- Every year.
As this report is shared at conferences,
I'll show a screen capture of my desktop and the sheer mass
of logos we evaluate to curate the final 15 trends.
At that point, it finally sinks in the sheer magnitude
of this process.
Phones immediately start flashing and folks
trying to capture the tiny onscreen images
to see what almost made the cut, but not quite.
We have a diverse cadre of well-known designers
that we lean on annually for insights
as we winnow down the contenders
and choose the final trends. At that point,
our endeavors start with the in-depth validation
and understanding of each trend we just presented.
For the first time in this course, I'm going to share
a dozen trend considerations that still have the value
but missed conclusion by that much.
A shallow comment on each will have to suffice
but there are still some precious gems
in this collection that I hate to see hidden.
Concentric linear logos have been a mainstay
since the introduction of the Monoline aesthetic
but they're starting to tie themself
in some pretty inextricable configurations, reminiscent
of Japanese seals or knots referred to as mizuki.
Monoline ellipses and circles are sequentially splaying out
in dimension and occasionally forming cage
like-environments, both with and without contents.
Shifting from Monoline to variable line weights,
these marks are wispy and rely on the lines fanning out
to define a transparent surface with a skeletal kind
of beauty. Type is running wild this year
but will likely be taming down once it hits saturation
on a slightly more restrained direction,
the use of script-oriented word marks is overwhelming.
Note to designers, the percentage
of the population still being taught script
or able to read it is dropping dramatically.
Something to consider.
An extension from last year's art Novo Infatuation
is the specter of liquid-type forms embellished
with extreme whiplashes and ligatures.
Designers have also taken up the hobby
of tipping the negative counters in their letter Os
and any other letter that will hold still for it.
Always looking for that point of differentiation.
In the shapes of note category,
we had a number of strong contenders.
These guys have come to visit us and are tipped
in every iteration, resembling hearts, arrows
and some kind of dimensional container.
Flat, transparent, non-transparent.
Hmm. Stars have been tumbled dull
and rounded down to their non-threatening nubbins.
Amazing how compact a star is minus its points.
And eyes, the industry had an ocular field day sticking
synoptic singular eyes
on anything that would hold still for it.
Don't blink. (laughs genuinely)
Among the details of note were word marks, accompanied
with wingmen or linemen, if you will, a traveling companion.
Nearly the size of the name itself.
Gradients have been with us for some time
but this year saw plenty
of an opal iridescent field of pastel rainbow hues.
Note that the gradients is not linear though,
more like distributed color cells.
And lastly,
I was tickled to see the refreshing festive language
of cut paper shapes
from the celebratory Papel Picado banners.
The inclusion of that aesthetic just puts a smile
on my face, as does finally releasing the runner-up trends
that otherwise languish on my desktop,
with me praying that they'll grow up
during the year and be ready for coming out party next year.
Don't worry for me.
I assure you there are a wealth
of logo trends on the horizon.
It's called evolution, and we just keep evolving.