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Why do everyone's logo fonts look the same? (2020)

justcreative.com

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Re: Why do everyone's logo fonts look the same? (2020)

#41

Post by Xenoamorphous »

passwordoops wrote: post #23
dun44 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hopefully AI will make those uncreative designers redundant, freeing them to do something more aligned with their talents.

That's way too hopeful. AI is not creative, it's a tool that gives you what it calculates to be the best solution which is taken from the space of all pre-existing solutions. So if anything it will double down on the lack of creativity and keep showing whatever worked before referring us down a cycle of dull, but very machine-predictable mediocrity. AI is not the solution for making things more creative.

It’s also way too hopeful to think that most people being made redundant by AI will suddenly discover something else they’re talented at (and not disrupted by AI nor the sudden influx of competition) and live merrily ever after.

Re: Why do everyone's logo fonts look the same? (2020)

#42

Post by vitaflo »

tcldr wrote: post #21

Q: Why do everyone’s logo fonts look the same? A: Because they need to be legible on a mobile device. It’s no coincidence this trend started in the 2010s with the arrival of the smartphone. Brands need a consistent look that work across mediums. With over 50% of e-commerce sales happening on mobile, and the dominance of social media in the marketing of, for example, high fashion, a brand mark must excel in these kind…

It’s the same reason all UX Design went super flat. Flat geometric shapes and text are easier to display at various widths and size’s across a lot of different types of devices. Doing anything more complicated than colored in wireframes is too expensive to produce especially when time to market is important.

As a UX designer I hate this but that’s the reality of why every site has the same boring flat design.

Re: Why do everyone's logo fonts look the same? (2020)

#43

Post by ranting-moth »

I think the generic answer is trend and fashion, mixed with fear of failure. If you do it like/similar to everyone else, you won't get the blame.

If the company/brand fails, everyone is going to put the blame on someone else. Yeah, the designer did this strange thing and it totally tanked the brand.

Re: Why do everyone's logo fonts look the same? (2020)

#44

Post by dannyw »

ilumanty wrote: post #25
tcldr wrote: post #21

Q: Why do everyone’s logo fonts look the same? A: Because they need to be legible on a mobile device. It’s no coincidence this trend started in the 2010s with the arrival of the smartphone. Brands need a consistent look that work across mediums. With over 50% of e-commerce sales happening on mobile, and the dominance of social media in the marketing of, for example, high fashion, a brand mark must excel in these kind…

Serifs improve legibility of small prints. With modern HiDPI screens, there is no reason not to use serif fonts across all media.

You generally have to cater to the lowest common denominator, like that $150 prepaid Android phone with a non-HiDPI screen.

Or someone on a 1336x720 Chromebook.

Re: Why do everyone's logo fonts look the same? (2020)

#45

Post by dun44 »

passwordoops wrote: post #23
dun44 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hopefully AI will make those uncreative designers redundant, freeing them to do something more aligned with their talents.

That's way too hopeful. AI is not creative, it's a tool that gives you what it calculates to be the best solution which is taken from the space of all pre-existing solutions. So if anything it will double down on the lack of creativity and keep showing whatever worked before referring us down a cycle of dull, but very machine-predictable mediocrity. AI is not the solution for making things more creative.

>AI is not creative

Neither are those designers. My point is, AI will make producing uncreative designs even cheaper, which in turn will make career in uncreative designs unprofitable, which means fewer uncreative designers.

Re: Why do everyone's logo fonts look the same? (2020)

#46

Post by a1o »

dannyw wrote: post #44
ilumanty wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Serifs improve legibility of small prints. With modern HiDPI screens, there is no reason not to use serif fonts across all media.

You generally have to cater to the lowest common denominator, like that $150 prepaid Android phone with a non-HiDPI screen. Or someone on a 1336x720 Chromebook.

I think we all used Times New Roman for writing in 800x600 desktop CRTs with 15" curved displays and could read just fine.

Re: Why do everyone's logo fonts look the same? (2020)

#47

Post by thaumasiotes »

Forget the fonts. What's going on with Diane von Furstenburg rebranding to DIANE (invisible word) VON (linebreak) FURSTENBURG?

The original logo correctly reflects that von is not capitalized, that von is part of "von Furstenburg", and that there is no hidden word between "Diane" and "von Furstenburg". The new logo does none of those things. Who puts a caesura in the middle of a word?

Re: Why do everyone's logo fonts look the same? (2020)

#48

Post by a1o »

mglz wrote: post #11
dustedcodes wrote: post #5

I've noticed this loss of creativity and personality before. It's very noticeably in building architecture. Now it's taken over web architecture. All websites and logos starting to look the same-ish.

> It's very noticeably in building architecture. My bad take: Modern architecture ugliness comes from architects using CAD with insufficient proficiency to create complex designs. Result: Mossty cubes and grids, with some advanced users adding fillets.

I don't think you are too wrong about it, the tools we use do shape the norm of we make with them

Re: Why do everyone's logo fonts look the same? (2020)

#49

Post by Zekio »

ilumanty wrote: post #25
tcldr wrote: post #21

Q: Why do everyone’s logo fonts look the same? A: Because they need to be legible on a mobile device. It’s no coincidence this trend started in the 2010s with the arrival of the smartphone. Brands need a consistent look that work across mediums. With over 50% of e-commerce sales happening on mobile, and the dominance of social media in the marketing of, for example, high fashion, a brand mark must excel in these kind…

Serifs improve legibility of small prints. With modern HiDPI screens, there is no reason not to use serif fonts across all media.

Serif fonts read terribly on displays of basically any size and dpi, I don't even use them when reading books on e-ink displays

Re: Why do everyone's logo fonts look the same? (2020)

#50

Post by bloopernova »

ilumanty wrote: post #25
tcldr wrote: post #21

Q: Why do everyone’s logo fonts look the same? A: Because they need to be legible on a mobile device. It’s no coincidence this trend started in the 2010s with the arrival of the smartphone. Brands need a consistent look that work across mediums. With over 50% of e-commerce sales happening on mobile, and the dominance of social media in the marketing of, for example, high fashion, a brand mark must excel in these kind…

Serifs improve legibility of small prints. With modern HiDPI screens, there is no reason not to use serif fonts across all media.

Thank you for putting into words something that's I've been wondering about.

Offtopic:

I switched from MPlus Code font to Iosevka just this week for my terminal, VSCode, and Emacs use. Partly due to finding Iosevka more pleasing, its support for ligatures, and liking its italics.

Looking at it now, MPlus is a little simpler while Iosevka has a bit more... Personality?

MPlus: https://www.programmingfonts.org/#mplus

Iosevka: https://www.programmingfonts.org/#iosevka

Iosevka has a few serif-like features that distinguish it from MPlus, and on the hidpi screens I use, it's easier on my aging eyesight.

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