Logo Trends 2009

These are austere times, but the logos recently loaded onto Logo Lounge.com–nearly 35,000 since 2008 – certainly do not reflect it. And that is how it should be. Wary homage may be paid to marketing in lean times, but not to identity design. These are two wholly different efforts with differ­ent goals. Identities should set a long-term course for clients, not fall into the pits carved out by economic phases.

The seventh annual logo trend report is as much a forecast as it is a study of the past 12 months. The past informs the future, and the recent past has such momentum that designers would be well-advised to stay this course, even when clients are only maintaining the brands they have, not creating new ones. Business may be slow, but it does not have to be dull.

Here are a few trends emerging in this year's report:

The increased use of text in logo design. People are busy; money is tight. Logos must be interpreted, and inter­pretation takes time. Words deliver their message immediately.

The increased chroma of colour. Everywhere, there is a brave use of hue, even in the most unexpected places, such as in the identities of very large and conservative clients.

The favicon. There’s another very small item on the horizon that may have a gigantic effect on logo design in the future. When Google introduced its new favicon at the start of 2009, it was a very visible reminder of how powerful that tiny piece of real estate really is. The favicon may turn out to be a measur­ing stick against which the success of any new logo might be measured – as in, can this logo be made to fit in a 15 × 15-pixel square?

To read the full report, click here.