Article Comments

To me, simplicity seems less a trend than a goal for most designers. More often than not, the challenge isn't designing simple logos, but rather making something simple but distinct enough that the lawyers feel would be trademark-able without much risk. Most simple marks get quickly rejected by the trademark lawyers.

Another consideration is more strategic: the more simple a logo is, the money the client will have to commit to making it ownable. Target can own a simple red "target" because they have so much marketing spend (literally in the billions) and mass-visibility. USA Today has a touchpoint that is experienced daily to reinforce the branding. Most smaller brands will be challenged to really own a super simple mark. (Not so much an issue with type based logos of course, so long as the name is proprietary.)