2008 (Supposed) Logo Trends

According to the graphics gurus at Logo Lounge, the year 2008 will see a new direction in logo design.

This year, however, it seems as though there has been a change in the nature of trends themselves. Instead of a hub-to-spoke relationship in which trends fan out from a central source, prevailing tendencies in logo design now seem to send out long underground runners that poke through the dirt in unrelated, unexpected places, anywhere in the world. It's harder and harder to trace the rhizomatous spread of ideas anymore - which truly is a good thing.

What follows are 15 trends that have indeed popped up all over the world. Overcasting them all are prevailing winds that are worth noting first:

* We saw less emphasis on sustainability or general "greenness" in logo design. There's plenty of natural imagery, but being "green" doesn't seem all that unique anymore.

* Colors are becoming more vivid. Desaturation has drained away, and the chroma factor pumped up.

* There's an overall move toward cleanliness - in type, in line, in color - as if ideas are getting more and more succinct. It may be an indication of the degree of seriousness with which branding is now regarded.

* Less is more common: less calligraphy, less Photoshop tricks, less artificial highlights.

* Found pattern and illustration hang on and on and on. With a bottomless treasure chest of visual history constantly at the ready through retail collections and over the internet, it's a direction that's not likely to run its course soon, if ever.

If you click here you can see the full text of the article, as well as the actual logos they are citing as examples (though, to be honest, some of the examples don't seem to fit the above "less is more" trend they mention above.