Designer Critiques Safe Branding Trends and Advocates for Distinctive Identity Design in 2026
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Guest Author
The kind of bagel that ruins lesser bagels for you.
Summary
The article critiques the current state of branding and identity design, arguing that 2025 saw a trend toward safe, forgettable, and overly sanitized branding. The author, a senior designer at Mother Design, observes that major rebrands have become unremarkable and 'okay' rather than innovative or memorable. He advocates for embracing 'weirdness' and distinctiveness in 2026 to create more memorable and effective brands that stand out in a crowded marketplace.
Key quotes
· 5 pulledLooking back at the biggest rebrands, what was most remarkable was how utterly unremarkable they were.
What stood out was not how bad the brands were but rather their overwhelming okayness.
A troubling trend became clear: the rise of safe, forgettable branding.
2025 was the year of Cracker Barrel, the year of HBO MAX /
Let's flip that in 2026, he argues, and make branding...
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