Put five fashion logos side by side and cover up the name. How many could you identify just by the shape of the letters? With some old signatures you have clues: a disproportionate 's', very fine serifs or letters so far apart that you can almost count the spaces. When they all turn into bold uppercase letters without serifs, these clues are lost.
What do a fashion brand redesign and a car emblem redesign have in common? To understand why so many logos look alike, it's worth looking at what has changed in each case, from the lettering design to how an emblem is illuminated on a vehicle's front.
When the name is left alone
The old Yves Saint Laurent signature has narrow letters and different heights. The 2012 Saint Laurent version shortens the name and gives it a much more regular rhythm. Balenciaga already started with a sans-serif typeface. The most visible change is in weight and proportion: the previous signature was thin and open, while the latter is thicker and more compact. The previous Balmain had outlined letters and contrast between strokes. The redesign fills them in and leaves the name in a more uniform line.
The uniform element is the rhythm of the letters and the silhouette of the whole. All continue to have a different name, but at the same size they approach the same black spot. And this is important: the logo is recognized before reading it whole, just as we recognize someone from afar by their walk.
Evolution of signatures in fashion
Why so many brands arrive at the same place?
The first reason is practical. The same logo has to work on a label, in a web header, in a video, and on a sign. A flat, single-color version is easy to apply on different backgrounds. If a stroke is very thin or there is little space between two letters, it can be lost at small size. However, these problems can be solved by adjusting the weight or spacing, or by preparing a reduced version. A long word in uppercase can also be hard to read in an avatar.
The second reason is positioning. When several luxury brands adopt bold, sans-serif capital letters, this combination begins to function as a sector code. A brand that uses it can be immediately associated with that idea of contemporary luxury. In comparison, Balmain's shift to full letters brings it visually closer to Burberry and Saint Laurent. This resemblance is the cost of sharing the same code.
Uniformity appears when many brands respond to similar needs with the same graphic repertoire. If they all remove the serifs, regularize the heights, and use a similar weight, there is less visual information to distinguish them before reading the name.
Burberry shows how far a style decision can go. In 2018, the signature became an uppercase name without serifs. At the same time, Peter Saville designed the intertwined monogram “TB”, which gave a distinctive touch to other brand applications. In 2023, under Daniel Lee’s direction, Burberry revisited the archive and brought back the knight in the new identity. The same brand has chosen very different solutions to coexist with the same digital channels.
Burberry redesign of 2018 · Burberry presentation of 2023
From the chrome to the line of light
Look at the Volkswagen of 2012 and the one of 2019. The previous one has reflections and shadows that imitate the volume of a metal emblem. In the new one, the V and the W are drawn with less weight and are seen more separated from the circle. If you put them side by side, the Volkswagen continues to be recognized by the way the two letters fit together. The brand presented the flat version as a flexible piece and gave light a role in its identity.
Nissan made a more visible change. The plate crossing the circle becomes an open space where only the name remains, with separated letters. The circle now reads as two arcs and there is more space between the outline and the word. When lit, the light follows the symbol’s design. In the case of the Ariya, Nissan specifies that the emblem is made up of 20 LEDs.
In the front photo you can see the difference between reading the logo on a screen and recognizing it mounted on the car. The chrome becomes visible with the light that hits it. In the Ariya, the same emblem emits light and is part of the front signature. The fine contour leaves more dark space between the name and the arcs. The adequate thickness will depend on the size, the contrast and how the light is distributed.
The BMW case marks the limit of the comparison. In 2020, it presented a flat version with a transparent outer ring for communication, online and offline. The press release specified that the new design would coexist with the usual one and that, at that launch, the vehicle emblem remained. A brand can simplify the symbol for a screen and keep another version on the hood.
New Volkswagen design · Nissan Ariya file · BMW communication of 2020
What remains when you remove the details?
If the resemblance comes from sharing media and industry conventions, the test is to see what each brand preserves when adapting the drawing. In Volkswagen, the fit of the V and the W continues to do this job. In Nissan, the interrupted circle still serves as a frame for the name. In some fashion signatures, the distinction falls almost entirely on the written word.
Mastercard offers another example. In the comparison, the stripes of the intersection disappear and the name goes below the symbol. The two overlapping circles and the contrast between red and yellow continue to make the brand recognizable.
Many logos resemble one another because brands resort to the same graphic formulas. Small screens favour simple drawings, and in some cars the clean outlines facilitate the reading of the illuminated emblem. In fashion, the desire to seem like a contemporary luxury brand also weighs in. If several firms want to convey this with the same sans serif capitals and dispense with the letters that distinguished them, in the end it is more difficult to recognize them at a glance.
For me, a good redesign simplifies the logo and preserves what makes it recognizable. They can be two circles, like in the case of Mastercard, or the particular drawing of a single letter. Let's go back to the basic test. Place the logos side by side and cover their names. If you still know which brand each one is, the redesign has preserved its essence.
Related readings: If you are interested in delving into how shape, weight, and spaces condition reading, you can read the article on visual hierarchy, the analysis of white space and the critique of the graphic identity of RADARS.
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