The Covid-19 pandemic has shifted the focus of businesses to the digital-first approach. This sudden shift in dynamics implies that brands are required to address changes and expectations more quickly.

In the light of the pandemic, many brands had to undergo a complete digital transformation, while other brands utilized this time for repositioning themselves by welcoming new design trends. Major brands like Google and Burger King have revamped their logo designs for a more relevant and fresh era, and many others were seen pushing the boundaries of creativity by setting themselves apart from the competition.

In this article, we will be focusing on the top logo design trends to help you in designing an innovative logo.

Top 5 logo design trends of 2021

1. Minimalistic logos
2. Variable and Responsive logos
3. Symbols only
4. Unique styles
5. Logos with gradients

Minimalistic logos:

Bombarding people with information and visuals all day is not a good idea since they get that all the time. Therefore, providing them with minimalistic logos becomes a critical advantage in this era. Tech giants have started to sway in the opposite direction of their original logo designs and introducing more neutral, foreseeable, and almost similar logos. This is an organic process that is caused due to these companies operating across different markets, audiences, and platforms.

A simple and flat typeface such as sans-serif helps in making sure that the logos can be scaled faster and better. Due to the neutrality of the sans-serif logo designs, they are much more engaging to broader audiences. This is because they can be easily adjusted into a cohesive experience and brand identity. Considering all of this, it is no surprise that major brands are preferring generic logotypes for sending a clear and direct message to their consumers. The message is that they are clean, adaptive, and expedient.

Since brand identity is more about the experiences than the logos, this message is now broadly comprehended. As digital technology keeps on playing a more and more crucial role in the everyday lives of consumers, a brand’s identity gets defined by the experiences they provide and the way the consumers associate with it.

Think about how brand names have become verbs in daily conversations, like “googling” something or “PayPal” me.

Variable and Responsive logos:

Variable logos:

Variable logos are the most modern trends in the logo design industry in 2021. Everyone thinks of the logo as the single most representative feature of any company, so how come brands have more than one? To answer this crafty question, just look at IBM Spectrum and Firefox – how they go along by playing it smart.

They do this by gathering their – sometimes unrelated – products under a single umbrella. They remain consistent by keeping the most crucial part of the logo intact and changing the rest. In this way, the memorable part is being preserved all the while retaining the freedom to play around with the other less important elements.

Although this is a clever move, you have to be very careful while walking this path. One wrong move and everything can be in shambles. For example, Google’s new G suite logos look the same for any application, countless times I have opened the wrong app because the logos look so alike. Additionally, to open the correct application, we have to take a pause and click or tap on the right app. A little bit of research in the UX department is enough to address these inconveniences.

Responsive logos:

With the emergence of a wide variety of screen sizes and printing materials, the need for a scalable logo is essential. Whether the logo is on a billboard, a digital screen, or maybe on a pen, it should always be easily identifiable, and most crucially, help in maintaining the visual consistency of the identity of a brand on every possible medium.

Symbols only:

The classical logo anatomy contains a symbol and a logotype that work together in tandem to provide a cohesive impression and make it memorable enough. But once a brand is prominently established, it commonly gets rid of the logotype since all the people know the company’s name.

But in some cases – especially in the digital era – brands have multiple versions of the same logos. Sometimes the symbol is self-sufficient, sometimes the whole thing is required. Just like Nike does, they either use the symbol and the logotype or just the symbol on a t-shirt or a soccer jersey. The “Just do it” caption is also spelled out sometimes in commercials, or sometimes only the Nike swoosh is there.

By now, reputed companies have attained a level of maturity where they don’t need to advertise themselves by showing their whole logo. People are used to seeing them so many times that they have it etched in their memories.

2021 will be the year where we will start seeing more symbol-only logos. While taking such a big decision, brand research will play a crucial role, and this is a very important step that no brand should ignore.

This is what separates the top logo design company in India from the rest.

Unique Styles:

Unique fonts:

From handwritten to variable and ink trap, we will continue to see a rise in unique typography in 2021. For example, Mixcloud has come up with an innovative way of using only typography for communicating their brand values: to connect and uniting a wide range of user-generated content from their musical genres to their imagery.

Their new logo works wonders with the eclectic variety of album covers and gig photographs. They have now gotten rid of the cute cloud icon and shifted the focus to the word “MIX”. Showing what they represent.

Retro logos:

Ever since the pandemic has hit us, we have been going back to the good old days, nostalgia has hit us hard. Brands are welcoming bold red shades matched with muted, natural color palettes and characterful typefaces inspired by the 60s and 70s.

Through the help of streamlined and simple visual style, they help in creating the feeling of nostalgia and limit the noise built by prodigious visual patterns and textures. The most recent instance being the Burger King logo revamping that refers to the brand’s classic 1969 look and helps in communicating a more natural and playful tone.

If nostalgia helps in resonating with the taste of your target audience, then walking the path of this design trend can be a profitable strategic decision.

Logos with gradients:

There are two kinds of people on this earth: 1. Those who love gradient logos, and 2. Those who just hate gradient logos. If not used in the right way, the results can be anti-climactic. The good old linear way of gradually blending two colors like blue to green will not cut the deal anymore, because it would radiate an outdated vibe.

The following ways can help in crafting logos with gradients:

1. Inclusion of more than 3 colors.
2. Atypical combination of colors for getting an edgy look.
3. Creative ways of washing different colors together for matching the curves of the logo.

All in all, the logos with gradients will be a big hit in 2021.

Conclusion:

Now, the important question remains should you follow trends? When asking for graphic design services in India, always make sure you conduct extensive market research to ensure you cater to the needs of the consumers. You don’t want to disappoint your consumers by offering them the exact opposite of what they want.

The world is constantly changing, therefore, you must not be afraid of welcoming change and imbibing it into your logo design.