Why do logos rarely use beautiful, complex illustrations?

Question

Design

Hey!
Share your opinion on why beautiful illustrations are rarely used in logos (I mean "complex" drawing that not everyone can draw). And most often, very simple shapes are used, such as a hook (Nike) or several round logs, etc. ?

Answer 1

Personally, it seems to me that the reason for this is the peculiarity of the brain's ability to remember visually, because the simpler and more unique, the better it is to remember.

Answer 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnv5iKB2hl4
Because you need to look at the logo from a distance of 10+ meters
And at this distance all beautiful and complex drawings turn into a blur

Answer 3

because maximum minimalism is one of the main principles of good design

Answer 4

The emblem is made with complex curves - to protect against forgery, to give uniqueness. They did it before. Now this problem is no longer relevant, in the information age. And the Coat of Arms is also viewed on documents from an arm's length. Everything can be seen clearly there.
The logo - there are different tasks, the logo is placed not only on documents. On buildings, cars, etc. And a person must understand who it is from a great distance. In logos, the whole world is moving towards simplicity and memorability.
For example, Apple Inc. There was a complex logo with a tree, then it became easier with each rebranding

Answer 5

When the knights began to wear closed helmets, coats of arms were invented - they began to draw something related to the personality of the knight on the shield. And all the terrible and complex heraldic laws are: 1) to identify a knight even from hundreds of meters at dusk; 2) with the extreme high cost of a color drawing, keep images of coats of arms in armorials.
But the same goes for logos. Recognize the brand, for example, from the cab of a car or when passing by quickly. And color images are not available everywhere - the designer decided to reverse, b / w printers are much cheaper, the copier is still not outdated, the device designed with one (but good) paint looks more expensive. Only progress is being made, for a printer or an offset machine, both the text and the drawing are all one, and the heraldic language is no longer needed. And even the drawing for the Quality Mark is an obsolete business, there is no need to restore the mark with a ruler and a compass, it is enough to lay out SVG.
Sophisticated illustrations were once mainstream, and even now, for example, the logo of Kiev University has its Red Building. But here it all depends on what we put the logo on: at the university - a maximum of a folder, and the Red Building is a brand in itself. For the same reason, the Coca-Cola logo survived: it is more than good on the label. And the complex image of the goddess Kwanon turned into an extremely stylized Canon.

Answer 6

1. Fashion
2. Restriction on the methods of applying the logo on media
3. Functionality. Ideally, a brush and a bucket of paint should be enough to apply the logo, for example, on a wall.

Answer 7

The logo must be complex. The complexity of the drawing lies not in the quantity but in the quality of the elements. 2, 3, 4 elements, no more. But the lines of these elements in good logos are very complex, they must carry energy and influence the subconscious. A circle can be drawn with a compass and it will not carry anything, or it can be in the form of a line and set the mood.

Answer 8

because) but seriously, I agree with the previous speakers, the simpler the better. an icon with a large simple pattern is better remembered, because 1 detail is easier to remember than a complex application. and the essence of creating a logo is not pretentiousness, but simply attracting attention. for example, here the logo is quite personal, as well as the design of the site, by the way .. it is functional. you also need to stir up this) videos.nur.kz

Answer 9

Easier to perceive and remember, scalability (imagine a complex artistic logo in a small size - either you have to simplify or it will be unreadable), the ability to print in one / two colors on any pens and pos-materials. Well, when the logo is self-sufficient, it is difficult to shove it somewhere at all, the environment seems already superfluous