{ Brand Logos That Have Gone Flat }

In the last year there has been numerous logo changes on some of the worlds must popular logos. It seems that drop shadows, texture ans bevelled edges are out and solid colors are in. The latest trend in graphic and web design is to undo all those fancy Photoshop effects that have been popular for several years. Here are some of the logos that have changed to a much more flat approach.

{1} Salesforce-

Salesforce puts business intelligence in the cloud, and its logo used to be a softly rendered cloud with the company name emphasizing "force" by the strong color of text. The new version relies on the shape of the graphic to relay the cloud idea, using a uniform sans-serif font, except for the italic "f" that effectively highlights the word "force"

{2} MSN

MSN used to reference the four color pane of Window through the wings of an abstracted butterfly. The butter fly has been retained as a symbol of connectivity, but those colorful, overlapping, translucent wings have been clipped in favor of a flat, classy look that fits in with the greater Microsoft re branding project.

{3} About.com 

About.com used to depend on a 3D sphere that served as the "O" in "About", Now the 3D  look is gone, the ball has grown and the color of the logo has been unified. The new version is certainly cleaner and quite reminiscent of the AMC Theatres logo

{4} Fandango 

Fandango implements the suggestion of a ticket stub that also doubles as an "F" for its graphic. The shadowed older version gives way to subtler, flatter representation with its logo redesign. The new version is a welcome refresh. By comparison the old logo seems ugly with far too many outlines and shadows on the "F' and terrible kerning on the word "Fandango"

{5} Peter Piper Pizza

Peter Piper Pizza recently unveiled a possible new future for its brand. They've abandoned the pizza, paper fan banner in favor if a more abstract mark that incorporates both a slice of pizza and a salad bowl. According to WD, the agency behind the new branding. the update is an attempt to connect with Millennial parents. Unfortunately, in doing so they likely lose much of the "fun" factor that will appeal to their real target audience, kids. Thus far many outsider review of the new logo have been negative. The typewriter font especially an area of contention. The current Peter Piper website has maintained the old branding

{6} Olive Garden 

Olive Garden was definitely a brand with an old world aesthetic. It simply doesn't get much more textured and gaudy than their previous logo. The new version is greatly simplified. Though it has been the target of countless design bashing sessions, its certainly more in line with current design trends. The use of the olive shape in the typography , and the wording "Italian Kitchen" seems fresher than "Italian Restaurant"

{7} Netflix 

Netflix had dropped the shadowed lettering from its name, but retained the curve of the lower text line, reminiscent of old theater marquess. It's one of the most subtle, yet trans formative, re-work of any recent change in design, demonstrating how much can be done with minimal changes/

{8} Hershey's

Hershey's is one of the best known brands around, so a logo redesign is a big deal. The updates drops the apostrophe "s" and replaces the photo of a Hershey's kiss with a simplified illustration. The tag line has been updated as well, dropping serifs in favor of a more modern look. It's simple enough rework that likely moves in the right direction, but it instantly got a bad rep on social media due to some childish Photoshop tweaks.