Another year is almost gone. Within a few months, it will be 2018. So it’s time to start thinking about what you want to do in the new year with your business that will help you increase your growth and revenue potential. One thing you should do is to consider your logo design and think about how you can improve upon it in the coming months and years.
If you want to create a great logo design, you need to look at a lot of other logos before creating your own. If you are a small business or a startup, you’ll want to look to some of the big name brands to see what they are doing. This does not mean that you have to feel that you are competing with them, although the internet has allowed you to do just that. Instead, look at it as a way to learn from the masters and apply some of their best techniques to your branding.
Branding is the key
Everything you do should be a part of your branding, and you should take in everything you can to learn more about how you can improve your brand and digital assets. From your website to your logo design, everything works together to create the ultimate experience for your customers with your brand.
The following brands are examples of top brands that are worth watching in the coming year of 2018.
1. Apple
On September 12, 2017, Apple CEO, Tim Cook announced the opening of the Steve Jobs Theatre. It was both a tribute to the late Steve Jobs and a starting place to launch Apple’s next two big products, Apple iPhone 8 and iPhone X (to be released on November 3, 2017). Apple continues to produce some of the most innovative products and ideas in technology. They built Apple Park (the larger part of the Steve Jobs theatre), to inspire both customers and employees of Apple to create and sell their ideas. Their logo has continued to feature the apple with a bite out of it. It is not expected that the logo will change. But this company bears watching for their continued dedication to innovation and the search for the idea that their founder, Steve Jobs, had for the company in the long years before.
2. Calvin Klein
The Calvin Klein brand recently changed its logo from the standard lettering with only case-appropriate capital letters to all caps. They did this to capture the original spirit of the company. While it might not seem like a huge difference, there is definitely a lot of time, work, and money that will be spent on this rebranding process.
3. BBC Three
The BBC redesigned its logo to differentiate between their analog and digital broadcasts. It features a pink background with the Roman numbers for the number three under the lettering. They also use alternative logos that feature some screenshots from popular BBC films.
4. Mozilla
Mozilla is the creator of the Firefox browser, but they also create many other high-tech inventions that people enjoy. They are known for innovative browser and search technology as well as email and other digital solutions for users. They are in the process of changing their logo, and they have a logo in several different colors, as well. It will be interesting to see what they do with their logo in 2018, based on the recent changes. There was also plenty of backlash from Mozilla fans around the world when their new design was publicly released.
5. NatWest
The NatWest Bank has made a change to their logo recently with a purple background and three red cubes. The three red cubes symbolize three banks that consolidated together to create one organization. The redesigners of the NatWest logo used advanced 3D typography and design to create the logo. This version was released in 2017, so it will be interesting to see whether they make further changes in the coming year.
6. Kodak
Kodak camera company last changed its logo in 2006. The most recent change was a complete makeover from their original logo, and it replaced the traditional yellow background with a pure white background. The newest update has featured a clean look that is attractive, but it bears little to no resemblance to the original branding. This brings up an important issue of brand popularity. When you decide to change your logo, you should think about how well-known your brand is, as well as the customer’s association of your logo. If you have a name like Kodak that was once more popular during the days of analog and 35mm photography but is now somewhat fading in the background, you may want to consider how much of a change to make carefully.
7. AT&T
AT&T, the global leader in telecommunications, now wants also to be the global leader in other forms of communications. With their recent purchase of Time Warner Communications and DirecTV, they hope to expand into the global TV market. Therefore, they think this move is sufficient enough to drop the fonts. Their latest logo features the customary AT&T globe only, perhaps to greater symbolize their global presence in telecommunications.
8. Pandora
Pandora, one of the world’s leading internet music applications and platforms, changed its logo in the Fall of 2016. Their current logo features a large blue “P” on a white circle. It also seems to resemble the PayPal logo somewhat. Not only that, but the internet radio station platform, “Live365” has returned to business hosting new radio stations on the internet after being out of business for almost a year. Live365 enthusiasts, listeners, and broadcaster are happy to see the platform return. But these two factors may pose problems for Pandora, which now has to compete with what is considered the “real radio station” platform in addition to having a logo that resembles Paypal, the payment processing giant. So watch for changes in 2018 to see what they will do.
9. Netflix
The most popular online “on demand” video movie service has changed its logo often the past few years, due to some changes they’ve made to their platform and because they wanted to appeal to mobile users with the solitary “N.” But it seems to be the battle of red and black that keeps users wondering what they will do next. Now, with Netflix adding some 4K programming and other high-quality upgrades this Fall, you may be smart to expect a logo change in 2018, or maybe not!
10. Instagram
Social media platforms tend not to change their logo very often. That’s because they are such a staple of our modern technology era and so popular with their users that they are afraid to make too many changes to something that is so well-known. That being said, Instagram took the plunge and changed their logo drastically in 2016 from the famous 3D look Polaroid-type camera to a flat, 2D colorful version of a camera that is sketched in the background. Users of Instagram complained loudly about the change, stating that it did not represent the Instagram photo platform in the best light and they missed the old logo. You can still find users complaining about the change to this day. Will Instagram bow to public pressure and change it back in 2018? Will they decide that it’s more important to create a logo that resonates with customers than to do what they want to look modern? Only time will tell. But it will be interesting to see what they decide.
The Elements of a Great Logo
So what makes a great logo? We have discussed some of the factors within the comments we made about these logo changes and what you might expect to see in the coming new year. Of course, we have no crystal ball to be able to prognosticate what the brands will do regarding their logo. But, whether it is due to a change in your offerings as a brand, something your competitors are doing, or public opinion, you should consider your logo one of the most important digital assets you have and think about your design carefully.
The good news is that there are plenty of free and premium options for creating a logo design on the internet today. Such options include using a free graphic designer application like Pixlr, to hiring a designer on Fiverr for a few bucks or even going with a professional design agency that might cost you a few hundred. No matter where you currently are with your brand or online business, it’s always a good idea to keep an eye on other companies and how they are changing around their logo and branding efforts with the changing times.