Why Do So Many Brands Change Their Logos and Look Like Everyone Else?

For a long time, beauty was deemed indispensable to good design, just like functionality. William Morris affirmed this in his 1880 lecture, and over half a century later, ‘excellent appearance’ and ‘progressive performance’ were chosen as the key criteria for inclusion in the first of the Museum of Modern Art’s ‘Good Design’ exhibitions.17 But Goog... See more

It really is quite astonishing how we can construct who we are with the brands that we buy. It’s become shorthand for who you are, what you’re like, and what you value. This is becoming more and more important as people’s attention spans become shorter and as the world becomes more cluttered. Certainly the Internet and electronic media now have a h

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Within the past few years, tech companies’ digital design all started to look the same: marginally, monotonously quirky; safe. From the sans-serif fonts to the muted pastel color palette, the stark white backgrounds to the curvy shape and hue of the buttons, most modern software blurs together into a familiar, squint-and-you’ll-confuse-it aesthetic... See more

There is beauty in something well-made. The fine fit of a tailored suit. The delicate stitching of a vibrant rug. The mechanical elegance of a well-tuned watch, ticking silently. The same aesthetic laws that govern these objects – and innumerable others – apply to the business world, too. There is such a thing as a beautiful, elegant business. Not ... See more

Ben Schott writing for Bloomberg:

“Visually, blands are simple, neutral and flat. The palette is plain and pastel (with the occasional vibrant splash); the mood is upbeat and happy, or pensive and cool, but never truly real; the dress-code is smart-casual. Bland people are stock-photo attractive (or quirkily jolie laide). (...) Complex products and ... See more