Trends: using your logo design as template for fluid campaign content

Over the last year, we have been seeing quite an uptake in the design trend of using logo design as a ‘shape template’ for advertisements and activation content. What do we mean with this? Take for example, the following brands and the way they have have used their logo format for various goals:

BBVA

American express

HSBC

Fluid brands and content

This is an interesting development. As products and services become more ‘fluid’, personalized and digital, this design pattern seems to be line with that: its ‘outer shape’ is rigid and predetermined, but the actual contents of the message depends on context, ambition and type of message — just like brands need to operate their businesses nowadays. And so it seems that fluid brands need fluid brand expressions, or at least a more versatile way to capture content and express it to its audience.

Recognizable enough?

One could wonder if applying and maintaining such a design pattern still makes the brand recognizable enough. My personal opinion — from seeing aforementioned brands in the streets — is that it is indeed still very much in line with overall brand perception and recognition.

However, when you are just starting a new brand or company, and lack the years of experience that BBVA, HSBC or Amex have, then such a design pattern might be less favorable as people first ‘get used to’ to the normal logotype (before you are able to use it as a template for content).

A strong design trend

The discussed design trend of using a corporate logo as a ‘container’ for fluid content seems to be hip and happening, and it’s working. It provides a strong framework for tailoring your message, context and activation without losing brand recognition and brand awareness — or at least so we believe.

Happy to hear if you have a different opinion on this — do you think it’s a strong design trend?

This article was originally published on the Studio Frankly blog