Okay, this is a criticism that we give with a deep sense of humility. The "swoosh" effect is the most imitated effect in logo design in the past ten years. The Saturn Car Company started this concept and it caught on like wildfire, with more elaborate derivatives. This type of effect looks good...and it adds a futuristic element to the design. The problem is that everyone seems to be using this effect for various reasons and the design concept has totally lost its originality. We have been guilty of designing more than one design with this effect.
If you must use this effect in your design, for God's sake have this effect as a secondary element to an overall unique design. Don't let the swoosh be the main element in your corporate identity. If you do you will end up with an attractive design, but one that is shared by 100 billion other companies.
Updated note: Another design theme has replaced the swoosh as the most overused logo design element...the abstract, curvatured, astract human form. It's everywhere, especially on human services logos such nursing homes and in health care. Remember, a nice logo is meaningless if the imagery is overused.
