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Big Players (not) Using Trends

Posted by Andrew Faulkner on August 19th, 2005.

Andrew Faulkner is the admin at fadtastic. Andrew prides himself on standards-based, accessible web design in the city of Nottingham, UK. He believes in aesthetically pleasing accessible design and that 'standards compliant does not equal boring.'

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Looking at a few major websites on the web, I noticed that few actually use trends. An example would be Google. I’ve never seen their logo change one bit since they started to use images way back in the 90s. It’s bevelled and has an intense drop shadow - it was cool at the time. But it has never changed. Same with Yahoo. The logo has not changed significantly since pre 2000.

So what does this tell us? Does it mean that they don’t need to follow trends as they already have an audience with comes back again and again? Does it mean that they don’t follow trends because trends come and go and it is hard to keep up? I think a bit of both. Do any of you actually look at the Google logo when searching? Do you know what order the colours come in the letters? I certainly didn’t until I was writing this entry. So you’re hooked without the need of a modern logo. Also, if the main players changed their logo every time a trend was in fashion then it would cost millions to rebrand their material all the time.

Your thoughts? Who would you like to see rebrand to become more trendy?

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8 Responses to Big Players (not) Using Trends

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Personally, not many coporate big guns change their identity, due to many factors, such as Cost, and also just because they dont need to. Once youve established yourself with branding, then its recognisable everywhere, so if they wre to change it, it would be back to square one.

Look at McDonalds for instance, they still pretty much have the same branding.

As for rebranding, i dont think its appropriate, due to the fact that it will become harder and harder to recognise brand names.

Cheers.

William Smith
August 26th, 2005
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I agree that cost is a big factor. I just wonder why the likes of Google and Yahoo don’t change the looks of their sites much. They rarely change those little details that can keep a site looking modern.

aspiramedia
August 26th, 2005
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ill continue this little discussion on monday ;)

William Smith
August 26th, 2005
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It’s interesting that a website about trends and fads is using 4 of the most common fads currently.

1. Gradient background.
2. Lower case titles (header graphic).
3. Ray-burst behind the logo.
4. The double-arrow (ยป).

Carlos Bernal
September 6th, 2005
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Carlos,

Ironic isn’t it? :)

aspiramedia
September 7th, 2005
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I think that it’s a good step for big players to not follow trends. They should set their own.

The costly issues associated with rebranding may be one of the hindering factors with regards to the stagnant trends that they adopt, however, I believe that this isn’t the only reason.

For example, sites like Yahoo! and Google are community-based. People have adjusted to, and feel most comfortable with a look - changing to something else takes people away from the comfort zone that they’re used to, and that’s not good.

Wan Zafran
September 8th, 2005
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Thanks Wan.

So fear of change may be stopping big companies following web trends too. Good point.

aspiramedia
September 14th, 2005
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Google and Yahoo! aren’t where they are today because of their logos or visual designs. They are there because they provide quality services satisfying their user needs. Their brands are powerful and well-known because of the success of their core businesses, not vice-versa. They don’t follow visual design trends because they don’t need to. They leave that to those who need the crutch of coolness to cover up their lack of anything interesting or useful to offer. While cutting-edge visual design can distinguish you from your competitors, it’s no substitute for quality content.

Dan
September 16th, 2005
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