but what about local brands that don’t have the ability to reach millions?
Your company can still choose a minimalist design without it feeling boring by using an interesting or custom font, bold colors, or even hidden icons within letters. Minimalism is a valid design choice – as long as it feels true to your brand’s personality.
Maximalism, on the other hand, could start to see a resurgence within the next few years, but most likely not in 2023. Maximalist logos tend to have tons of tiny details within their design, like shadows and multiple colors. The advantage of having a ‘more is more’ approach to your logo design could encourage potential clients to inspect your logo longer and pay closer attention to its details.
Minimalist and maximalist design choices should come down to your brand voice and should speak to your customers. When thinking about your ideal customer, consider which types of designs they’d appreciate. In our professional opinion, 2023 will see more minimalist logos than maximalist designs, but keep an eye out for maximalism to grow in popularity in future years.
2. Bland Typography
Font choices are critical when it comes to designing or redesigning your logo. There are so many options for creative fonts that it feels amateurish to find designs made in Times New Roman or Arial. Instead, if you’re looking for a professional serif font, try something like Noto Serif, Lustria, or Alice.
If your branding feels more at home with a sans-serif, try Raleway, Coco Gothic, or Liber Grotesque for a modern take on traditional.
Display fonts have also grown in popularity in the last few years, and will most likely only continue to trend upward. Fonts like Ginger, Magnolia, and Siena provide a sense of luxury to brands that use them.
When in doubt, consult Creative Market or similar font sellers to see what’s out there and get inspired!
3. Static Design
Nothing screams ‘I made my logo myself’ than fine line details with a double circle around it and an unreadable script font. If your logo can’t flex to mobile, desktop, social, and email, it’s time for a redesign.
A good logo should easily be able to move from square to rectangular formats, as well as have the ability to be all white, all black, and full color. There are so many different mediums your logo needs to thrive in – it doesn’t make sense to have one version of your logo that you use for every type of digital marketing.
In addition to these formats, you’ll also want a brand icon to use as your website’s browser icon, among other places. This icon should have elements of your logo included and be recognizable as a part of your brand.
4. Cliche’d Ideas
When you rely on cliches, your logo will look like everybody else’s. It’s no longer considered innovative to use a lightbulb when your business is about ideas, a leaf if you’re environmentally friendly, or a chat bubble if you work in communication.
Instead, create brand icons and graphics that feel unique and true to your business’s values and philosophy. Eye-catching colors and thoughtful fonts styles will help you to stand out from the crowd.
5. Inaccessibility
The internet is for everyone, and having an accessible design is paramount coming into 2023. Visually complex fonts can be difficult for some users to read. Display fonts can be great for logo use, however, some are more readable than others.
Pay attention to the size of the text in your logo as well. While your logo text might be easily readable on a large desktop computer screen, ensure that it’s properly sized for mobile viewing as well.
Depending on your brand colors, you’ll need to place your text and icon on a background that makes it even easier to recognize. For example, contrasting colors for text and background make it easier for the typography to stand out and be understood by your users. Using an image as a background rather than a solid color is acceptable, but can hinder readability if you are not strategic.
Logo trends change quickly, but there are some designs and styles that will always be evergreen. While we are currently trending towards minimalism, uniqueness, and accessibility are always good strategies to keep in mind when designing or redesigning your logo.