Hello friends! Have you ever wondered why some brands look modern, fresh and exciting while others feel stuck in the past? Often, it comes down to their approach to brand identity design.
Some companies still cling to outdated ideas about logos, colors, fonts and other elements that make up a brand's visual identity. As your pals here at Ladybug Studio, we want to share 5 outdated views on brand identity design that need to be left in the past, so you can create branding that feels current and connects with today's audiences.
1. Branding Should Stay the Same Forever
One old-school idea is that a brand's visual identity should never change once it's been established. This made sense back when business moved slowly. But today, things change fast! Customers' tastes evolve, new design trends emerge, and companies expand into new markets.
Branding that stays frozen in time starts to look stale and dated compared to competitors with fresher, more modern branding. The most successful brands subtly evolve their logos, color palettes, fonts and other elements over time to keep feeling fresh and relevant.
For example, McDonald's has updated its branding a few times over the decades, while keeping iconic elements like the golden arches. Uber and Airbnb have also refreshed their looks to keep pace with changing aesthetics.
The key is to strike a balance between maintaining brand recognizability and evolving to stay up-to-date. Small, incremental changes are better than completely overhauling your visual identity. Work with designers who understand how to delicately modernize a beloved brand.
2. Complex Logos Are Best
Another outdated view is that logo design has to be overly complex to be good. Back in the day, logos tended to be cluttered with excessive detail, gradients, shadows and dimensions trying to show off the brand's capabilities.
But today we know that the most effective logos are simple, minimalist and versatile. When a logo is too intricate, it's harder to recognize at small sizes, doesn't stand out on digital screens, and lacks flexibility across applications.
Look at today's top brands like Apple, Nike, Target, Amazon - their logos use simple, geometric shapes and clean lines. This allows them to pop against any background and be replicated consistently at any size.
Don't confuse simple with boring! Minimalist logos take skill to execute well. Work with a designer who understands how to use negative space, lines, basic shapes and selective detail to craft a logo that's simple yet full of character.
3. Brand Colors Shouldn't Change
Some people think a brand's colors should be set in stone forever once chosen. But color trends evolve rapidly, and sticking to outdated palettes can make branding feel stale.
For example, bright neon colors were super popular in the 1980s and 1990s. But today's aesthetic favors muted earth tones, monochromatic palettes, and bold accent colors. Brands with outdated color schemes like neon greens, oranges and yellows feel trapped in the past compared to brands using modern, sophisticated palettes.
Updating your color palette is an easy way to make branding feel fresh. You don't have to completely overhaul the colors. Start by identifying one new accent color reflecting current tastes - for example, millennial pink or gen z yellow. Then, dial down intense '80s-style brights into softer, more subtle versions.
Work closely with your designer to find the right balance between keeping signature brand colors and editing the palette to feel modern. Small shifts can work wonders!
4. Serif Fonts Are Outdated
Some companies continue using serif fonts like Times New Roman in their branding, thinking they seem formal and traditional. But in today's aesthetic, sans-serif fonts dominate because they feel clean, minimalist and modern.
Serif fonts were designed for printed books and newspapers, with extra details to guide the eye easily across a full page of text. But on digital screens and signage, those extra serifs just clutter things up. Sans-serif fonts like Arial and Helvetica carry a much lighter visual weight.
Look at today's top brands like Google, Spotify and Uber who exclusively use sans-serif fonts in their branding and marketing materials. Don't rely on stuffy serif fonts just because they seem old-fashioned - they actually just look outdated now! Sans-serif fonts make branding feel clean and contemporary.
5. Complex Brand Guidelines Are Crucial
Some old-school brands still use complex, rigid branding guidelines spanning 20+ pages! They require exact pantone colors, dictate fonts and layouts, and limit flexibility - making marketing materials time-consuming, expensive and hard to adapt.
But today's brands embrace more flexibility and concentrate on the "dos" rather than "don'ts." Brand guidelines now focus on setting key parameters while allowing room for creativity. They identify primary assets like the logo, font, and colors. But they let designers apply those assets flexibly across contexts.
This frees up designers to reimagine branding across media while maintaining consistency. It also makes adapting to trends and innovations easier without a dense rulebook.
Approach brand guidelines as inspiration rather than restrictions for your team. Work with designers who can bring your essential brand assets to life creatively while still maintaining visual continuity.
Wrapping Up
So friends, I hope this gave you insight into 5 outdated approaches to brand identity design that are holding many companies back from feeling fresh and connecting with today's audiences.
The most successful branding evolves carefully over time, with subtle shifts to stay relevant rather than drastic overhauls. Minimalist logos, versatile fonts, flexible brand guidelines and modern color palettes make brands feel current, not stuck in the past.
We'd love to help you assess your current branding and identify opportunities to update it for the modern age. At Ladybug Studio, we blend deep understanding of timeless design principles with our fingers on the pulse of the latest trends.
We can work together to carefully refine your logo, colors, fonts and other assets to make your brand identity feel fresh, recognizable and consistent. Our designers stay up-to-date on the latest aesthetics preferred by today's consumers.
Don't let your brand get left behind by clinging to outdated design approaches! Contact our team today to get a proposal for modernizing your visual identity. Let's make sure your branding reflects who your company is today, not who it was decades ago.
Thanks for reading, friends! Let us know if you have any other questions.