Has branding become boring?

& SMITH
(Image credit: & SMITH)

Recently, the logos of the world’s biggest brands have opted to go character-less, rather than character-full. Pinterest, Google, Uber, eBay and Microsoft have all stripped back, simplified and lost their ooomph. Indistinctive, inoffensive and strictly no fun seems to be the order of the day.

But it’s no longer just an issue with logo design (to avoid any issues with yours, see this handy logo design  guide). It’s branding in general. Once brands get established, risk aversion seems to drive the once-fun, opinionated and loveable start-ups down a more serious path. So why do our most successful start-ups eventually feel the need to be safe and conform?

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