Is it a new or old Logo style?
light line and non-attention-grabbing
The new logo trend is as old as Methuselah. This style has appeared in art, design, and even music across all eras. Linear, minimal, fine, subtle—whatever you call it, it keeps resurfacing.
Designing such a logo follows the same process as creating an opulent, eye-catching one. It truly comes down to personal taste and, of course, the spirit of the times. In eras of excess—by which I mean less material excess and more media saturation—the „less is more“ trend always re-emerges.
It shouldn’t feel too commercial or too loud. Not too bold, not too shouty. To me, this desire often feels like hiding a good logo to soften its impact.
Here are a few of my more substantial, opulent logos.
It’s easy to see that there’s no difference in quality between light and more opulent logos. It’s simply a matter of the spirit of the times—one that might already be over tomorrow.
With our team, we’ve transformed light logos into bolder ones and made heavy-looking logos feather-light. Above all, a logo should match the name or deliberately contrast with it. It should suit the owner, the yacht, and ideally even the color of the hull.
I’m a creative professional, and I’ve learned my craft. Early in my career as a designer at Ford in Cologne, I heard the phrase, „Let’s take a more restrained approach.“ This was about the then-new Ford Sierra—the most massive car Ford had on the market at the time.
These reduced trends often strike me as impoverished. A light typography choice, and some of my colleagues consider that a logo. I don’t find it that simple.
In my case, it’s about yacht logos. The requirements are different here. A yacht logo doesn’t need to sell anything. It doesn’t even need to be highly recognizable. It just needs to be unique. Light and minimalistic fit perfectly into the world of yacht logos. But they also need to be original, meaningful, and suited to the owner and the yacht. For charter companies, my logos look quite different than those for private yachts.
The new trend is often equated with boring, simple, and plain—which is a shame, because sleek and light can also be exciting and original. Here are a few examples from my „The logo should look light and subtle“ box.
What do you think about this trend?