We're big fans of minimalist branding here at Cubic Promote. As you might have already seen on our blog, we're rather impressed with a simple, but elegant branding design. Complexity doesn't always mean quality, and the smart use of design elements to create a striking logo  can have infinitely more impact than the most complicated of branding. For some logos, just the most basic of clues and you can immediately recognise the logo. It's not just the shape, but also the colour used. Case in point, Pedro Almeida, a Portugal based designer who simplified some famous and already rather minimalist designs. Can you recognise all the designs?

In case you were wondering, the logos are:

Google, Apple, Ebay, Twitter

Samsung, Mastercard, Ikea, Youtube

Amazon, Shell

Shapes and Branding

See? A simple design can be very memorable. The shape is a key element. The apple missing a bite. The bird in flight. The Shell logo. All instantly recognisable as Apple, Twitter, and Shell. The designs aren't particularly complex, just things that you'd see everyday. However they're memorable because of that. The branding has taken on those shapes as their own.

Colours and Branding

It's the use of colour that transforms the generic into the instantly recognisable. Case in point, the Youtube design. It's a play symbol, like you'd find on countless TV remotes, dvd players, and stereo systems. It's a universal symbol. But make it white and put it on a red background? It goes from generic to becoming the logo of the world's most famous video streaming service. Or Google. Could you decipher the design if it were monochrome? No. It requires that use of blue red, yellow and green in its specific layout to bring to mind the Google logo.

Originally seen on: http://theultralinx.com/2016/02/these-redesigned-logos-prove-that-minimal-is-always-better/