The paramount goal and the most important purpose of a logo design is to leave a positive and memorable image of your brand on the mind of the target audience. Businesses, especially startups have this impression that this purpose could be fulfilled with any icon which has their brand name in it. Let us break the news to you; when it comes to branding, this is not the way things work. Your logo cannot be a random image. It should be able to represent a clear, straightforward yet striking image of your company- which is only possible with a straightforward, minimalist and flat logo design.

Nothing in this world should be stagnant or static- designs also have no exceptions. Designs have been continually adapting to the ever-changing shifts that take place in the graphic design world. The shifts and transformations in the world of logo and icons are the most prominent among all.

There are thousands of brands; even the famous ones who had opted for a major design overhaul and omitted all the intricate details in their logo design and left it simple and classy. The way most of the logos are being designed and redesigned is not what we could call a seasonal change that could be replaced with another fad in the future. This instead is the product of the colossal growth in the design world which is based on current generation’s psychology, preferences and the way they see and observe designs.

From overly detailed intricate logos to 3-dimensional designs and flat logos, logo designs have come a long way. And we can confidently say that the current era can be referred to as the golden era of logo designs.

In this article, we are going to shed light on the points that will support our claim why minimalist or flat logo design is one of the best logotypes and why most of the brands are changing their logos with flat and minimalist designs. But first, we need to understand what a flat logo design is.

What is Flat Logo Design?

In order to create a  flat logo design, you need to build your company logo based on the minimalistic design principle. According to minimalistic design principles, your company logo should be free from all the intricate details such as shadows, stuffed fonts, textures, and gradients. Still, it should be able to communicate the core message of your brand. Flat designs are based on minimalism and as compared to the detailed logos they are highly flexible and adaptable to be placed on any medium from website to storefront and letterheads.

In other words, Flat design is a style that renders everything in a two-dimensional way, making it flat, simple and minimalistic. The absence of “realism” in a logo makes it flat logo design. No added extras, such as bevels, shadows, glows, reflections, textures or gradients are included in the design process.

Flat Logo Designs Are Memorable

Compare the old versions of these logos with the new ones. Which one do you think will be easily recognizable for today’s audience? Obviously the current versions. Had these companies never opted for a redesign, they wouldn’t have been able to live up to the expectations of their target market.

It is clearly visible in the picture that pizza hut omitted all the tacky and unflattering details that their first logo was all about. In their first logo redesign which they kept for more than a decade, they made color red as their primary color with a pinch of green and yellow in it. However, in their last redesign, they decided to kept red as their primary color. Their transformation from a heavily detailed logo with a mascot to a simple, minimalist emblem shows a drastic shift in their brand image and identity.

Similarly, Mail chimp too had a mascot in their original logo which they kept for quite a long time. Although the logo was doing quite good in terms of brand identification, still they decided to keep up with the modern paradigm shift. Therefore, they took a decision to undergo a massive overhaul and replaced their mascot logo with the sleek typography. It’s a simple wordmark logo without any extra frills; still, it successfully represents what it is supposed to do.

These two examples are the open-proof to the fact that minimalist and flat designs are easy to remember as they tend to stick to the memory of the target audience quickly. On the other hand, intricate designs make it difficult for them to digest every single detail that the logo includes.

Flat Logo Designs Cater to Millennials and Centennials

Gone are the days when logo designs used to be filled with intricate details. In this era of social media, people have short attention spans, even shorter than a goldfish. Unlike Generation X and xennials, in this era, no one has the patience of sitting in front of the television without a remote control to change the channels using knob or buttons. Let alone TV, no one even has the tolerance to wait for a website to get loaded in 10 seconds.

In short, they want swift everything. This is the reason they want a design that has the ability to get imprinted on their mind within a second, or else their subconscious will discard the logo image. Consequently, the purpose of the logo will never be fulfilled. Have a look at Apple’s logo here.

Today’s audience doesn’t prefer realism as much as they prefer light, simple yet visually appealing images. No matter how much you have tried and how beautiful logo you have designed if it is overly stuffed with details, the human mind will pass it without absorbing the message in their memory.

Flat Logo Designs Are Flexible

Your logo is considered as the visual figurehead of your brand identity. It is not meant to be placed on your storefront or web design only, but it is designed to be put everywhere your brand wants to leave its mark. Therefore, your logo ought to be easily convertible throughout all the medium, if it does not it will not stand the test of the time.

Let’s take the example of Apple’s first-ever logo, what if it had the same logo today, would it be able to build the same identity on social media as it has today? Definitely not, the logo is so filled with complicated details that everything would be jumbled up if it was used as the profile picture which appears as a tiny icon when you post something.

Only a minimal logo is capable of coming across equally stunning across multiple devices and platforms. You can put a flat design on a billboard to social media and storefront without any hesitation, and it will get adapted to the medium without looking anything cluttered or chaotic.

Flat Logo Designs Are Simple and Creative

Flat designs are designed to appear as eye-catching with a unique and creative twist. As we have mentioned above; flat designs lack realism, so they are purposefully created to not resemble real-life elements. Therefore, they avoid 3D elements and use less gradients and shadows.

The combination of bold colors, crisp visuals, and straightforward typography make the logo an attention-grabbing yet successful visual identifier for your brand. Fewer details and more empty spaces are the most effective way to grab the viewer’s attention. In a nutshell, the use of simple elements and rule of thirds turns your company logo into a precious brand asset that you could keep for decades to come.

Key Takeaway

Minimalist or flat logo designs cannot be referred to as a product of fads or trends. They represent a whole another principle of design world using which you can express your brand identity to the masses in the most effective way possible. Flat designs tend to grab maximum eyeballs at the same time they save millions of dollars of companies by reducing the cost used for printing and representation expenses.

A flat logo design is much affordable to reproduce as it consumes less printing material at the same time it looks flattering wherever it goes. From social media to business card to storefront; flat logo converts effortlessly throughout all the media; thus it never misses to represent your brand, acts as your brand ambassador and endorses your company when you are not even there. All in all, a flat logo design type is the best branding option you could ever take. It is simple, it is creative, it is memorable and it is affordable; what else one could want for their company logo design?

Invictus Studio is recognized as a top E-Commerce Design & Development Company on DesignRush.