Question: What do “Supernova,” “Doodles,” and “Jawbreakers” have in common?
Answer: They’re all branding design trends.
So says brand expert Bill Gardner, president of Gardner Design, one of the nation’s top branding firms, with clients that include Fortune 500s such as Chrysler, Hallmark, Cessna Aircraft, and Kroger.
Gardner released his sixth annual report of logo trends in GD USA, a national design magazine. The report discusses 15 trends found all over the world and provides insights on how they may influence customers.
One trend, “Facets,” is composed of logos that remind the viewer of highly polished gems. Another is called “Animotion.” These moving logos are…
I gathered some thoughts from the designer community on the visual identity for Chicago’s Candidate City status for the 2016 Olympics. The points made constituted a tidy list for marketers and designers to consider (read: argue about) when they formulate a logo. Brand and visual identity analysis of the Chicago Olympic logo:
Are the elements in the symbol gratuitous or do they mean something? Does it make direct reference to the subject’s established visual language? The new star is not gratuitous, as it is the shape of the stars that adorn the official flag of the city of Chicago.
Designers say a…
Last week, Chicago mayor Richard Daley unveiled the city’s new logo to go with its exciting new status as “Candidate City,” moving up the bidding ladder from “Applicant City” for the 2016 Olympics.
VSA Partners created this logo, which is actually the second one. The first one was a skyline torch unveiled last year. The story goes like this:
In the beginning was the torch. It was created in the image of the gods of the Olympics, in the spirit of the everlasting flame. It represented the blue of Lake Michigan, the green of Chicago parks, and the sun over the city…
A person is a brand too. Take a look inside the workings of Sender, LLC, the firm behind the Obama logo. Sender’s principal came from DesignKitchen, a top brand identity firm. Influenced by corporate branding projects, this project deserved a mark that could truly stand alone; this is important for a potential president.
The key to success with a logo for a presidential candidate is to create something that is not complicated. The logo has to be designed around the name. You find a lettering—a typeface for a logotype. You try to create unique elements around the name, which reinforces the…
