Simple emblems. The most famous logos in the world

Every day a person comes across hundreds of logos. They are so familiar that few people think what they mean. But in fact, even the simplest logos often take months and millions of dollars to create, and almost every one of them has some subtext. In our review of 10 famous logos with a decoding of their meaning.

1. Fedex

The logo of an American logistics company consists of 2 parts: the inscription "Fed" purple and "ex" orange color. It seems to be nothing special, so why did such a modest logo win dozens of awards? The answer is simple - the space between the letters "Ex" forms an arrow, which on a subconscious level is associated with the speed and professionalism of the company.

2. McDonald's

Most people think that the logo of the McDonalds fast food restaurant chain is nothing more than the first letter of the company's name, painted in golden color. However, fans of Freud's theory argue that this form of the letter evokes associations with a nursing mother's breast.

3. Museum of London

The Museum of London is dedicated to the history of this city from the time of its founding to the present day. In 2010, the museum management decided to update its image in order to become more attractive to a younger audience. The new logo was made in bright colors and is sure to attract attention. At first glance, the new logo immediately presents a map of London. And each of the colored contours is the boundaries of the city limits of the British capital in different historical eras.

4. Adidas

The name of the famous manufacturer of sportswear and accessories arose from a combination of the first and last name of its founder, Adolf Dassler. Over the 66 years of the company's existence, its logo has changed several times, but it has always had three stripes. Today, the logo has three slanted stripes in the shape of a triangle, which symbolizes the mountain. This metaphor means conquering new heights.

5.Mitsubishi

Mitsubishi was founded in 1873 as a result of the merger of two shipbuilding companies. The company's logo appeared by combining the coats of arms of its creators - the three-leaf crest of the Tosa clan and three diamonds of the Iwasaki family. The three diamonds symbolize reliability, integrity and success, while the red represents trust and attracts customers to the brand.

7. Google

The Google logo looks very simple - just a regular inscription, the letters in which have different colors. In fact, when creating the Google logo, the designers wanted to capture a sense of the company's "rebellious spirit". The secret of the logo lies in the colors of the letters: the primary colors (blue, yellow and orange) are suddenly interrupted by a green letter that is out of the scheme. So Google decided to highlight its non-standard and unwillingness to play by the rules.

7. Animal Planet

Previously, the Animal Planet logo featured an elephant stretching its trunk towards a miniature Earth. However, in 2008 the channel was rebranded in order to increase its appeal to a wide audience. The channel had to get rid of long and boring documentaries and move on to captivating reports. The new logo, as Animal Planet explained, should represent instincts, the jungle and primal emotions. Quite a lot of emotion for an emblem that had one letter upside down.

8. NBC

It's no secret that the NBC logo symbolizes a peacock, but few people know why this is so. It was actually a marketing gimmick to get people to buy color TVs. At the time the logo was created, NBC was owned by the electronics company Radio Corporation of America (RCA). RCA wanted to show the public that the relatively high price of a TV was entirely due to the ability to view pictures in color.

9. Amazon

At first glance, the Amazon.com logo is very simple - the name is in bold black with a curved yellow arrow underneath. But what does this arrow symbolize? First, it represents the smile of a satisfied customer. And secondly, the yellow arrow goes from the letter "A" (the first letter in the Latin alphabet) to the letter "Z" (the last letter of the alphabet), which symbolizes the diversity of Amazon products.

10. Pepsi

The Pepsi logo is a simple circle with the top half red and the bottom half blue, with a wavy white line between them. At first glance, these are the colors of the American flag. But in fact, Pepsi has spent hundreds of millions on its current logo. The branding agency that designed the logo for Pepsi released a 27-page report outlining the many meanings behind the logo. It symbolizes the Earth's magnetic field, feng shui, Pythagoras, geodynamics, probability theory, and more.

A logo is a graphic representation of a trademark. It is created for easy recognition of the company's brand among consumers.
The logo should be unique and of high quality, to attract the attention of the buyer. The logos were created in order to differentiate the products of manufacturers from the same industry.

The KOLORO company is engaged in the development of one-of-a-kind logos.

There are several types of logos:

1. Logo "Letter" - one or more letters are used.
2. Logo "Symbol" - is depicted in the form of graphic or alphabetic symbols.
3. Logo "Emblem" - a graphic element of the image and text.
4. The Logoslovo logo consists of letters only.
5. Abstract Sign Logo - creates a visual form of the company concept with the help of a symbol.

The first logo in the world

The first logo in the world was the image of a dog listening to a gramophone. The dog's name was Nipper.
One of the brothers of the Barro family saw how the dog loves to listen to the Edison-Bell phonograph and decided to capture this moment by drawing a picture "Dog listening to the phonograph".

In 1900, Marc Barraud's brother, Francis, took Nipper's drawing to a disc gramophone company. The owners of the company really liked the picture and they decided to release their goods with this image. But the original version of the drawing, which depicted a drum gramophone, was replaced with a disk one. The drawing became the first trademark of companies: HMV music stores, RCA, Victor and HMV records. The company also began to produce records with Nipper's drawing.
The logo currently uses the music channel of the HWV store.

The evolution of the logos of world brands

The logos of world brands did not always look stylish and concise. Some companies, even though they are popular with consumers, have redesigned their logos. Main reasons:

• change in direction of activity;
• following new trends.

Let's look at a few examples of the evolution of company logos.

• Apple Global Corporation

The first logo of the company was an engraving with Isaac Newton under an apple tree, which was wrapped around a large ribbon with the signature "Apple Computer Co" (1976-1977). The designer of this logo was one of the founders of the company, Ronald Wayne. After the departure of Ronald, the logo was changed.

The second Apple logo was designed by Rob Yanov. Nothing remains of the company's old logo, except, perhaps, the idea of ​​a fruit falling on Newton's head. Apple's new brand name is the rainbow bitten apple (1977-1998).

The logo that we see now on Apple products was changed in 2007. The “apple” became metallic with reflections, but the shape remained the same.

• Samsung

Samsung means "three stars" in Korean. The company was established in South Korea. The first three logos used the stars and the Samsung name.

In 1993 the company decided to create a new logo for its 55th anniversary. It exists to this day. It is a blue ellipse in the center of which "SAMSUNG" is written in white stylized letters.

• Twix bars

The first bars were produced in 1967 in Britain. They were called Raider. But a few years later, in 1979, the name was changed. Raider became Twix. After the name change, the products began to be exported to the United States.

The name Twix is ​​made up of two words, "double" and "biscuit". Twix bars are very popular all over the world. In Ireland, they are still sold under the original name Raider.

• Coca Cola

Coca-Cola has the most recognizable corporate identity of the logo, which is over 117 years old. The company was founded in 1886 and the logo in 1893. The company's logo is written in "Spencer" calligraphic font. It was created by Frank Robinson, an accountant and friend of the owner of the company.

In the early 1980s, due to competition from Pepsi products, it was decided to change the company logo to New Coke. Having made this marketing move, the company began to lose sales. Consumers did not like the new name for the drink. After a while, the drink was returned former name Coca-Cola, thus the company improved its sales.

• Pepsi

In 1903 it was created trademark Pepsi Cola. Agree, the first logo of the company is not very pretty. You could say it's a failure.
To prevent this from happening to your brand, you need to contact the KOLORO team of professionals who will help make the logo perfect.

After the Great Depression of the 1930s, Pepsi-Cola was able to prove to The Coca-Cola Company that it could compete with it on the same level.

In 1962, the company changed its logo to a tricolor ball and dropped the Cola prefix. Now it is called only Pepsi. However, the company logo changes very often. What this is connected with is unknown.

• McDonald's

McDonald's was founded in 1940. The first logo of the company - the image of the chef Speedee . The Speedee logo was later redrawn. In the 60s, Jim Spindler changed the company logo to what we know today. And that's the letter M.

Fashion industry logos (famous fashion brands)

Almost every one of us can recognize and name brand monograms. For fashion houses, the logo is very important, because most of fashion houses is named after the founding designers.

• Louis Vuitton

The fashion house was founded in 1854. The corporate logo of the company is the LV monograms. The color of the monograms and the canvas may have changed, but the logo of this brand has not changed to this day, except that it was slightly simplified in the 2000s.
Brand clothes are made from very high quality materials and therefore the products are expensive.

Louis Vuitton brand products are copied the most. But it is very easy to recognize a fake - in the original, the brand logo is always located symmetrically.

• Chanel

The first Chanel logo appeared in 1921. He was depicted on the bottle of Chanel No. 5 perfume. The company logo is a double letter C. It resembles two wedding rings that are not closed together. The letter C is the initials of Coco Chanel.

• Fendi

The Fendi logo was created in 1972 by the company's new designer, Karl Lagerfeld. The brand logo is a large F that is mirrored.

• Versace

The Versace house logo is very extravagant and extraordinary. It was designed in 1978 by Gianni Versace. The logo represents the head of the representative of ancient Greek mythology - Gorgon Medusa. The designer explained why he chose this character: "It is a synthesis of beauty and simplicity that can mesmerize anyone, just like the clothes produced by the brand."

• Givenchy

In 1952, the Givenchy brand begins to produce high quality clothing, as well as a line jewelry and perfumery. The brand logo is very simple and concise. A quadruple G is placed in a square. It looks like Celtic jewelry.

Car brand logos

Winged cars:

Bentley- British luxury car. The characteristics of the car can be described in just a few words - aristocratic luxury. The logo of the car is the letter "B" enclosed in wings. The emblem indicates the power, speed, elegance of Bentley limousines.

Aston Martin The car logo was created in 1927. These are the eagle wings that frame the Aston Martin lettering. The owners of the company compared their car with an eagle. Because the eagle is a fast, agile and predatory bird.

Chrysler- The first American car logo was a pentagonal star created in 1923. After the company joined the German concern Daimler AG in 1998, the logo was changed to "open wings". They demonstrate the virtuosity and uniqueness of Chrysler vehicles.

Cars with animal logo

Jaguar- whose emblem was originally SS - Swallow Sidecar. From English "swallow" means "swallow". After the Second World War, most Europeans had negative associations with the SS emblem (association with the Nazis), so the company's owners decided to change the name of the brand. The Swallow Sidecar was replaced with a Jaguar. Agree, strength, elegance and grace are very suitable for modern Jaguar cars.

Lamborghini- At first, the Italian company was engaged in the production of tractors. Therefore, the bull became the emblem of the company. This animal is very hardy and strong. Now, Lamborghini brand cars are powerful, expensive supercars, and the golden bull emblem suits them very well.

Ferrari- the car logo of this brand is familiar to everyone. Its main attributes are a prancing black stallion on a yellow-golden background with a painted Italian flag at the top of the logo.

Initially, the Ferrari logo was on the plane of the pilot Francesco Baracca, during the First World War. Enzo Ferrari asked Francesco to give him this logo. The pilot agreed and gave Enzo the right to use the logo.

Best music industry logos

Virgin is a British record label. Created in 1972 by Richard Branson and Simon Draper. The label name is very interesting. Virgin in translation from English means "virgin".

Created the logo of Virgin Records (the first company), the English illustrator Roger Dean.

A few years later, the Virgin brand became very popular among English performers. After signing Virgin with the punk rock band the Sex Pistols, Branson decided that their company lacked audacity. Therefore, it was decided to change the company logo.

Legend has it that one of the artists drew the new logo we know now on a napkin. Branson really liked it. Richard associated the new logo with his company. “Simplicity, attitude and energy are about us,” said Branson.

Sony Music Entertainment- established in 1988 and owned by Sony. Included in the "Big Four" record companies in the world. Sony Music covers almost the entire show business.

The first logo of the company is multi-colored, small triangles in the middle of which were the letters SMV. The logo of the company changed very often. In 2009, Sony Music decided to make the logo completely different. The new logo looks like this: on a white background, a simple red brush effect and the text "SONY MUSIC" appears in the appropriate Sony font.

AC/DC is a world famous rock band. Most people may not know the band's work, but everyone recognizes the AC / DC logo.

Creative director Bob Defrin helped create the rock band's logo. The font was chosen from the Gutenberg Bible - this is the first ever printed book.

Huerth's intention was to create an emblem in keeping with the biblical imagery of the AC/DC song "Let There Be Rock". Of course, the lightning and blood red coloring suggest less angelic influences.

The Rolling Stones are a famous British rock band. Designer John Pasha helped make the band's logo. For his work he received 50 pounds. The designer was inspired by the expressive lips and tongue of Mick Jagger. It was also inspired by the Hindu goddess Kali.

Queen are a British rock band from the mid-1970s. She captured the hearts of many listeners. The logo was created by lead singer Freddie Mercury. He depicted the letter Q (the name of the group), which is surrounded by the signs of the zodiacs of the musicians of the group.

Logo Design Trends 2017

Design trends change almost every season. This applies not only to clothing, makeup and style, but also to trends in logo graphic design.
Logo Trends 2017

Minimalism

Many companies resort to this style, because minimalism is all about simplicity and conciseness. Minimalism uses very little color schemes. Everything should be simple and executed in the same style, without unnecessary additions.

For example, the well-known application Instagram used this style.

The company's first logo was a black and white image of a Polaroid OneStep camera. In May 2016, the company decided to rebrand not only the logo, but also change the design of the application. Now it's a camera and a rainbow rendered with a gradient effect.

color gradient

Creating a logo with a gradient of colors is a very good move for many companies, because this trend will be at its peak for a long time to come. A striking example is the international payment system MasterCard. The company's designers have simplified the design and used the filling of the geometric shapes of the logo.

black and white trend

Black and white design will always be in trend. Conciseness and simplicity of two colors is always a win-win option.

The best example is worldwide famous brand Nike.

Carolyn Davidson helped create the logo for the brand. The logo depicts the abstract wing of the goddess Nike.

Geometric figures

To create a unique but at the same time simple logo, designers use geometric shapes that are very easy to perceive and remember.

Example - logo YouTube - video hosting service. The brand logo is a “bubble” in the middle of which is the “play” icon.

Lettering

Pretty simple style. Letters are selected specifically for a specific name or text and are used only once.

Lettering includes the company logo. Google. The first company logo was created in a graphics editor by co-founder Sergey Brin. The new Google logo style was designed by Ruth Kedar. It was she who came up with the logo design that we know now.

hand drawn

Hand-drawn logos look clear and “folk style”. A lot of world famous companies use this style.

Johnson & Johnson — good example new trend of 2017. The company logo is very simple - it is red text on a white background, handwritten.

Web animated logos

Web animated logos are the trend of 2017. They look very bright, extraordinary. With the help of Gif logos, you can attract the attention of consumers.

Disney has been using this trend for a long time. Back in 1985, Tinker Bell began flying over the Sleeping Beauty Castle.

KOLORO will develop for you unique design your logo, because our experts are always on the topic of new trends in world design.

When starting to create a logo, many designers carefully study the history of the brand and its main audience. A successful logo is obtained only when it matches the image of the company as closely as possible. Whether the logo will be aesthetically attractive is not so important, the main thing is that it is correctly read by the target audience. After all, the identity is created not for the client, but for people, and therefore it needs to be simple and recognizable. At the same time, despite the constantly changing trends, the logo design should be “long-lived”, since the logo will be used for several years at least.

Since 2008, the owners of howdesign.com have been holding an annual competition for the best logo, in which designers from all over the world take part. This year the results of the competition will be summed up in October 2015, but already now there is an opportunity to see some of the most interesting works, which may well deserve the HOW Logo Design Awards. We present to your attention the 9 most inspiring logos submitted for the competition.

LOGOHORUS

Created by designer Martin Cavalieri, the logo for Horus, a manufacturer of mobile devices for the blind and visually impaired, is extremely concise. The logo depicts the head of a hawk, a bird with sharp eyesight. And the name Horus reminds us of the ancient Egyptian Horus, a hawk-headed god. A great example of a simple yet very informative logo.

LOGO REDESIGNRU TV

The Moscow design studio The Bakery submitted an updated logo for the RU TV channel to the competition. Before the designers stood difficult task- the former logo was well known to the audience, so it was impossible to radically change the design. As a result, it was decided to use the image of the wave. Since the TV channel is a music channel, the image appeared in the new logo sound wave transforming into a light wave. The solution is very non-standard, so the studio has developed a special application that automates the creation of waves and distortions in files intended for printing. As a result, even an ordinary TV channel employee can order a business card with an original wave. The logo itself does not change.

REDESIGNLOGOTHE GREAT SOUTHERN DENIM CO.

The logo design for The Great Southern Denim Co., which makes denim, was created by Ye Olde Studios. Despite the fact that the appearance of the logo has changed a lot, its style has remained the same - it's retro.

MOVEMENT LOGOFLOW

The Flow music movement came about through the efforts of DJ Frankie Rizardo, who promoted new music on the FM Slam radio station. Currently, the movement has become so popular that it needed its own identity. The designers of the Studio Hands studio worked on the creation of the Flow corporate identity. As in the case of RU TV, we have a logo that cannot be repeated one to one. The logo itself is quite simple - it is a triangle (graphic sign) and the brand name, typed in a strict sans-serif font. The bright cloud surrounding the logo was obtained very simply: the designer photographed a drop of paint that dissolves in water.

LOGOPRINT BRITANNIA

The Print Britannia logo was designed by Milena Wlodarczyk. A simple and elegant solution that plays with the capital letters of the brand name.

LOGOSTROLL

Stroll is social network for people who love hiking. The logo design was created by Yomagick. Stroll recently released a mobile app that lets you explore the most interesting places many cities in the world. The logo is immediately recognizable as a standard mark on the map, and the “legs” hint at hiking. A good example of a simple and clear logo.

LOGOMISS MOONSHINES

The Miss Moonshines grill house logo was created by Faber&Lo. The project was launched in New Zealand to introduce local residents to the culinary traditions of the southern states of the United States. The second vintage logo in this collection clearly shows that vintage design is still in trend.

SMILE BAR DENTISTRY LOGO

The logo design, as well as the corporate identity of Smile Bar Dentistry, a company providing high-quality dentistry services, was created by designer Saxon Campbell. Despite its simplicity, the logo is quite informative - you can see both a smile and a bar counter in it, if you look at it from above. An absolutely wonderful example of a dentistry logo. As a rule, the thought of most designers does not go further than the image of a tooth with eyes, but here the performer managed to avoid such stamps.

LOGO BUTCHER PLATE

Another vintage logo. Butcher Plate appears to be a restaurant or chain of restaurants, hence the retro logo.

We have collected examples of best company logos, and not entirely successful. We will tell you why they became so and what they can teach us. But before we get started, here are a few important things about the company's logos and business. These basic principles will help you navigate the value of a logo to an organization's business, its relationship to success, and the cost of logo development:

The success of the company as a whole does not depend on the quality and thoughtful design. If there were any other sign in place of the Apple logo, would the company become less successful? Hardly.
By itself, no one needs a logo. What matters is how and where you use it. Successful organizations use the logo at all points of contact with the customer. In this way, customers have an ongoing association with the company's products and the experiences they gain by interacting with the company.

• Profitable successful business/ high-quality expensive design - excellent!
• Profitable successful business / bad cheap design - bad!
• Unstable unprofitable business / high-quality expensive design - terrible!
• Unstable unprofitable business / bad cheap design - bad!
• A young business / inexpensive logo is fine!

So now it's time to move on from general principles to concrete examples. Let's start with samples, you can familiarize yourself with them in the next section of the article.

The best logos of firms and companies

We have selected for you the most striking examples of high-quality logos that have helped a number of companies become global leaders in their industries. These include brands such as:

General Electric

The logo of General Electric, one of the leading manufacturers of equipment, has remained virtually unchanged since the company was founded in 1892.

And why was it necessary to change it? The 'GE' initials, written in intricate script and framed by arcuate strokes, combine simplicity and efficiency - exactly the qualities that consumers expect from General Electric products. What's more, the emblem, built around an art nouveau ornament, is reminiscent of the spinning drum of a washing machine, one of the company's most popular products.

JPMorgan Chase

JPMorgan Chase is one of the leading financial conglomerates and the largest bank with an asset value of an astonishing $2.35 trillion.

Moreover, JPMorgan Chase is the sixth largest public company in the world. In other words, it is a brand that speaks for itself.
Admittedly, the bank managed to accurately convey its dominant position with the help of the logo.
What makes the JPMorgan Chase logo recognizable and effective?

With a simple, bold typeface and minimal use of graphics, the JPMorgan Chase emblem conveys power and authority, as if to say, "If you don't pay on time, we'll charge you more late fees than you ever dreamed possible." Harsh, right? But one should not expect another attitude from such a serious organization.

Facebook

If you are at least a little familiar with, then you do not need to explain what Facebook is.

Notably, Mark Zuckerberg's company was originally called The Facebook. But the article in the name did not last long, and the company itself made a real revolution in the Internet community, rapidly becoming the most popular social platform in the world.

The Facebook logo has the most valuable quality in graphic design - it allows you to instantly identify a brand. Taking care of maintaining a recognizable visual image, the company made only minor stylistic changes to its logo, leaving the main elements intact.

ExxonMobil

ExxonMobil is the largest oil company in the world, generating astronomical profits for its owners and shareholders. Exxon and Mobil were once two different firms that decided to combine their knowledge and resources in 1998 (perhaps with the ambitious goal of establishing world domination).

Such a successful and reputable organization should have an appropriate logo! But in this case, as they say, something went wrong. The ExxonMobil logo, with its simple, uninteresting design, fails to capture the character of such a powerful brand.

Unfortunately, the logos of individual companies before their merger often look more distinctive and original than the emblem of the merged company.

What conclusion can be drawn from this story? Less is not always better.

I think millions of people will subscribe to my words if I say: “THANK YOU, AMAZON!”. Thanks to the Amazon Prime service, I can order absolutely anything and receive it within 48 hours (or even faster). And all this with free (well, almost free) shipping.

Knowing its strengths perfectly, the online store skillfully reflected them in its emblem. See the arrow that stretches from A to Z? Symbolizing directional traffic, the arrow indicates that Amazon will deliver your order from its warehouse directly to your door. But that's not all the meanings contained in this simple icon. The arrow also resembles a smile, indicating that the company guarantees a high quality of service, making sure that its customers are satisfied.

Microsoft

Despite some missteps that have accumulated over the past few years (yes, Zune and Windows 10, we are talking about you!), Microsoft did a great job redesigning its logo in 2012.

The logo, which lasted from 1987 to 2012, was pretty good (I especially liked the O, which looked like Pac-Man), but left a lot to be desired in terms of design.

AT color plan the new emblem looks much friendlier. And the one who came up with the idea to present the main products of the company in the form of four square windows is a real genius! The blue window symbolizes the Windows operating system, the red one - the Office software package, the green one - game console Xbox, but yellow... Yellow doesn't mean anything, but since a window can't have three panels, we'll assume it's necessary.

And it's also worth noting that of all the companies on this list, Microsoft has the most trouble building a sustainable visual identity. Judge for yourself: every time the computer giant makes changes to its emblem, it looks completely new, as if it has nothing to do with the company's previous logos.

Nike is known not only for its sports shoes, but also for one of the best logos in the business world. The iconic Nike swoosh is a prime example of how a visual identity can play a huge role in building a reputation and transforming an ordinary company into a trusted, respected brand. If the Nike emblem was not considered something remarkable before, over time it has become a visual identification of sports culture.

In English-speaking countries, Nike's "swoosh" is known as the "swoosh". "Swoosh" is the sound we hear when an object rushes past us. Thus, this word denotes a sharp sound, speed and movement, which is successfully reflected in the curved shape of the logo.

The history of the Nike check mark is notable because it shows the logo's evolution from an "ugly duckling" that no one liked to a "beautiful swan" that draws admiring glances.

The "parents" of the legendary BMW logo are the round Rapp-Motor emblem with a black silhouette of a horse and the Bavarian flag with its characteristic blue and white checkerboard pattern. This is how the familiar black circle appeared, inside which blue and white quadrants are located.

After the First World War, which ended with the Peace of Versailles, the company switched from aircraft production to the production of motorcycles and cars. The BMW emblem has remained virtually unchanged since 1917. The most noticeable transformation took place in 2000, when the logo gained volume due to the 3D effect.

mastercard

Back in 1966, Mastercard was known as Master Charge, and its first logo featured two intersecting circles (bright orange and yellowish red) with the words "Master Charge: The Interbank Card".

In 1979, the company shortened its name to the capacious MasterCard. New name - updated logo! The colors on the emblem have become brighter, and the font has become more solid. In 1996, the logo became voluminous: now "slits" appeared in the area where the two circles intersect.

FedEx

In 1971, the postal service's logo featured the company's full name, "Federal Express", slanted.

The emblem was made in patriotic red and blue colors, which evoked associations with the American government. Having gained popularity due to its original logo, the brand decided to say goodbye to it in 1994. The new design was as ingenious as the old one: hidden between the letters E and X is an arrow that indicates speed and accuracy as the main advantages of the postal company.

The first IBM logo was created in 1924 when Computing-Tabulating-Recording was renamed International Business Machines.

So the company's name acquired a more modern sound, and the 1924 logo became an updated version of the 1911 emblem, which was previously used by CTR. The sophisticated CTR logo, with its airy, ornate typeface, gave way to a cumbersome "International Business Machines" lettering (with an emphasis on the word "International"), which was placed inside a circle symbolizing Earth. In 1947, when the brand carried out a significant modernization of its technologies, the round emblem was replaced by the abbreviation "IBM", which was destined to become a symbol of the company. In 1956, graphic designer Paul Rand redrawn the letters, making them black and more massive. The new design emphasized the brand's qualities of stability and resilience. In 1972, Rand was commissioned to rework the look he had created. To create a dynamic and flexible image, the designer made "slots" on the abbreviation. This is how the famous "striped" emblem turned out, which IBM is pleased with to this day.

Despite the external diversity of all the above signs, they were all designed according to similar criteria, which made them so successful. These are the factors we will discuss next.

What can you learn from these logos?

What conclusions can an entrepreneur draw from reading the stories behind these logos?

Decide what your logo should communicate about the brand

The emblem should reflect the essence of your brand, emphasizing its most characteristic features. For example, looking at the logo of JPMorgan Chase, you immediately understand that we are talking about an influential company with a reputation that has been developed over the years. How does your logo characterize your business?

In just a couple of minutes, you can create and download a logo for your organization. The small logo is available for free.

What is the most important lesson you learned from this article on good and bad logo examples? Do you have some more tips for entrepreneurs who are working on their corporate branding? Share your ideas in the comments!

If you need a logo, but you have not yet decided which logo to order, this article can help you with this. In her will be discussed about three types logo - textual, symbolic and combined, their examples are given and simple recommendations choice of logo.

Pavel SHUDNEV

Let's look at the well-known Rive Gauche logo in Russia:

What does it consist of?

From symbol:

Titles:

Signatures (sometimes called descriptor):

Conventionally, this logo can be divided into two parts: symbolic and textual. The character part, as the name implies, includes a symbol; to text - the name of the company and (in this case) the signature.

Rive Gauche is a good example combined logo (because it uses a combination of text and symbol).

Logos with textual part (without graphic symbol) is called textual; logos with symbolic part (without text elements) – symbolic.

Thus, by type, logos are classified depending on what elements they consist of.

Examples of combined logos

The most common logos are combined. For example, the Sberbank logo:

Because the logo consists of a combination of a text part (name) and a graphic symbol, it refers to combined logos.

If another text element is added to the logo (the year the company was founded, its short description or, in this case, the slogan), the logo is still combined.

Examples of text logos

There are logos that do not have a graphic symbol. These are text logos. For example, the Panasonic logo:

Version of the Panasonic text logo with the slogan "Ideas for life":

A great example of a text logo is the Finnish brand NOKIA:

Korean SAMSUNG:

I wanted to give at least one Russian example, but apart from Sberbank and Gazprom, nothing comes to mind. And the logos of these companies are combined.

Examples of symbolic logos

Symbolic logos are a rarity. They do not contain text at all, and are only a kind of graphic emblem (symbol). Only very well-known world-class companies can afford such a luxury, for example:

The use of a symbolic logo by a small, little-known company may indicate an inflated self-esteem of its owners or a marketer (designer, etc.) who insisted on using this logo.

What type of logo should you choose?

In my opinion, logos are often given too much attention, spent too much time on them, and placed on them too high expectations. For example, in the segment B2B the influence of the logo on the decision to purchase is almost zero.

Don't misunderstand me: I'm not saying that you don't need to deal with the logo at all - you do. However, to believe that one change of the logo will dramatically increase sales, in my opinion, is too naive.

Now back to the question of what kind of logo to choose. I would like to answer it from the opposite - what type of logo NOT to choose: symbolic. Why - was described two paragraphs above.

There are two types of logos left: text and combined. Most often we order combined logos. For some reason, many people think that a combined logo is better than a text one, which is by no means the case: after all, if it were so, giants like NOKIA would hardly have preferred them.

A text logo is easier to design, so it costs less to develop. In my opinion, nothing prevents you from first ordering the development of a text logo, and then, if necessary (after some time), supplement it with a symbol - and get a combined logo.