What Happened to the Meaning Behind the Mark?

"I've seen that logo before—somewhere.”

That phrase has been stuck in my head lately. It keeps circling back whenever I'm in a store, scrolling through a site, or reviewing a brand deck from a startup.

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By Patricio Fuentes, Founder and Agency Principal of Gel

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Again, that logo or design system. I've seen it before. And do they know it?

It's not about one brand in particular.

It's the sense that everything is beginning to look... familiar. A little too familiar. Dull. Homogenized. 

Walk the personal care aisle. Or beverage. Or wellness. It's an ocean of gradients, minimalist marks, and sans-serif typography, sitting beside dominant leaders who've already marked their territory with unmistakable, recognizable brands, ones moms trust. They won attention long ago and aren’t going to give it up without a fight. 

This didn't happen overnight. 

This isn't AI's fault. Not entirely.  The shift began long before artificial intelligence entered our profession. It started when design tools became more accessible—when Photoshop and Illustrator made it easier for anyone to try their hand at branding. That part was good.

Democratizing creativity gave rise to a new generation of brilliant designers, pushing fresh aesthetics and unexpected combinations of typography, illustration, and photography. 

But what we're seeing now is something different. We're not in the age of democratization—we're in the age of redundancy. Redundancy in product categories. Redundancy in packaging. Redundancy in marketing strategies. And all of it fuels a growing sense of skepticism from consumers, who are now questioning the authenticity of what's being sold—and who's behind it. And the logo? It's at the center of it all. 

A well-developed logo, born from intent and aligned with an overall brand strategy, can function as a call to action. It can inspire belief. Purpose. Done well, it can live in your audience's mind for decades.

Marty Neumeier once said, "A logo is a visual representation or symbol, but it does not constitute the brand itself." I agree. And from afar, a logo becomes a beacon—a signal guiding us through crowded aisles and crowded minds. 

The best logos don't come from default settings. They come from dialogue. From listening. From understanding a founder's irrational obsession or a product's cultural friction point. From recognizing the gap in a category to building something that not only fills it, but also leads it to become number one, and that sensibility is human nature we all possess, but are we protecting it with all our might? 

Joseph Szala said, "AI isn't replacing talent. It's replacing complacency." It's also replacing authorship. And that should worry you because authorship is what makes something proprietary. It's what makes a brand defensible. Ownable. Trustable. It's the difference between being seen and being remembered.

Branders, we are the ones responsible for creating the meaning behind the mark. Inforce the following rules: 

1. A Project Brief Is Not Enough

A brief often provides only a high-level overview of the assignment. That's not enough to inform the deeper strategic thinking, cultural context, or emotional insight required to develop truly effective creative work. If you want meaningful results, don't just brief the task—brief the problem, the audience, the landscape, and the ambition. Give your creative partners the full picture. When they understand why the work matters, they can help you shape how it succeeds. 

2. Hire a Specialist in Brand and Logo Development

Hire a consultant or agency specializing in brand development—preferably with a portfolio focused on logo creation and identity systems. Look for those with deep experience, from handcrafted marks to conceptual ideas and minimalist executions. Expect to see case studies that detail their process. Be wary of overly produced portfolios filled with stock art or silhouetted mockups meant to distract from the work. Seeing the work in its raw form—how it was thought through and built—is as important as seeing it in context. 

3. Ask for the story behind the mark

When considering a creative or strategic partner, ask to see their process—sketchbooks, early concepts, and projects from start to finish. Do they have a process at all? Look for signs of how they navigated roadblocks and arrived at solutions. Listen to how they think. The more intimately they share their journey, the more you'll understand how they handle pressure, feedback, and uncertainty. Also, ask to see what was discarded. You can learn a great deal from what didn't make it to the final—how rigorous standards are and how demanding they are on themselves creatively. 

4. Make Sure It's Actually Yours

AI is excellent at lifting. 

That sleek little leaf-shaped mark? It might already be sitting on packaging somewhere else. Don't just ask for files—ask for proof of process. Using AI for inspiration is fine. However, if references are used, they must be recreated 100% for your brand. No close copies. No Frankenstein composites. Then run it past legal. You might be surprised by what turns up.

5. If "Slick" Is Your Measure of Excellence, You Might Have a Problem

Slick is the easiest trap in branding. And the deadliest. Because slick pleases everyone and moves no one. I've seen interesting logos vanish from the shelf or the screen. Great design has friction. It asks something of the viewer. A slight imbalance. A strange tension. Something that lingers. You might disagree, but Nike, Target, or FedEx aren't beautiful marks, but they inspire or inform in ways that others struggle with. 

6. Know Who Made It—And Why If a logo appears without context or conversation, be cautious

Logos are too significant to be outsourced to silence, especially when you've hired a firm. Your creative team should be ready to defend every mark and explain why it's on the table. Fewer options are often better than a parade of logos. Encourage them to focus on a strategy that connects to the core ethos of the initiative. 

7. Respect the Time It Takes It's not your specialist's fault you're behind

Allow time for them to do their best work, and support the process. They may make unorthodox requests, ask uncomfortable questions, or dig into areas you hadn't considered. That's a good sign. It means they're thinking deeply, looking for the truths that will make your brand distinct and lasting. The logo intro for Netflix was created using hundreds of colored threads, pulled tightly and filmed at high speed to capture detail that motion graphics or AI couldn't replicate. That's the level of care that lasts. 

We're in a strange moment. The tools are extraordinary. The speed is seductive. But the danger is real: when everything looks like everything, nothing means anything. At the same time, it's an incredible opportunity for brands to stand apart by committing to the craft, by saying something new, and by showing they've thought more deeply than the rest. If your business matters, your logo should tell us why. If your product solves a real problem, it should convey that ambition. If your brand has a story, don't let it be told through something generic, polite, and AI-generated. Don't take the shortcut. Make a mark that makes a mark.