Debranding for a mobile world

You may have noticed that more and more major brands look a little different than you remember. What’s happening is a simplification of the overall brand design. Or, in some cases, debranding. This word sounds like it would be when a brand blows up their whole image. But it’s actually the opposite.

Debranding is when a company’s visual brand identity moves towards a minimalistic look, often not even including any text at all. Nike did this a long time ago. Of course, few companies are able to create a brand so iconic that a simple swoosh can be that recognizable across the globe. More recently, though, major brands are simplifying their logos and overall look. Some are debranding and ditching the company name, like Starbucks. Others are moving from a 3D look to a 2D look. So why are brands debranding?

Scalability

A huge reason is the ability for a logo to be scalable. Companies want to market to and connect with people on social media. So their branding must be able to look good scaled down small. When the internet blew up a lot of brands did all sorts of fancy things to their logos from gradients to 3D looks. They looked good on computer screens. Nowadays everyone is on their phone. So you need something that looks good on a smaller screen.

A great way to alter your logo to look better at a smaller scale is to remove text. Of course, the main disadvantage of doing this is losing the obvious identifier of who you are, especially for small businesses. But you don’t need a total rebrand or debrand in order to achieve this. If you had a full brand guide created hopefully there are versions of your logo that don’t include text. These versions of your logo might be perfect to use on social media apps.

Our Fading Attention Spans

It’s no secret that people’s attention spans are getting shorter and shorter, especially when they’re scrolling on their phones. Whether it’s a dating app or a sports app we swipe fast. That makes it important for a brand to be recognized instantly. Simplified logos are much easier to remember and notice than something more complex that takes a bit to process.

More than half of all website traffic is generated by people using mobile phones so it’s important to be noticed quickly. A simplified or debranded logo is often more progressive , bold, and modern looking. This will help your logo be more recognizable overall.

Adaptability

A simpler logo also allows for more adaptability. You can alter logos slightly for different audiences, niches, or locations without losing your brand identity. Maybe your logo colors are more beachy if you’re marketing in California or maybe they are more earthy or outdoorsy if you’re marketing in Colorado. Small changes like this can make your look more relatable to specific audiences and can be done in a way that still speaks to your messaging and overall company appearance.

It’s also helpful to have an adaptable logo for custom apparel and promotional products. We often get logos sent to us that are super cool but also super detailed or complex and don’t work on smaller items like pens. Or someone might really want an embroidered hat but their logo has fine detail in it which makes it impossible to embroider. Or they might want to do hoodies but have seven colors in their logo which makes screen printing really expensive. If you want to do apparel or custom marketing products keep those things in mind when designing or redesigning your logo.

Debranding is not for everyone. It might not be something you want to do or even need to do. But understanding the current trends doesn’t hurt for the next time you think about a redesign. And if you’re creating a new business or if you’re hiring someone to create a brand guide for you, keep the idea of the simpler logo in mind. It could very well save you headaches down the road.