I recently read an article on the web about 5 principles to making a good logo design one of which one was that it is important that a logo is timeless. To quote
“Nothing about your logo should be trendy or connected to the style of the time. The best logo designs are iconic …” Indelible Branding
In my opinion nothing could be further from the truth and here is why.
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Trendy Fashion
No matter what design industry you are a part of we are all influenced by fashion, trends & psychology of the present society.
For instance Issy Miyake, a fashion designer, draws his influence from art, technology & architecture.
From clothing to perfume to his modern modes of expression, like architecture or design, Issey Miyake tirelessly seeks out technological evolutions and uses them to add value to his art.
Remy Gomez, Chairman of BPI
Fashion and trends are not only highly important when designing a logo or brand but vital to attracting the right audience for your market and if you choose to ignore them then do so at your peril.
Too easy to throw words around to people who don’t have design training
It is all too often that I see designers find it easy to throw around impressive words like “timeless” to add value to their designs ( as you can tell I’m not one of those ) but the truth of the matter is that a logo is only timeless by chance or/and by high financial investment from investors.
I wonder if designers actually known the meaning of the word because I wouldn’t want my designs to be “timeless if it is the case ”
unaffected or unchanged by time;
dictionary.com
Logos need the ability to adapt with fashion trends but still be recognisable, I call it “logo metamorphosis”
Logo Metamorphosis
It is for this matter that I believe a well designed logos are never timeless but instead have the power and ability to metamorphosis as times change. Just look at this image of the apple logo to understand the importance of fashion in graphic design.
A logo will go through a “metamorphosis” as time moves on, trends change, business evolves and fashions influences us, it is very important that brand connects with its audience after all and fashion plays a heavy part.
Fashions change and so do logos
Maybe in 50 years time society will appreciate the work of complex and detailed logos or maybe logo’s will have moved away from flat paper and screen based formats to a more AR three dimensional holographic projection, particularly with the advent of the google glass upon us who knows where the technology will lead us?
Recognisable rather than timeless
My final point is that it is in my opinion that as long as a logo is recognisable then it doesn’t matter if it is trendy, fashionable , complex or minimalist. A recognisable logo that communicates what the business is trying to portray and which audience it is trying to attract is one of the ( if not THE ) most important elements of a good logo design.
What are your thoughts on what makes a good logo? Do you believe a timeless logo is not important? Comments are most welcome