Trellis

As designers we have to be able to pack a bigger bag when we imbue a logo with connotations and one of the favorite ways to load conceptual weight to a mark without exceeding weight limits is to consider the surface of the symbol as a field in play. Which is exactly what we’re seeing this year with botanicals. Not the use of flora to represent the plant itself but as a surface or embellishment that’s packed with that secondary conceptual message. So … much like a trellis, in the shape of a fleur-de-lis, still represents all things French, or royal, it also may be a signal of growth or nature.

All this leafiness is not about the leaf, it is about the symbolic foundation icon that may be furled in green. Eco and biosphere projects have made using botanics not just palpable but a compulsory escort. And we’d be remiss to generalize all plant matter as so much greenery. One of the richest veins of symbolism is associated with various species of plants. The dove of peace specifically carried an olive branch. We may have a crown of thorns to represent suffering or ecclesiastical love where that same crown of laurel leaves represents triumph or victory.