Breadline Design

Recently on Logopond a debate started about the use of heavy and light typefaces side by side, eg “BreadlineDesign”. It struck me that this is becoming a bit of a trend amongst designers, and as a result is being used a little to frequently.

There are times when using this technique is a sweet solution to logo problems, especially when the logo has to be executed online. For many businesses the website is the first point of contact for new customers, so if the logo looks like a URL by minimizing gaps, then the person that sees it will make the mental leap from brand to website faster.

Obviously putting two words immediately next to each other is gonna churn up legibility issues, so differentiating the two is gonna be a priority, and if making one word heavier than the next solves this problem quickly then its gonna be used regularly by designers.

The problem I have with this, is that I get the impression bolding off the first word is used to make the logo look pretty first, and is only justified when the designer is pressed for a reason and been given five minutes to make one up.

Trends in design come and go, the 3D logo came and went, the Web 2.0 gel effect is in vogue just now, and the heavy/light typeface technique seems to be here to stay for a time to. The one constant is the clients need for good original design, and if the clients are shelling out big bucks for a logo, I believe offering them a solution without clear justification sells both client and designer short.