Do you love logos? Ever wish you had more insight into the current and historical trends in logo design? Then head on over to Emblemetric.com and check out the fascinating charts and graphs there.
Emblemetric is the work of James I. Bowie, Ph.D., who lectures on sociology, research methods, and logos at Northern Arizona University. To produce his charts and graphs, Bowie has crunched the numbers from a database of over 1.2 million logos registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office since 1884. As a result, the site gives readers a deep dive into the data to reveal trends in the color and composition of logos, the relative use of logotypes vs. symbols, and much more.
For example, you might have guessed that the percentage of new logos containing leaf images would have risen over the past decade, given the increased awareness of environmental issues like global warming. In a recent post at Emblemetric called Dying leaves?, you can see exactly how leaf imagery quadrupled from 2001 to 2009, and has leveled off since then.
More graphs show the breakdown of leaf imagery by industry, and the increase in “dying” leaf logos (those that have been abandoned, canceled, or expired), revealing the leaf has perhaps already moved from hot trend to tired cliche.
In addition to the general analysis on the site, Emblemetric also offers custom research services for anyone concerned with specific questions about logo issues and graphic identity.
This article was last modified on January 6, 2023
This article was first published on August 8, 2012
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