Returning home from my last visit to Barcelona I happened upon an interesting feature in KLM's latest Holland Herald in-flight magazine about its branding, and I was amazed to discover that the airline's current logo is celebrating its golden anniversary. Somewhat ahead of its time, its sheer simplicity is testimony to the fact that, even today, the three initials and crown symbol represent their brand admirably and, so, FHK Henrion's timeless early-sixties classic lives on.

Across all areas of print and online use we've been privy to changes in fashion and style as branding has evolved, changing from fancy ideas in the 40s and 50s, to 60s-style bold representation on to today's modifications. Along the way there have been some notable disasters and some jaw-dropping new identities but, in the main, revised and completely altered logos have tended to be accepted by those they are meant to influence.

KLM's logo hasn't changed since 1961

One of aspects that I find fascinating is that print has become more readily available in four and more colours thanks to digital production not having the cost forfeit or inconvenience of analogue methods. Yet we continue to move away from intricate logos and associated typography into simpler, bolder concepts.

One basic principle behind this logic was first suggested by the Gestalt theory of psychology back in the 1950s. It states that the brain has the tendency to self-organise and, thus, reduces complex visual patterns to simple shapes. This increases with distance and is particularly relevant when visibility is poor and, not surprisingly, in busy and cluttered environments.

It was these criteria which lay behind the design of the somewhat revolutionary KLM logo 50 years ago, and one of the reasons that it still works so well today. Success in an identity has to produce the same impact across all sizes of output, and in all types of medium, from a business card to a giant graphic, from a decal to a vehicle wrap and in print and on-screen. If it is effective, why change it?

In narrow- and wide-format printing terms, good design principles mean that a well thought out piece of branding works across all types of output. As decades, and centuries, have passed, so our lives and the way we exist have become based increasingly on far more simplistic, clear-cut principles.

Even if we compare brands of a decade ago with those of today, many have changed completely while others have undergone some subtle reshaping to retain their identity in a simpler form. So, while we can accept more complexity in many visual areas, we're looking increasingly at bold, solid colours to generate impact to make us brand aware, and this principle is obviously working.