In today’s global economy, Logos are a must-have.It wasn’t always-like this, but the wide range of aesthetics and iconography is remarkable. Except for the last 150 years or so, logos have seldom been used for commercial advantage in the past.
That isn’t to say there weren’t exemplary people in the past. For eons, people have been reducing complex concepts to pictorial symbols. As logos have changed over time, so have aesthetic preferences, design software, and customer expectations. This historical development may teach modern designers a lot. By examining the past, we may foresee the future with more accuracy.
Logograms
A single graphic symbol representing a word or phrase is called a logogram. That’s not how it works in the alphabets most of us are familiar with, where meaning is created by combining several
symbols that stand for individual sounds.
A lographic language uses logograms as its primary means of written communication. However, no known language is logographic, and representing human verbal notions with isolated symbols is difficult.
Logograms have been used by cultures as diverse as the Sumerians and the Egyptians, but their use is by no means limited to antiquity. In modern usage, logograms are represented by abbreviations such as &, $, and @. (At).
Victorian
The Victorian period, which lasted for more than 60 years and was ruled by Queen Victoria, started with the end of the Industrial Revolution. For this reason, this era was characterized by the hope
that scientific and technological advances would one day solve the issues that had plagued humanity for millennia.
During this period, logo markings gained popularity to indicate quality, technical supremacy, and social standing. Manufacturers sought out new forms of self-promotion to set their products apart from the masses of similarly manufactured commodities.
Victorian art and marketing often featured happy individuals enjoying things in elaborately furnished settings and idealized situations, reflecting the prevailing mood of the day.
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau marked a break from the Victorian penchant for recycling the design components and flourishes of bygone periods
by
combining mathematically structured compositions with flowing line work, floral
motifs, and simplified color schemes.
Its adherents believed art Nouveau to be a “whole style,” a design movement that included everything from buildings to clothes to kitchenware to streetlights. Art as a way of life was an
expansive idea.
A return to the handiwork and a push to invest in design decisions with significance marked this period as well. It was frowned upon to decorate for decorating, yet Victorian-era design elements
persisted, and Art Nouveau’s modernity rapidly became antiquity.
Early Modern
Several ground-breaking scientific and philosophical breakthroughs were made during the Early Modern period. As a reaction to the worldwide destruction of World War I, creatives sought a
radical departure from established norms.
As artists and architects increasingly reduced both thought and form to their barest essentials, a shift away from representational imagery and toward abstraction occurred. When creating advertisements, companies used big, strong typefaces and basic visuals on solid-colored backdrops. Similar trends were seen in logo design, which resulted in a crop of minimalistic, everlasting symbols.
Art Deco
Art Deco, which originated in France in the 1920s, was a period of extravagant design driven by the belief that humanity will eventually find a solution to all of society’s problems via scientific and technological progress.
Art deco’s signature style is hard to pin down since it recycles and reinterprets so many different design periods, but it’s fair to say that subtlety was never a vital feature of the era.
An air of luxurious extravagance permeates Art Deco trademarks. All the hallmarks of the period’s architecture, industrial design, and fashion can be seen in these examples: opulence, audacity, heft without heaviness, stability without complacency.
Modern
After the turn of the century, there was a stronger emphasis on objectivity in architecture and interior design. Value was placed on being able to communicate ideas clearly and concisely. The
data informs the function, and the form afterward follows the data.
In the Modern period, artists and architects were interested in finding new methods to express themselves while still working within predetermined parameters, such as using strict grid systems and investigating the expressive potential of negative space. A trend emerged toward more minimalist and recognizable logos, emphasizing well-aligned and -combined geometric elements.
Even though the Modern period is over, its lasting impact can be seen in many areas of the current design. Almost all of the aesthetic concepts of today’s digital goods and design systems can be
traced back to Modernism, as can our methods of education and problem-solving.
Late Modern
After World War Two, many people began questioning the validity of Modernist ideals, particularly those of objectivity and ultimate truth. The transition to Post-Modernism had begun, and designers
were looking more closely at and questioning the absolute validity of Modern principles.
Late Modernism does not always represent a radical departure from Modernist aesthetic concepts. In reality, many formal design qualities today linked with corporate branding were established during the Late Modern era, when some of the most iconic logos associated with Modernism were produced.
Postmodern
Postmodernism challenges the very concept of an idealist that Modernism sought to achieve via scientific methods. Skepticism reigned, and long-held beliefs and practices were dismantled. A deep
distrust in rationality characterizes postmodernism. Contradictions are celebrated and referred to as “conclusions,” and the irony is praised.
This upside-down outlook spawned a collection of deliberately contradictory artwork. Many disparate artistic movements, each reflecting a distinct societal structure, were fused to produce
a new meaning, which was sometimes drenched in mockery.
This manifested in using type, color, and intentional unpredictability in logo and graphic design. It’s very uncommon for designers to use seemingly random techniques to convey a message, such as
putting up a color scheme that has nothing in common with the fonts or images it contains.
Digital:
Skeuomorphic
The advent and widespread use of digital design tools are more often associated with the “Digital Era” than any significant philosophical developments through the professional designing company. Desktop publishing’s widespread availability has inspired a new generation of creatives to “create something” even if they lack the necessary experience and expertise.
As with every new medium, digital art had a rocky start. The devaluation of established methods and the surge of amateurs frightened seasoned professionals, but quality and artistry won out in the end. Digital artworks of increasing sophistication were created throughout time.
Skeuomorphic logo design, in which objects and symbols are shown with a degree of detail and elegance that frequently exceeds the genuine thing, is a prime example of this development.
Millennium:
Flat Design
In recent years, there has been a renaissance in the use of traditional methods and materials, such as hand-drawn illustrations and hand-lettered texts. However, we are also pushing the limits of digital design with interactive and personalized visuals.
The professional design company’s attempts are contradictory in many respects. Metrics and statistical proof nterest us, but like Postmodernists, we remain skeptical that there is a single correct approach to every problem.
Thankfully, our muddled state has produced a dizzying variety of aesthetic options. Take the recent rejection of skeuomorphism, for example; its successor, the ludicrously titled “Flat Design,” is only a return to the ideals of Modernism. We moved from photorealism to iconic abstraction in the space of one iOS upgrade, and the following significant change will happen in no time.
