Living, Breathing Brand Marks & Logos

Let’s chat about branding, specifically one trend I’ve been watching lately. “Consistent” and “logo” are often words applied together in branding, as in a logo should never deviate from the set colors and shapes that it was designed around. After all, many of the reasons a logo is designed is to bring recognizable consistency to a brand. This works for a lot of companies and a lot of brands. However, the conception is not the rule. When done well, a “living” logo can further establish a brand and communicate everything the brand covers.

A living logo still sticks to some set boundaries, but can easily change depending on where and when it’s used. For example, when the City of Melbourne, Australia, was seeking to refresh its image, they wanted a mark as vibrant and diverse as the city itself. The wildly popular City of Melbourne logo was born. The beauty of the giant M is that the only thing that stays the same in each use is the recognizable shape. This isn’t just a simple Helvetica M, it’s a bold, blocky, in-your-face M.

What’s the benefit? What’s the point of putting the time in to a morphing logo? Using the Melbourne example, the innards of the shape are filled with different shape and colors that keep the design fresh and new regardless of how often you see it. You know what the logo stands for as soon as you see the shape, but everything within that shape is still completely new to the eye, and draws you in.

Using another example, Voices of Youth launched a new identity in April, and it’s grown to be one of my favorites. Another simple letter-mark, this time substituting half of the V for a perfectly placed speech bubble. Voices of Youth was launched by UNICEF in 1995 “to offer all children and adolescents … a safe and supportive global cyberspace within which they can explore, discuss and partner on issues related to human rights and social change.” Until recently, they’ve functioned with a highly generic Arial-based font treatment, but focused on developing a logo that can encompass every topic they cover.

The beauty is in the speech bubble. The shape will morph to include a symbol representing the current topic, also allowing the rest of the mark to change colors.

Since the organization covers many hard-hitting topics, such as AIDS prevention and world conflict, this morphing logo allows each topic to be brought to the foreground when necessary. The symbols that accompany each topic are prominent on the website, usually scattered in the backdrop creating a stage for the main content.

The idea, like most great things, should still only be used in moderation. Avoid being like Sears and using three different logos for no clear reason, or even changing your logo much from it’s basic recognizable shape. The key is that the consumer can identify the brand without being bored.

Thanks to @ucllc and Brand New for the images and ideas. What do you think? Can more companies benefit from a morphing logo, or could it just lead to confusion?