Stretchers

LogoLounge 2023: Stretchers

stretchers23 As much as I love a logo that’s a good solid little symbol that just tells a visual story and pops off the screen in a bold stroke or two and it pairs with a wordmark to support it … the tables are turning. And when the focus is on a letterform to carry the message or brand story, it has to pick up the baggage the symbol might have carried for the team. Expression through symbolism in type has become more critical and designers are stretching themselves and the letterforms to prove it. It may be no more than extending a significant letter or the more unorthodox insertions of a stretched letter of a different mother. These efforts are ranging from demure tweaks, to HEY I’m over here and notice ME!

Onoma’s wordmark demonstrates another approach to this trend is taking a word with multiples of the same letter and modifying one of the pairs to avoid duplication. Note the letter O appears twice and they have varied widths. Letter modification within these marks are made with purpose and not just out for a stretch on a lark. They may represent a product or a process associated with the client and certainly anytime the cadence of standard text is broken our eyes are drawn to it like a train wreck. But in a good way. And on a closing thought, take comfort this stretching demonstration helps consumers recognize the difference between another word that strayed away from its headline and one that’s a fully pedigreed logo.