2007 logo trends

At LogoLounge.com we look at A LOT of logos and see plenty of trends: Some are aesthetic, some conceptual, and some cultural. As the internet's largest database of logos – over 50,000 to date – you can't help notice the evolution of design – and trends.

For instance, we have seen many more 3-D logos that are designed to be in motion, never still or flat. These designs have completely shaken the earthly bonds of CMYK and exist only in ethereal RGB: The old logo design rules just don't apply to them.

Another development: Today, for many trends there is now a countertrend – and this is not only the case for logo design. The public and its likes and dislikes have become fragmented across the spectrum. Companies who need logos and designer who create logos are forced to respond accordingly. It has become increasingly difficult to simply look in one direction or the other.

It is also becoming disturbingly clear that logo design has become a public sport. As the public controls their own media more and more–Tivo-ing this, blogging that, YouTube-ing and Googling everything else–people are no longer satisfied to simply consume what is placed before them: They have opinions they want to share. So when a large corporation reveals its new identity, there are hundreds of internet sites flinging their opinions back at it. Even when the village board of Remote votes on a new logo for its two police cars, citizens take to the streets waving pitchforks and copies of their own designs. Committeecide seems to be rampant.

The full 2007 trend report follows. Whether we are noting social, conceptual or aesthetic trends, remember that none of them exist in a vacuum or in a single moment in time. They are results of many trends before them and are developing taproots as we speak.

Also, you will note some amount of aesthetic crossover between trends. For instance, the Dos Helix and Ribbon trends do show similarities. But with these categories and all others, we are more interested in the difference between their fundamental concepts. Our observations are just that–observations. They are not recommendations. Finally, they are presented in no particular order.

Dos Helix

Deoxyribonucleic acid really sounds like the last thing that could influence design until you knock it down to the initials DNA. It's the root of life and the code responsible for the past and the future of any living entity. The double helix strand has now transcended the field of science and, over the last generation, moved comfortably into the field of pop culture.

Hollywood has turned DNA into the glow-in-the-dark plot twist of CSI "insert city here". The design community has latched onto the twisting double helix structure as the public now sees this shape as a spark of life or the signature of an individual. Representing the genus or the seed of life, health and longevity, a family tree, a code, a mystery, or an unbroken sequence, these strands have a certain symbolic power that can be agreed upon by science or religion alike.

1.Design Firm: lwdgraphics Client: Chillosophy 2.Design Firm: Sumo Client: Science City 3.Design Firm: Demasi Jones Client: RCRH 4.Design Firm: Gibson Client: Women for Women

Rubber Bands

Invista, one of the worldís largest integrated fiber businesses, most succinctly laid claim to this look in 2003 with "the rings of innovation" designed by Enterprise IG. It's easy to imagine the global aspect of the company and the interlinking products and efforts with the bisecting fiber like rings. (though to the public or an untrained eye, this may well look like a random assembly of rubber bands in your top desk drawer).

This is a trend that connects directly to directions from previous years–Natural Spirals and Cave Rings, specifically. This is chaos and geometry coming together.

These linking rings tend to express the concept of a collective of product, employees, companies, or divisions that work together as a larger whole. They may appear to have varying degrees of autonomy or flexibility based on the tightness or shape of their configurations. Color is generally the marker that defines individuality, but it also helps us grasp the concept of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts.

1.Design Firm: Koch Creative Group Client: MBM Study 5 2.Design Firm: Substrate Client: Zilo 3.Design Firm: Grafikonline Client: Guba 4.Design Firm: Enterprise IG Client: Invista

Radiance

Not since the introduction of day-glow ink has there been this kind of illumination in the design industry. The brilliance of light is pervasive, and it seems to have found new ways to manifest itself. Radiance comes from the sun, but it is also beaming from water, pearls, books, and even the X-Box in an alien sort of way. The diversity of application ranges broadly from transparent overlays, gradients, and reflections, to lens flares, and animation.

These marks have a certain warmth that conveys comfort not to dissimilar from the light at the end of the tunnel. This glow may become more prevalent as we try to convey optimism, purity, warmth or escape. But the fallback position for this much wattage is still a guiding light or source of knowledge.

1.Design Firm: Cato Purnell Partners Client: Skywest Airlines 2.Design Firm: Gardner Design Client: The Center 3.Design Firm: LandDesign Client: Sunhaven 4.Design Firm: Siegel+Gale Client: SunTrust

Eco Smart

The loudest drum for the corporate world to stay in step with continues to be sustainability. In one form or another, our ecological welfare has been the crux of a trend in every report LogoLounge has released. The fact that we are still reporting its influence is not an agenda but is testament to the sustainability of sustainability.

These Eco Smart identities are simply getting smarter. Trees and leaves are still there, but the application has taken a more intelligent approach. It could be that some prior adopters of green identities were merely giving lip service to the cause. It's not just about adopting the color green. These logos are blended with an application and an ethos, more sensitive to the environment. The marks have grown up and seem to be telling stories with a softer voice, not with a piercing shrill.

1.Design Firm: Gardner Design Client: Dandurand 2.Design Firm: Ulrichpinciotti Design Group Client: Resources for Healthy Living 3.Design Firm: Eggnerd Client: Greenhill Academy 4.Design Firm: Steve's Portfolio Client: Small Planet

Lit

Designers continue to play havoc with the remnants of the rules set forth years ago for logo design. Production limitations are no longer relevant as marks vault into CMYK. In addition, many designers and clients have figured out that they will never, ever print their logos in the Yellow Pages – so producing at least one version that is 2-D and one-color is not necessary at all.

Over the last several years, we've seen logos crystal capped, light pinged, and puffed up like a silicone implant. The concept is simple: Create a degree of reality that allows an image to lift off of the page. This dimensionality lets the logo play on a different field than the world of flat one- and two-tone marks. Not subtle, but effective.

Now enters subtlety via the well-lit logo. Actors have been told for ions to step into the lights, and now logos are doing the same. It's little more than intelligent stage craft. These logos are not necessarily dimensional; in fact, most are relatively unassuming. The primary difference is the illusion of good lighting. It's an understated effect that pays off well in capturing the consumer's eye.

1.Design Firm: Zed+Zed+Eye Creative Communications Client: Ebert Pool Construction 2.Design Firm: FutureBrand Client: Pure Tasmania 3.Design Firm: Sebastiany Branding Client: Café ao Lar 4.Design Firm: Cato Purnell Partners Client: Flower Factory

Pseudo Crest

Mix a little nose-in-the-air, overly stodgy, family coat of arms with a sharp tongue-in-the-cheek, Napoleon Dynamite liger, and you have something that approximates a Pseudo Crest. These are fun, and packed with detail that sticks it to the man at every opportunity. For the high school and college market, Jason Schulte's firm, Office, built a best-of-class brand for Target with the Independent Studies line.

At first glance, most of these look like they've been lifted from a heraldry 101 style book, until you scrutinize the composition elements. Only at this point are you likely to see wrenches, guitars, penguins, shoes, cell phones and anything else you'd never expect to find in Camelot. This is a youth anthem; and designers have identified this as a source language for fashion culture and the music industry. In fact, this is a modern trend you will see everywhere, despite its roots in heraldry and even other intricate patterning like Victorian wallpaper.

1.Design Firm: Office Client: Independent Studies/Target 2.Design Firm: Reaves Design Client: JCPenny Nation 3.Design Firm: Miles Design Client: 12 Gauge Wakeskates 4.Design Firm: Launchpad Creative Client: Astonish Entertainment

Urban Vinyl

Charlie the Tuna and the Jolly Green Giant, these are not. Advertising characters have danced the line between logos and mascot for years. Even the Cingular Jack was a bit of a hybrid with a personality that animation played out beyond the printed page. Urban vinyl is a subculture that is starting to cross over into logo design. These small vinyl characters are ubiquitous shelf clutter, enshrined in nearly every designerís desk collection.

First made popular in Hong Kong by Michael Lau in the 90's, these imaginative imps have become highly collectable and have entire stores, KidRobot and magazines, Super 7, dedicated to their notoriety. The art of Tim Biskup may start on canvas but it soon translates to designer vinyl characters. Usually they can be as mundane as fire breathers to as outlandish as slimy cyclops ghost aliens. Though not a serious influence on Fortune 500 identities, urban vinyl has its place in pop culture, and that has translated to two-dimensional applications in logo design.

1.Design Firm: San Markos Client: webpublica 2.Design Firm: Innfusion Studios Client: Innfusor 3.Design Firm: Glitschka Studios Client: Fire Squad 4.Design Firm: Tactix Creative Client: Cyclops

Hubs

Last year, Apurba Sen from India contacted LogoLounge after he had taken a few hundred Web 2.0 logos and arranged them based on the trends recognized in LogoLounge reports over the last 3 years. It was an interesting experiment and served to confirm several of our previous categories. But one abundant group of these logos that found no harbor with previous trends was the Hub. These logos have a central element that serves as the core with many satellite elements, often orbiting symmetrically.

These logos could serve as the model of a communication structure for any online community. There is a central hub that serves as the dissemination point for information. Without the hub, the satellites lose their ability to make contact with the other members of the group. So whether these logos are for a communication tool or not, the distribution from a central point is usually key to the concept. The other aspect of this technique is many elements coming together for a greater common good. As prolific a theme as this has become, designers continue to build unique visual concepts.

1.Design Firm: Selikoff+Co Client: Pomology 2.Design Firm: Starlight Studio Client: RM Custom Creations 3. Design Firm: Brent Leland Design Client: Haciendo 4. Design Firm: Demasi Jones Client: Fibre Optic Australia

Descending Dots

Once you've started looking for this concept, you will see it everywhere–including in other categories within this report. With very few exceptions, these logos are made out of a series of dots either ascending or descending in scale consecutively. Most of these logos depict motion to help advance their message. Imagine using this language as a shorthand for static animation. It's basically the Eadweard Muybridge stop-motion freeze-frames-turned-logo, except each earlier frame is a bit dimmer or smaller than the next.

As we feel more compelled to explain motion-related concepts in a unique fashion, we will discover new visual language that will help us achieve this. In previous reports, we discussed the use of less traditional techniques to define motion, including, Blur, Dot Fuzz, and Blow out. Descending Dots rely on vector edge graphics to achieve their effect, much as Robert Miles Runyon used stripes to help define his Stars in Motion for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. The fallout of this era was a decade or more of logos that, by virtue of their sweeping stripes, all declared loudly, "I am moving."

1.Design Firm: Ardoise Design Client: Raymond Engineering 2.Design Firm: Aron Creative Client: Springboard 3. Design Firm: Glitschka Studios Client: Windows Gaming 4. Design Firm: Brand Bird Client: Arby's Franchise Association

Flora

Let's just make the assumption if you water a logo and give it adequate sunlight, it will start to grow a rhythmic crop of vines, buds, blooms and other fantasies of a botanical nature. These may be further evolution of last year's Embellish trend, or they could just be another subset of a larger trend. This would be a direction that uses borrowed remnants of a patterned, Victorian era to attach a delicate human quality to the hard outer shell of an other wise sterile logo. Detail of this nature is inherently engaging and asks the consumer to participate visually in a non-confrontational fashion.

A number of designers have been responsible for this tracery-like visual language, but the pioneering work of the Netherlands's Tord Boontje has probably gained the greatest notoriety. Tord was responsible for the delicate, and intricately diecut POP materials used for the 2006 Holiday presentation at Target. This layering of highly embellished organic lace has influenced identity design, especially in retail application.

1.Design Firm: Shift Design Client: Charme 2.Design Firm: Doug Beatty Client: Art for Aid 3.Design Firm: Gardner Design Client: Holly Root Massage 4. Design Firm: Entermotion Design Studio Client: Marshmallow Kisses

Half

An optimistic outlook will assure us these logos are half full. Engaging the public to participate with the identity has always been a strong method of building a tie to a logo. That "aha!" moment, when clever information assimilates and comes into focus, is the moment we take ownership in an entity. The secret here is not to bury the punch line so deeply that the consumer never gets to it. Here, the missing half of a visual element tells the story.

Where is the other half and why? Has it been chopped off, is it just over the edge, or is it submerging, or emerging? Simple word play or, in some events, image play allows the consumer to associate the product with an action. Cutting off part of an image can in some cases become confrontational, however, and cutting a perfectly good number or letter in half is tantamount to heresy in some cases. Letters are sacred to consumers: Altering them is one thing, but removing their better half makes people look.

1.Design Firm: Fresh Oil Client: Spats Logo Concept 2.Design Firm: Thomas Manss & Company Client: Cutcost.com 3. Design Firm: Meme Design Client: Edge 4. Design Firm: Miles Design Client: Urban Forward

Overlap

In some respects, this is an evolution of last yearís Overlay trend and a definite continuation of the strong transparency genre in logo design. While still relying on relatively flat color overlay–like so many layers of colored lighting gels–this direction is more concerned with linkage. These logos describe sets and subsets as an analogy for the literal connections within a corporation. Remember that transparency is a strong buzzword in the corporate world: The need to be fiscally and otherwise transparent to the public, employees, and investors is an essential trait.

Elements coming together with nothing to hide help to extol the depth or diversity of an institution. The overlapping subsets can often be used to help tell a story or explain the architectural structure of the organization. Advances in software have made the process of designing transparent imagery much more inviting. Adobe Illustrator, for example, allows a designer to experiment and see transparent techniques in real time as opposed to the arduous steps that Photoshop would require to achieve the same result.

1.Design Firm: Fitting Group Client: i-Squared 2.Design Firm: Cacao Design Client: Renza Morello 3. Design Firm: Matthew Schwart Design Studio Client: Agency Access 4. Design Firm: Gillen's Army Client: The Electric Company

3D

For years, logos have been taking on more dimensional characteristics as they have become puffier, reflective, or glassine. But in general, these are more of an affected surface treatment, as opposed to an all-out "Here's what my backside looks like." As soon as a logo takes on full three-dimensional qualities, unanticipated questions start to arise. If I spin the logo a quarter turn, is it still my logo? If I zoom in on it from an angle that obscures, is it still my logo? If I turn the lights down on it, is it still my logo? If I go through traditional trademark channels, can I register this dimensional object from any perspective?

Miles Newlyn is the London designer responsible for the proposed B logo for a major telecommunications company. Additionally, he is one of the premiere go-to designers if you need a breakout concept, such as his identities for 3 or ish. Miles attributes one of his inspirations for three-dimensional logos as the Jaguar hood ornament which is immediately recognizable from any angle. The challenge with a true 3-D logo is that a company must have the media resources necessary to convey the identity in its full spectrum of dimension. This is why many of these logos settle for the appearance of great dimensionality from a single perspective, not the real thing.

Miles remains a leader in this emerging direction: He notes that being able to create a 3-D logo is not as important as is knowing which clients need them. But more and more, businesses are requesting them just to be stylish.

1.Design Firm: Wolff Olins Client: djuice 2. Design Firm: Miles Newlyn Client: B 3. Design Firm: GrafikOnline Client: Aramova 4. Design Firm: Substrate Client: Palio

OpticaLine

Who doesn't stop mid-step when confronted by an optical illusion? We just feel compelled to give it a second look and evaluate it. Whether we look at these as a challenge or an amusement, they demand our attention. Optical illusions are generally linear in nature and have an M. C. Escher quality to them that challenge the laws of physics. Or they may seem innocent enough until they rotate on you, or dip into a new perspective on your second glance.

The idea of the possible impossibility is a very attractive concept as designers describe a niche for a client. The clever thinking of the illusion speaks to the "we can do what no other can, because we're smarter that way." Initials delivered through this magical context seem to be a natural application. Because of the dimensional nature of these marks, it is not uncommon to see them in use with architects or products that define an environment through a new perspective.

1.Design Firm: MINE Client: Paradox 2.Design Firm: Face Client: Institute of Cancer Therapeutics 3.Design Firm: JDK Design Client: Zune 4.Design Firm: Elixer Design Client: Perspecta, Inc.

Ribbons

There are surely entire cities in China that owe their existence to the export of magnetic cause ribbons. When did cause ribbon become a punch line? Yes, we want to show we care, but the literal rainbow of causes have become so diluted with this icon that its soul is on the verge of extinction. There is not a lack of concern for these causes as much as a recognition that we have been gorging ourselves at the ribbon trough too long and maybe it's time to purge.

Fortunately, there are designers who have stepped in to offer CPR to this flagging icon. Many of the best logos that base themselves on the ribbon were created at the early end of this trend. There are still novel opportunities and unique application to be found with the ribbons, but they will be fewer and farther between. It will be interesting to see if the sustainability trend crosses paths with this trend. Then we'll figure out a great recycling plan for the ribbons so our landfills aren't knee deep in magnetic rubbish.

1.Design Firm: Seamer Design Client: Motek Trading 2.Design Firm: Ty Wilkins Client: Tulsa AIDS Walk 3. Design Firm: Square One Client: Cinema Fighting Cancer 4. Design Firm: Felix Sockwell Client: AIDS National Quality Center

Other trends that are here and emerging:

• Animotion: Noted at the start of this article, these logos are designed to be in motion as opposed to logos that are designed flat and then animated.
  
  
• Wreaths: Lots of elements, sometimes so delicate that they would not have previously been considered to be part of a logo design, assembled into a patterned whole.
  
  
• Rainbows: Possibly growing from the buzzword “inclusiveness,” likely emerging from clients’ greater tolerance for brighter colors, but definitely fed by RGB.
  
  
• Numbers: Inserting a numeral into a word in place of a letter, ideally to further the meaning of a wordmark. Text messaging and IM-speak is everywhere.
  
  
• Holes: Designers are playing with the apparent surface of the paper. Designs appear to disappear into or emerge from sinkholes or cuts.
  
  
• Dragons: Lots and lots of dragons.
  
  
• Big benday: Hyper close-ups of benday dots. These dots overlap and randomize.
  
  
• Cartouches: Look for more and more shapes that are bracketed in one way or another.

Thank you to Marita Wesely-Clough, trends manager, Hallmark, and designer Miles Newlyn for the insights they provided for this article.

Bill Gardner is principal of Gardner Design and creator of LogoLounge.com, a unique web site where, in real-time, members can post their logo design work; study the work of others; search the database by designer’s name, client type, and other attributes; learn from articles and news written expressly for logo designers; and much more. Bill can be contacted at bill@logolounge.com.

©2007 Logolounge Inc.

标海观潮（完整）--2007标志设计趋势

     在LogoLounge.com这个近水楼台，自然有机会领略标海里的各种潮流涌动，弄潮儿挥舞着唯美、概念、文化的旗帜立于潮头。而作为互联网上最大的标志库（超过5万的标志），我们也总是会注意到设计的演变，以及，正在形成的潮流和趋势。

 

    比如说，静止或者平置的3D标志已然淡出，取而代之的是更多运动中的3D形象。新的设计已经完全动摇了CMYK现世的的枷锁，而只存在于梦幻缥缈的RGB世界。过去的标志设计规则已经全然派不上用场。

    另外一个发展：今天，对很多潮流来说，都存在一股逆流在反其道而行--并且这不仅仅发生在标志设计界。公众的喜爱与憎恶已经因为目不暇接的信息冲击而变得日益分化，标志设计的需求方和供应方对此都已深有体会：如今，若要认准一个方向，简直太难了。

 

    惊恐也好，激动也罢，标志设计正在演化成一场全民运动，这已毋庸置疑。由于公众对媒体的控制越来越大--拍拍这个，传传那个，这边博客一下，那边谷歌一阵，人们已经不再满足于摆在眼前的单一模式，人们胸中有话，而且不吐不快。所以当一个大公司公布了它的新标志，马上就会惹来数以百计的网站对其指指点点，评头论足。甚至当一个不起眼的小村落的村委会投票给他们的两辆警车选一个新的标志，也会招来群众们走上街头，高举草叉，叫卖自己设计的标志。百姓取委员会而代之的呼声甚嚣尘上。

   

    下面是完整的2007年标志趋势报告。不论我们是否提到社会、概念或者唯美的趋势，请记住，他们中的任何一个都不是空穴来风，也不是灵光忽现，他们是此前众多潮流互相影响的结果，而且正在发展成主流。

   

     同样，你也会注意有些趋势是跨界的。比如，双螺旋以及彩带之间有很多相似之处。这些归类的目的是让我们更深入地关注各趋势在本质上概念的不同。我们的观察仅是观察而已，不是推荐，在此的排列也是随机的。

 

• 双螺旋

脱氧核糖核酸，单听这个绕口的名字，大概没有人会认为它能对设计产生什么影响，然而，如果你说它的俗名--DNA，情况就完全相反了。这是我们的生命的之源，这是掌握过去和未来的密码，这是各种有生命意义的代称。双螺旋结构，俨然成了旧时王谢堂前的燕子，已经翩然飞出了科学的屋门，落到了寻常的流行文化领域。

    好莱坞曾经成功地演绎过这个双螺旋结构，如今，公众早已把它当作生命的闪现，个体的表达，它代表了基因，生命的种子，健康，长寿，家庭系谱，密码，神话，不断的延续，所有这些都会对科学以及宗教界产生非凡意义和影响。

 

• 橡皮圈

    对于没有经过的训练的眼睛来说，Invista, 这家全球纤维生意老大的标志，简直就像抽屉里几个随意拧在一起的几个橡皮圈，然而，仔细看看，不难发现设计者的巧妙用心，象征着纤维的环，一分为二而又交织缠绕在一起，暗含着产品关联和群策群力，配以外面的大环，揭示着该公司国际化的视野和作为。

    今天的橡皮圈上清晰地标注着前几年的影响，具体来说有自然螺旋，洞型圈(注：关于Cave Rings的理解请看后面评论的高见 ）。而今天的设计巧妙地结合了混沌以及几何美学。

    交织在一起的环表达的是合体的概念，可是是产品，员工，部门等，表现齐心协力。各环的形状、位置、张弛都有背后的含义。颜色彰显个体，但同时提醒人们合集的力量。

 

• 放射

 

    并不是荧光笔的使用给设计界带来了这种发光的图案，放射状的设计由来已久。光明从来都让人激情澎湃，而今天的光线已经找到了新的表达自我的途径。光芒万丈本源自太阳，然而它也可以从水波、珍珠、书页、甚至异化的X-box中来。放射状的应用也十分广泛，覆盖物，倾角，折射衍射，聚焦，动画，无一不可。

    这些标志传达的是一种温暖和舒适，而不是黑暗的隧道尽头的光明忽现。这种发光的设计可能会变得更加主导，因为我们要努力传达乐观、纯净、温暖或者远离尘嚣。但是光源处仍是一束主光，或者知识源在发挥作用。

 

• 生态智能

    号召保证地球可持续发展的鼓点像其宣扬的精神一样持续有力。人类对其生态福祉的关注，已经通过各式各样的标志，在Logolounge发布的每份报告中，都构成了一种潮流趋势的核心。事实上，我们依旧在报道它的影响，这不是一个孤立的事件，而是对其本身可持续性的一个可持续证明。

    还是那些树和叶子，然而现在它们确有了更巧妙更广阔的应用和舞台。颜色也不再仅局限于绿色，这些标志结合了应用和气质，它们已经长大成人，现在更倾向于娓娓道来式而不是以前声嘶力竭的呼喊。

 

（感觉越来越找不到北了，看看后面，还有很多:(, 再发出来一些，偶要准备回家了）

• 都市搪胶公仔

    让文字穿梭舞动于标志和吉祥物间已经有些年头了，即使Cingular Jack时代也有一点儿突破纸面印刷呈显动画的意思。都市搪胶公仔已经成了一种亚文化，悄悄地走进了标志设计界，而这些字符也早被归类整理，作为不可或缺的参考，供放在设计者的案头了。。。。。。

[注：感谢snlchina对此的释义：都市搪胶公仔，又称异都正版人偶，是由一种名为乙烯树脂的人工材料，加以卡通化的造型而成的一种公仔玩具，其主要特色是外表丑怪.加以五短身材充满了创意与个性化.符合了现代年轻人叛逆的性格.价格上则坚持走平民化钥匙扣路线，更成为年轻一代的必备潮玩]

 

• 同心，同心

    去年，我们曾经用我们以前界定的标志类型给给几百个web2.0的标志归类，这是一项有趣的尝试，我们找到了一些标志的踪迹，然而，有相当数量的一批标志是无法在以前的种类中找到依循的，这就是我们所说的“同心”组。这些标志大都是围绕一个核心，有众多的小点儿（通常对称地）离散出去。这种标志可以用于任何一种网上社区的交流结构，没有了集节的中心，个体就无所依傍。所以无论这些标志是不是表达的交

流工具，从中心向四方传送是这个概念的核心。

 

• 消逝的圆点

 

    当你开始询问这种设计的概念，你会发现它无所不在--这份报告的其他类别中也有。除去极少的例外，这些标志都是一系列的圆点组成，按照一定轨迹不断消逝或聚起，绝大多数这种标志通过活动中的韵律感来提升自我的表达。

    而当我们感觉有些概念一定要解释，具体说就是这种在独特的潮流中和运动相关的概念，我们发现新的视觉语言会帮助我们达到这个目的。前几份报告中，我们讨论了用非传统的手法重新定义运动，包括各种模糊和飞出等等。而消逝的圆点运用的手法让我们联想起了1984年洛杉矶奥运会上Robert Miles的那个星转斗移的梦幻场景，虽然盛况已去，然而后继的标记设计者们一直没有放弃这个梦想，那些挥舞的标志，都在大声宣扬：看吧，我在动！

 

• 花+枝 招展

    我们不妨设想一下，如果你给一个标志浇上水，让它撒满阳光，它会抽出什么样的芽、开处什么样的花，结出什么样的奇异的果实？而这些或许异想天开的想法，可能就是去年Embellish趋势的进一步演化，或者它会变成另外一个更大趋势的子集。

    这也是一个方向，引用维多利亚时代遗留的图案，给一些干瘪的标志坚硬的外壳上，赋予一些人性的笔触。这是一种润物无声的手法，它温婉地抓住顾客的眼睛，使其在它的花叶间徜徉。

 

• 半隐半现，欲说还休

    用乐观的精神，我们要说，啊，很不错，这些标志还有一半呢（注：悲观的说法：天哪，这些标志怎么只剩下一半了？这个写文章的人还挺逗的）吸引公众猜想他们的本意也是标志设计者惯用的伎俩:)

  当你“哈!原来如此”的时候，已经不知不觉地上了勾了。要想玩儿这一手，需要注意的就是，包袱不要埋得太深，顾客不会喜欢绞尽脑汁而一无所获。丢失的那一半正是最有说头的那一半。。。。。。（未完代续）

 

 

• 光照

 

    设计者们继续不遗余力地大炒前辈们留下的规则。然而，就像标记弧线之于CMYK一样，很多限制也早已无关紧要。特别是，许多设计人员和客户都明白，他们永远不会在大黄页上印刷他们的标志，所以对他们来说，至少做一个两维或者单色版的标志根本没有必要。

    过去的几年里，我们看到了很多此类的设计，而这一类设计的概念也极其简明：创造一种栩栩如生的、跃然腾出纸面的效果。这样的立体感使得标志突破了干瘪的外形而有了一些起伏。虽不微妙，但是奏效。

    于是闪烁着华美的光辉，一个个标志款款走来，情形与镁光灯下登台的演员没有什么区别，正是“人靠衣装，标靠灯光”。这些标志不见得非是立体的，事实上大多数标志说都是相貌平平。是光照赋予了这些标志非凡的魅力。这是一种并没有被大肆宣扬的效果，然而却在吸引顾客眼球上表现不俗。

 

• 面具

    乍一看上去，这些标志就像是纹章手册里的图案，直到你能区分出里面的组成部分，只有这个时候，你才差不多能看到里面的扳子，吉他，企鹅（？），鞋子，手机等等你从来没有想过在亚瑟王宫发现的东西。这是一曲青春赞歌，设计者们已经把它作为一种流行文化和音乐工业的语言源。而实际上，这也是一种时尚趋势，会遍地开花，尽管它源自英国的纹章学以及更复杂的维多利亚时期壁纸的事实并不为人所知。

 

• 重叠

    在某种意义上来说，今年的重叠既是由去年的覆盖趋势演变而来，同时也是声势浩大的“透明一派”的直接延续。尽管仍然依靠颜色叠加烘托层次，今年的重叠更注重于其中的联结部分。这些有集合、子集蕴意的重叠图形被顺理成章地用来表示公司内的各种联结。至于透明，别忘了，透明度在企业界可是一个时髦词儿：不只是财政需要透明，公众、员工、投资者，谁都有理由需要“透明”的公司。

    在给公司的深度或者广度（多样化）唱赞歌的时候，矜持显然是多余的，于是重叠、透明这些要素，各自抖擞精神，披挂上阵。纷繁的重叠，折射出组织结构，而日益精妙的图形软件，也让透明的意象变得更加诱人。

 

• 三维

    从飞出物、折射、玻璃纸这些开始，标志早已经行进在三维的路上了。但是总的来说，这只是在做表面文章而已，并没有真正转过身去，给别人一个后视图。一旦标志设计开始认真的考虑三维的道路，就有一系列问题接踵而来：如果我把这个标志旋转90度，还是我的标识吗？如果我从一个模糊的角度向这个标志慢慢推进，看到的还是我的标识吗？如果我把标志上的光去掉，还是原来的标识吗？

    而对于那些有意用三维标志的公司来说，挑战在于，是否有合适的媒体来完整的展示这个标志的各个角度。然而越来越多的公司在寻求三维标志，只是因为，这很时髦。

 

• 视觉魔术

    有谁不会被眼前的视觉魔术深深吸引呢？不经意一瞥，然而却身不由己地一看再看。对好奇的眼睛来说，说它是一种挑战也好，愉悦也好，不变的结果是，我们会注意这些标志。这些视觉幻像通常是线性的，里面有个埃舍尔怪圈挑在战我们视觉的的生理机能。或者有些标志乍看上去简单明了，直到你开始被绕得头晕眼花才发现里面的玄机。

    这种似是而非的创意概念是设计者们非常喜欢向客户展示的。这种机灵古怪的图案无疑在说：“我们可以做别人不能做的，因为我们比别人聪明”。首字母做变幻处理是这种趋势的常用手法。

 

• 丝带

    确确实实，中国有些城市是因为出口一些带子而存在的，是一种叫做“magnetic cause ribbon"的带子。从什么时候开始这种扣在一起的丝带开始成了流行语而风靡世界？是的，我们想表达我们关心，我们支持。但是真正的丝带的原始含义和精神早已经风吹云散，没有什么人知道了。很多事情需要我们的关注，于是我们系起丝带，然而，我们似乎应该意识到，丝带已经被我们滥用，眼下，需要来一个清理整顿了。

    幸运的是，有些设计者巧妙地利用了丝带设计出了精美的标志，虽然很少，然而终究有一些不落俗套的设计问世。这种丝带的趋势是否也要可持续发展? 这是个有趣的话题，让我们拭目以待。如果确实如此，我们就可以给这些彩带们制定出一个伟大的再利用计划，我们的废渣处理场就不用再对这些意义非凡的垃圾带子费力气了。

 

此外，还有一些其他显现出来的趋势：

动画：正如开头指出的，这些标志生来就是处于运动中的，而不是先做出不动的，再让它动。
花环：名目繁多，美仑美奂，以至于人们有时候不会把它看作标志而是图案。
彩虹：大概由时髦词“兼容并包”衍生而来，不过毋宁说是客户对明亮色彩的“宽容度”滋生了这种趋势。
数字：把数字插入字母之中，文字的完美游戏。
镂空：设计者们在玩儿捉迷藏。设计从虚空中来，或者到虚空中去。
龙：龙的世界，万龙飞舞。
（最后还有两个，由于没有相应的图案，实在猜不出是什么意思，不好意思）

 

[译后注：不是一个持之以恒的人，然而终于硬着头皮把这篇文章翻译完了，感谢大家的鼓励和帮助。知识所限，不能完全理解原文的内容，对于作者的诸多妙语、双关，只是错略翻了个大意（希望是：）。期待指正]