The Logo Statistics That Will Matter the Most in 2022
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The logo is one of the most important visual components of a brand. It's responsible for instigating brand recognition and communicating brand identity within seconds of a visitor landing on a site or entering a store.
But the logo design industry is evolving. Brands are starting to take the importance of logo design seriously, and many have begun investing more into logo design in the past few years.
So, with all of this new attention on logo design, how can you ensure your logo innovates and helps you stay ahead of your competition? By learning from logo statistics of course.
We take a look at the most prominent logo statistics of 2021 to evaluate what that means for logo design going forward in 2022.
Colour Choices are Key
We've talked extensively about colour semiotics before, and it's for good reason. Research from Website Planet found that in 2021, 40% of Fortune 500 companies are using the colour blue in their logo.
This isn't a surprise. As we said in our colour semiotic analysis, blue is a trusted colour for businesses since it conveys feelings of tranquility, harmony, peace, trust, and stability.
Website Planet went one step further though and deduced that the colour of a logo makes up to 90% of a consumer’s first impression about the brand identity. That's a significant stat, and it's one to be aware of in 2022.
With everything becoming even more instantaneous, and the rise of quickly consumed media like video and animation, choosing the right colour in your company logo to give the right first impression will matter in retaining attention, and enticing customers.
Use our guide to find your brand’s perfect colour
Can you mix too many colours?
If you're wondering whether one colour is enough, or whether to blend a mix of five in your brand's logo, we can shed some more light around colour in logo designs.
After the mass of just blue logos, the most popular number of colours in Fortune 500 companies is two (43% of companies). 37% are one colour, whilst some brave hearts have a mix of 3 (14%) and four (5%) respectively.
However, the top colours used by brands in their logo designs are blue (35%), red (30%) and grayscale (23%).
As we move into 2022 however we'd expect to see some more dynamic logos appear, which is good news for fans of colour.
Gradients are now incorporated in the logos of 34 Fortune 500 companies, and are proving to be a popular modern logo trend used by major brands like Chevron, Ford and UPS.
The rise of gradients is thanks to businesses with a strong brand. They're able to change their iconic logo designs to support cultural issues, without losing customers. Apple were the first to do it way back in 1977 when they changed their greyscale Apple logo to rainbow colours in order to support the Pride movement. In 2020, a number of Premier League clubs added blue where possible to their logos to support the NHS throughout the Coronavirus pandemic, whilst LinkedIn also replaced its corporate blue in favour of a gradient rainbow to support LGBTQ+ month.
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Because of this, consumers are beginning to adopt, expect and enjoy dynamism in their branding. The willingness by popular brands to step away from their traditional styles paves the way for new logo designs that could challenge traditional norms and shake off colour conformities.
Branding statistics reveal what customers really want
In 2020, it was discovered that 84% of marketers attested to brand awareness becoming their top business objective.
And what helps with brand awareness? Good logo design.
To prove it, research by Renderforest discovered that logos are the most identifiable brand recognition symbols - stated by 75% of consumers. Visual style closely followed at 60%, whilst brand colour came in at 45%. Unique voice came bottom of the pack with only 25% stating they could identify a brand by its brand voice.
We're sure we don't need to tell you why this is so important as the calendar changes into 2022, but just in case: two years previously in 2020, 50% of consumers attested to being more likely to patronise a brand with a logo that they recognise.
That means that if brand awareness and customer acquisition are top of your business objective list in 2022, your business logo design needs to be authentic, reflective of the brand image, and also memorable enough for customers to recognise it wherever they go - just like the iconic coca cola logo.
Font style matters more than you'd think
Think there's not a most popular font style? Think again.
Sans serif fonts are used by over three-quarters of Fortune 500 businesses. Furthermore, 90 logos, or 18%, use only serif fonts, whereas 32 logos, or 6%, mix sans serif and serif typefaces. Only 2% of companies on the Fortune 500 list utilise some other font style, such as handwritten or script.
And it's not just the font style that's worth looking at: it’s the capitalisation as well.
All caps is the most popular type of font when it comes to business logos (47%). Another 33% prefer the title case, and another 12% utilise all four. However, you don't always need to adhere to popular trends.
The capitalisation and typeface size of your brand logo are determined by a variety of factors, including brand identity, font selection, and the length of the business name. Only 7% of the world's top firms, such as Mastercard and eBay, use lowercase logos. The majority of companies at the top of their industries (for example: Microsoft, IBM) are uppercase.
When it comes to deciding on your font style, it's always worth referring to your brand strategy and brand personality in order to make sure your typecase and font reflects your brand's image. The right logo font will also have an impact,= so keep that in mind as well. An all caps approach might not suit your business depending on its industry and clientele.
Be careful if you're considering a new year rebrand
A recent study revealed that 74% of S&P 100 companies have rebranded their business within the first seven years.
Companies often turn to rebranding if they've experienced significant growth (Starbucks), had a complete overhaul in senior management and direction (Burberry), or because the business has merged with or acquired another (Disney Pixar).
But as we've discussed previously, rebrands are not without risks.
We covered some total rebranding failure stories in our complete How (and how not) To Rebrand Guide, where we discussed the case of Weightwatchers who shrunk their name to WW and consequently confused (and then lost) most of their customers.
However, while rebranding (or more accurately - refreshing) just a logo might seem less risky, it can still run into consequences.
Clothes retailer Gap decided to rebrand their logo, but it got such a hated response from their customers that they were forced to u-turn in just 6 days at the cost of $150 million.
Mastercard also ran into uproar in 2006 when they went wild on what looked like vector graphics software and added a plethora of clunky elements to their classic and minimalistic logo. Just like Gap, customers hated it and the design damaged the brand's image and cost them $1.5 million.
What's this got to do with 2022 logo statistics you ask? It's something to be aware of because 74% of companies in 7 years is a big number. Especially when those companies likely need a brand refresh and not a rebrand.
Take for example two successful logo design refreshes. Social media giant Instagram changed their 3D Polaroid camera to the original camera outline and added a gradient. Because they kept the initial element users came to love - the eye-catching Polaroid design the refresh boosted their brand awareness and was praised for its sleek, modern concept.
Likewise, FedEx wanted to overhaul their industrial appearance but keep their famous logo. Their latest, flattest and modernised version worked: it resulted in a 20% increase in sales.
Whilst refreshes and rebrands are necessary in certain scenarios, ensure that yours is being done for the right reasons else you risk losing significant brand recognition.
How can you be sure of a good logo design in 2022?
Work with experienced branding agencies
Working with a branding agency is one way to get access to proven, experienced and talented logo designers (ask us how we know) backed by insights and understanding of what the brands’ opportunities are.
And you'd be in good company. Many brands still rely on agencies to provide them with the ideal logo design including Nike, L'Oreal, Coca-Cola, Unilever and FedEx. With a branding agency you're guaranteed a custom logo design that is both consistent with your brand, authentic to your brand identity and that has been comprehensively thought through by logo designers to produce something you and your business can be proud of.
Need inspiration for your logo design?