Branding is increasingly shifting to the digital. As a result, the brand building process is being redefined. The wide range of digital branding tools creates a variety of ways to cement the brand presence in the real world. The rigid and interactive brand is a thing of the past. This has an impact on the visual appearance of a brand, especially the logo.
Branding 2020 – more real, more interactive and more personal
The digitization of branding will make great strides in 2020. Even if the old-fashioned “analog” branding has not yet completely disappeared from the scene, the digital landscape makes completely new demands on the appearance of a brand. Social media platforms offer brands a large stage on which they can get in touch with customers personally. What was once one-sided brand communication has become interaction in which the brand and customer meet at eye level. Intelligent data analysis tools make it possible to deliver precise information about target groups so that branding measures can be precisely tailored to customers, their wishes, habits and preferences.
Brands are becoming more human
In addition, competition is growing and brands are becoming more interchangeable. Consequently, it pays to focus more on trust and loyalty in 2020 in order to gain an emotional advantage and stand out from the competition. Branding also applies here. Since people believe and love people first and foremost, a successful brand needs a human face. This can be the founder of the company, an influencer or a particularly charismatic employee. People are not interchangeable and give the brand a unique character. They make them more real and more tangible. And just like people themselves, brands appear less smooth and artificial. Since the focus is increasingly on people in branding, the channels are also shifting. Branding 2020 is determined by customer reviews
And your logo?
In 2020, logos will also become significantly more “human” and more soulful. In order to give your logo this personal note, it is above all important to first deal intensively with your own brand personality. Only those who know exactly who they are as a brand can present themselves authentically and trustingly to the outside world. Your brand identity is what makes you distinctive and instantly recognizable for your customers. Show your inner being and give your customers access to it. Your logo can bridge the gap here. There are a number of design elements that rely on emotions and can give your logo more personality and humanity:
- Color: Colors influence the emotions and behavior of the viewer. Each color creates a certain mood. Use the emotional power of colors to send an emotional message. For example, red logos speak to passion, yellow logos appear open and friendly, and blue logos create trust and the impression of seriousness. Find the color that suits your brand.
- Typography: Because there is a person behind every script, they give your logo a personal, individual style that is tangible. In contrast to modern sans serif fonts, serif fonts are also great for telling a personal (brand) story. They feel nostalgic without being clumsy because they connect us to an earlier time, when the world wasn’t that digital. These associations have a powerful effect on brands that use them.
- Nostalgia: Give your logo a touch of the past. In an unpredictable world full of uncertainties, retro logos awaken memories in the viewer that make them emotionally and positively. When thinking about the “good old days”, they feel comfortable and secure. This feeling rubs off on the perception of your brand.
- Hand- drawn graphics: Similar to cursive fonts , drawings made by hand look personal and familiar. They give the impression of being made by a person and thus provide a solid foundation from which to develop a relationship with the brand. In addition, hand drawings are unique – just like your brand. Unedited and imperfect logos are all the rage in 2020. These logos reject the impeccable, perfect look that design programs allow, and lead the viewer back to sketchbooks that have asymmetry, odd lines, and shading techniques like cross-hatch and outline shadows. Brands can use this hand-drawn look to show their authenticity and give their logos the personality that their customers want to see.
Branding adapts to the customer
In the digital age full of possibilities, the customer himself decides where and how he wants to get in touch with a brand. Different channels, technical diversity, the possibility of target group segmentation and global presence make it necessary to design branding activities and design elements of the branding flexibly and tailored to the customer. Flexible, adaptable logos are the future. This no longer just means that a logo adapts to the different screen sizes. Responsive logos are nowadays rather logos that change in size, complexity or also color and design in order to do justice to their environment and the varying customer requirements.
Just like the brand itself, your logo is no longer a rigid structure. Given the many different channels and places a modern company can place their logo in, it’s impossible to have the same version of your logo everywhere without losing something here and there. Added to this is the growing popularity of video content. Videos provide space for animated logo versions. They use the movement effect to generate attention.
Another example is the desire of many users to use smartphones or computers in dark mode. This also requires a flexible logo that adapts to the desired and chosen circumstances of the customer. The customer decides how and where they want to see your logo. You are well advised to be prepared for it with different logo versions.
The homemade, natural look will predominate in branding 2020. With all the digital perfection, people yearn for the imperfection of hand-drawn logos. The unlimited technical possibilities of the digital world also make it necessary to come up with a flexible, adaptable logo in 2020.