Why branding has turned into 'blanding'

One thing about me? I am a maximalist advocate.

It genuinely pains the very depths of my soul to see the way minimalism has taken over almost every aspect of our society. Architecture, restaurants, design principles, fashion, tap heads and light switches for crying out loud.

It’s a disease, sucking the life out of everything.

We once lived in homes and neighbourhoods that were messy, historical, romantic and colourful. Read books adorned with cursive covers and intricacies no longer seen in this world. Everything we created was full of expression.

Even brands have fallen victim to the minimalist movement.

From clothing tags to logos, places where there was once life are now desolate.

This has led to the birth of what’s called 'blanding,' when companies make the transition to minimalist branding. It's often characterised by sans-serif typefaces, muted colours, and flat simple graphics.

Yawn.

PayPal is among one of the latest brands to Marie Condo its long-running logo and replace it with something…uh, let’s say mediocre.

Roughly 25 years after its launch, PayPal is 'ushering in a new era for customers' with boring ass black text.

Of course, it didn’t take long for the internet to catch wind and absolutely tear their new logo to shreds.

'Knowing how many people with six-figure salaries likely reviewed this new logo over many months breaks my brain,' one user said.

Another chimed in, 'graphic design is illegal now I think.'

Even The Verge took a jab, calling the logo, 'flat, black and generic. Just like everything else.'

Some may say it’s about embracing simplicity. I think it’s tired and unoriginal.

Blanding is not a new phenomenon.

It has just gotten progressively worse over the last few years. Johnson & Johnson, Facebook, BMW, Pinterest, Spotify, Google, Dunkin’ – even Saint Laurent are all fallen soldiers in my eyes.

One major factor driving the minimalist movement is the focus on digital optimisation and how design looks in a UX setting. UX is particularly important on our phones, where we access most of our media.

So this movement is functionally driven (apparently).

Brands like The Ordinary and Glossier helped popularize the style and look, and it’s since began to take over.

This has created a lack of differentiation among logos. If I’m honest, it’s gotten so 'the same,' sometimes I’m unsure if I’m looking at a company that sells olive oil or skincare.

There’s a push to create universality to be more easily adopted en masse, and feel more modern and global.

But this sameness is also a sign of changing times. 30 years ago, your logo held so much of your brand’s personality. Nowadays, it’s more of a signifier to your consumers.

Whatever the excuse, I struggle to get behind it.

If you’re a brand wanting to stand out right now, you might want to spend some extra time on your branding before defaulting to the sea of sans-serif sameness.

There is such beauty in creative expression through branding. It’s certainly one way to stand out on the shelf.

Food for thought.

-Sophie, Writer