MOTION & THE FUTURE OF LOGOS
Have you seen these motion logos from the Respublica Bookstore? Pretty cool idea and great execution. See more at Behance.net.
I sometimes think about what the future of the logo is going to be – it seems like designers have been recycling the same ideas since the ’80s and it’s really gotten old, both in aesthetics and utility. I don’t think logos are doing their job as well as they did in the ’80s, because they are still designed to function the way they did 30 years ago – back when there was no internet, fewer computers at home, and no cell phones. In the last 30 years, we have been exposed to more logos than ever, and I think we’ve learned to forget them. (It doesn’t help that we’re living in a post-memory society – just ask Sherman Alexie.)
Is motion the future of logos? The great news is that it’s entirely up to us – the designers, consumers, businesses and creators. It’s up to us to reach out into the unknown and find better ways of doing things, of making things.
Living in a time when we are exposed to more images and logos than any other generation at any other time before us, means that the way we perceive those images and logos is changing. We are affected differently now by what we see, because there is so much design hurled at our eyes every single day in the form of street signs, shirt graphics, websites, company logos, billboards, pop-ups, magazines, etc, etc.
McDonalds figured out long ago that the fastest way to the eye was to use a bright red color, and they paired it up with a lighter, saturated yellow to make both colors stand out even more. It worked for a long time, and is still noticeable, but we’ve now learned to block out those reds from our consciousness a little bit. Designers need to start thinking about what we are still paying attention to, and what makes us look. Our job as designers isn’t to take advantage of that information, but to incorporate it into our work and create something of value to offer those viewers, without taking away from the medium itself.
That’s the future of logos that I’d like for myself, and that’s what I’m striving for in my own work.
I know what you mean. Animation logos are exciting to designers & to those who embrace consumerism. I, though, will likely boycott businesses who go overboard with their animations.
There’s already too much distraction in the world; I use Firefox with AdBlock as my main browser specifically b/c motion ads prevent me from absorbing online content. I fear a tragedy of the commons if this becomes too prevalent on storefronts & aisle displays, or in print advertising.
I’m with you – too many distractions already. Too much “too much”. I get upset when companies go overboard with and take advantage of existing technologies and information. It’s the same with anything, though – I mean, how many great songs get overplayed on the radio and ruin something beautiful? I, personally, am not too excited about animations taking the place of logos, but I thought that these were nicely designed and executed, and are so well-put-together that it got me thinking, and that’s worth mentioning. Thanks for the comment.