For small businesses, identity is everything. From tone and messaging to website design, and even color palette, how you choose to show up in the marketplace is a decisive factor in shaping your trajectory as a business – and brand.
Chief among these identity-driving elements is a logo, which is oftentimes a customer’s first interaction with a brand. Even in an era characterized by fleeting attention spans and information overload, a well-crafted logo can serve as a memorable visual cornerstone that captures distinct brand values and demonstrates your product or service’s unique proposition.
If refreshing your logo is one of your 2024 resolutions, taking stock of this year’s trending logo design themes is a great place to start. From bold, expressive logos that amplify personal style to the power of tried-and-true aesthetics, these are just a few of the year’s biggest logo design trends, as predicted by VistaPrint’s global community of professional designers who work with thousands of small businesses every day.
Bold Color-Blocking
The contemporary logo landscape, particularly in 2024, will see a surge of designs that epitomize the spirit of Gen Z. This trend favors making a bold statement, employing elements such as high-contrast color-blocking, strong lines, and immersive 3D imagery. Each design choice reflects a desire to not only catch the eye but also resonate with the energetic and assertive spirit of a generation with increasingly influential purchasing power.
Popular with soft drink, travel, and snack companies, bold color-blocking shows how some brands are moving proudly into a busy, colorful and tech-driven world. They want to uplift and inspire, and they’d really like to bring young consumers along with them.
In 2023, for example, PepsiCo rebranded 7Up to up the ante on the soft drink’s bubbly messaging. The company went for brighter, almost neon, shades of green and red, as well as a chunky 3D effect, designed to capture attention both online and in person.
Credit: PepsiCo
Eco-Modern
With technology playing an influential role throughout the design landscape, the emergence of eco-modern logos offers a compelling visual expression of a conscientious effort that blends technological progress with environmental stewardship. This eco-focused logo design trend was born from a desire to reconnect with nature—and a little bit of skepticism about the promise of an AI revolution.
Through the incorporation of nature motifs, these logos achieve a rare balance. They’re elegant but still modern – proof that nature-inspired design isn’t just for earthy brands. In fact, eco-modern logos can be high-end, futuristic, and forward-thinking, too.
Though they’re often green in color, with organic, moving lines, eco-modern logo designs can also be bold, minimalist and contemporary.
Credit: raykaya via 99designs by Vista
Archival Inspiration
While many brands’ logo designs looked boldly towards the future, others might take inspiration from their pasts in 2024. Tapping into a rich visual history, archive-inspired logos are aimed at highlighting the strength and stability of long-standing businesses. They show us that even with the passage of time, the classics endure.
Last year, for example, British brand Burberry unveiled a logo that referenced their 100-year-old equestrian knight motif. After a few years of trying out a sans serif, Millennial-style font, Burberry returned to its classical serif typeface.
Archival inspiration is a testament to the enduring power of classic brands, showcasing that a well-crafted logo with a nod to history can be as relevant and impactful today as it was decades ago. It underscores the notion that, even in the face of relentless innovation, there’s lasting value in the classics.
This is a great trend for small or family-run businesses to experiment with, especially if you’ve got a long history or an origin story to tell. Try delving into your own archives as this can unearth a treasure trove of past logos or branding that may have defined your early years, and have the potential to shape its future.
Alternatively, sharing early logos or branding materials of your business’s humble beginnings on social media offers customers a glimpse into the evolution of your brand.
Abstract Psychedelia
Characterized by trippy melting chrome fonts and dreamy designs, the abstract psychedelia trend is otherworldly. A blend of retro psychedelia with 70’s imagery, like butterflies and flowers, coupled with Y2K aesthetics, with 3D fonts and bubble shapes, the trend embraces nostalgia. However, with its use of chromes and holographics, the trend also hints at themes of futurism.
The collision of elements within this trend serves as a visual time capsule while also finding a way to catapult into the future, invoking a simultaneous sense of whimsy represented by a groovy lava lamp while also capturing the anxieties of the age of innovation and technology. Abstract psychedelic styles bend the rules and transcend constraints, celebrating creative freedom and boundless imagination as we navigate the realities of the digital age.
Credit: HyperPix via Behance
A new or redefined logo provides businesses with an opportunity to reimagine how they tell their story, connect with customers, and carve a distinctive identity within their industry.
The current creative ethos of experimentation and self-expression ushers in new opportunities for bold, authentic branding.
This is the moment for your visual brand to reach new heights, honoring your business’s history while embracing the new possibilities of the future.
Shayne Tilley is the GM of Logo and Brand at VistaPrint, the design and marketing partner to millions of small businesses. Please click here to learn more about VistaPrint’s 2024 logo design trends.
Logo stock image by Summit Art Creations/Shutterstock
