A logo is one of the most important pieces of a company’s branding. Customers see it every time they interact with a brand, because the image is visible on every touchpoint. A good logo needs to be versatile for all materials, from oversized signage to tiny digital screens. It must also tell the brand story effectively within a moment. Therefore, we have seen a shift towards simplicity in logo design. Brands are using meaningful icons and eliminating inessential details for impact and instant recognition.
With all of this in mind, the id8 design team selected their favorite logo changes of 2017. Each of these focuses on simplicity and brand storytelling. For the sake of comparison, originals are shown on the left, with the new redesigns on the right.
YouTube logo: modern
The YouTube update brings the mark up-to-date by adding the play button to the “tube television.” The video play button is widely familiar, which makes the logo easily understood. This change simplifies the brand. In addition, in the old logo, the word tube in the red field created an odd break in the brand name.
Drop Box logo: clean
This update also simplifies the brand. Dropbox created additional functionality “layers” this year (trying to compete with Google Drive). The repeated shapes creating the flaps and bottom of the box make a cleaner image. It is less boxy. The font is minimally updated, retaining the clean look while appearing more creative.
Mozilla logo: brand storytelling
Mozilla went from a very simple type logo to one with a wordmark. The previous version used a popular font from the original dot-com era. The new logo now has a wordmark, which replaces the “ill” in “Mozilla” with the colon and twin slashes commonly found in URLs. This reinforces that the Internet is at the heart of Mozilla. The brand was able to maintain the simplicity of the first design but also add an element that visually speaks to what they do.
City of Canton logo: smooth symbolism
Canton’s original imagery did not tell the city’s story. Tasked with the rebrand project, the id8 team took time to listen to Canton’s residents, visitors, and business owners. Our goal was to learn what made Canton unique. We soon discovered that Canton needed a brand that focused on the city’s beautiful natural landscape and properly represented the inviting community.
The Etowah River is a landscape feature that is unique to Canton and something that no other close competitor city had. A river is also a symbol for connections. The modern image that id8 created focuses on incorporating the Etowah River to symbolize connectivity and community. The river flows in and around the letters forming the city’s name. This intertwining design element represents Canton’s welcoming and close-knit community. Green and blue represent the vibrant nature of the people and geography of Canton.
It is challenging to tell a brand story in mere seconds, but a professionally designed logo embodies “small but mighty.” It communicates the most important information in a moment and can grab the attention of valuable prospects. Expert design can stand the test of time and produce results.
