Why do so many brands change their logos and look like everyone else? There is a trend in logo design that started around 2017-2018. It’s as if many companies decided that being unique was a handicap and that it was better to be like everyone else. The trend started with fashion logos. All the quirks, peculiarities, and idiosyncrasies of both tech and fashion logos were dropped and replaced with a simple sans serif font.

Why do so many brands change their logos and look like everyone else? There is a trend in logo design that started around 2017-2018. It’s as if many companies decided that being unique was a handicap and that it was better to be like everyone else. The trend started with fashion logos. All the quirks, peculiarities, and idiosyncrasies of both tech and fashion logos were dropped and replaced with a simple sans serif font.

Fonts without those small features are called ‘sans serif’ (‘sans’ means ‘without’ in French). While the simplicity of sans serif fonts makes them readable and versatile, it has its drawbacks. Without additional details and features, sans serif fonts have far fewer options for differentiation. The purpose of a logo is to be instantly recognizable, different, memorable, and, if possible, to refer to the brand’s values. Blending into everyone else’s achieves none of these things.

Sans serif lettering and fonts, first created in 1816, were popular for their clarity and legibility at a distance in advertising and display use when printed very large or small. A significant reason for serif faces in the older days of imprecise letterpress and less consistent paper surface sizing was to compensate for ink spread and aberrations. Serifs on the fonts helped in cases where corners would otherwise fail to fully imprint.

Cleaner and more legible, sans serif fonts are better suited to a variety of media and work particularly well online. The purity of these fonts allows the brands to be an empty vessel, ready to accommodate rapidly shifting trends. Logos may look similar, but what they offer is completely different and effective, and that’s what ultimately counts for the consumer. One of the main reasons for the sans serif logo trend is readability. Especially on mobile, but everywhere else as well: from huge billboards to tiny footer links at the bottom of mobile websites.

Shoot for simplicity and legibility, but keep your distinguishing features. Don’t throw away what the brand has been working on for decades.

On the other hand, when it comes to reading books, many people struggle with retaining the information they consume. A good book can give you a new way to interpret your past experiences. As Patrick O'Shaughnessy says, “Reading changes the past.” Knowledge will only compound if it is retained. In other words, what matters is not simply reading more books, but getting more out of each book you read.

Patrick Collison, the founder of Stripe, put it nicely when he said, “Life is too short to not read the very best book you know of right now.” Start more books. Quit most of them. Read the great ones twice. One way to