James' Logo Blog

Analysis of various logos--some good, some not. Probably some other logo-related things too.

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Post 4: Logos

There are many different styles of logos out there, but the majority of them fall into five distinct categories. Here I’ll describe those categories and give some examples--most good, some bad.

1. Wordmark Logos

These logos contain the name of the entity as the logo itself. While these can  be quite complex, when successful, they can also easily carry the entity to mass recognition.

Take Disney, for example. Walt’s iconic signature showcases the fun, family-friendly products Disney creates and is displayed before films, theme parks, and all of its merchandise.

On another end of the spectrum, Sony’s simple logo carries an air of seriousness and professionalism that reflects the quality of its products. Even so, this serif font is imprinted in tiny electronics and clads buildings in Japan, the US and even features in Berlin’s Potsdamer Platz.

2. Letterform Logos

Quite simply, letterform logos employ a single letter--abstract or otherwise--as an entity’s main logo. These fit well in app icons, stamps and other resizable media.

Rather than letters, this B-shaped logo is actually make up of the Norse runes corresponding to “H” and “B”--the initials for Harald Bluetooth, unifier of nations with different tongues. While this isn’t very common knowledge, letterforms can carry a similar amount of symbolism as a wordmark or pictorial logo could.

You can’t list off successful letterforms without mentioning the Golden Arches. Simple and easily recognizable, this letterform can be found almost anywhere in the world, thanks to McDonalds’ pervasive marketing. Just looking at this makes me hungrier than I already am!

3. Emblems

Emblems are usually enclosed in a geometric shape and are often heavily decorated. This can give an entity a classy, upscale vibe, even if its products aren’t so.

Many cars have an emblematic design or a hybrid between a letterform and an emblem. Ferrari’s remains an emblem, even after many other car companies have switched to simpler, more “modern” logos. Regardless, this Prancing Horse carries with it the company’s reputation for speed and successful pedigree.

Many sports teams rely on emblems to represent themselves, yet the Royals’ logo is so successful that it essentially defines Kansas City’s unofficial self-branding. The KC logogram is found on many non-Royals objects, usually involving Royal Blue somewhere in the design. Even the main monitor in Kaufmann is easily visible on I70 as you travel west into Kansas City--a perfect position to influence an entire city.

4.  Abstract Logos 

Abstract logos don’t include letters or words, but instead use a design to illustrate specific qualities about the what the entity represents. Usually, geometric designs are more prevalent in these than actual images.

Sprint’s logo contains the 5 bars of cellular signal strength, representing the company’s claimed widespread coverage. Or could it represent the tail feathers of a bird? Whatever the case, Sprint’s logo is easily recognizable--especially throughout the Kansas City area.

Nike’s logo conveys motion, first and foremost. But its simple shape leaves other possible interpretations of the brand’s representation of its own values to the audience, forcing the logo to stick in the viewer’s mind while they contemplate.

5. Pictoral Marks

As the name would suggest, pictoral marks represent an entity using a recognizable image, but the meaning of that image’s usage is also up to the target audience. 

On the windows of Berlin’s subway cars, you can see a pattern of Brandenburg Gates on the windows. However, the Brandenburg Gate is branded almost everywhere else in the city as well. Cities often use pictoral marks of a famous landmark within their branding to represent themselves on the world stage.

Target’s is easy: it’s a target. Nice and simple. Enough said.

Now for some bad ones!

I feel like Taco Bell isn’t supposed to be “clean”: they’re the tacos you get at 1 in the morning because everywhere else near you is closed. The loss of the pink and yellow decreases the logo’s visibility off the side of the road; the new one just doesn’t catch the eye as easily.

This is the new Formula 1 logo. To me, it just looks like a knock-off of ESPN’s design. The previous logo was clever: the 1 being present in the negative space between the F and the motion marks on the right: easily recognizable. Upon viewing this from a distance, I think I’d think of ESPN before I would F1. Not necessarily a good sign.

Anyway, that concludes blog #4!

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Post 3: Branding

Here I’ll display two pieces of branding or branding campaigns that resonate with me and one unfortunately misguided brand--that you may recognize as something else entirely. 

#1: Fahrvergnügen

The beauty of the German language is that you can combine multiple words into ones with very specific meanings and connotations--just as Volkswagen did in their American 1990 campaign “Fahrvergnügen”: “driving pleasure”. Americans often assume German with long words anyway, so it was wise for VW to use one of those to describe their cars. Whether that “Fahrvergnügen” claim actually held up with their cars is purely subjective.

#2: Scion’s CD Samplers

In order to appeal to the “hip”, mid-2000′s younger audience, Toyota rolled out a new sub-brand called Scion to the American market. These hip-hop themed mix CDs could be found in Toyota dealerships. I actually received one of them myself--although I never listened to it. Unfortunately for Scion as a whole however, they eventually faded back into Toyota in 2016 due to poor sales. 

And now for the unfortunate case:

#-1: Hydrox

Fun fact: Since they were created later, Oreos are basically knock-offs of these cookies! As time went on, Oreo obviously became the best-seller, due to Hydrox’s unfortunate name. Hydrox’s old-timer packaging hasn’t held up either, as Oreo constantly refreshes its branding with the ages. At this rate, it’s very unlikely that Oreo will lose the limelight in chocolate-cookie fame anytime soon.

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Post 2: Communication Arts Artists

In this entry, I’ll be showcasing three different artists from the latest issue of Communication Arts. Simple enough.

#1: Jeffrey Alan Love

     Love, both an award-wining artist and writer, has conjured up his eerie, inky illustrations for The New York Times and TIME Magazine, among many other clients. Just like these clients, I can’t get enough of Love’s printmaking-style illustrations. He has a very strong command of black and white, and the subtle touches of red and green thrown in throughout his work contribute immensely to the character of his pieces. Honestly, I like much of his work equally, but I chose to place one image from his sketchbook and one of his illustrations here.

#2:  Sun Youqiang (no website available)

This is just indulgence for the linguist side of me, to be honest. I had never imagined hanzi/kanji/hanja in a planar form before, and I admire the optical-illusion touch these designers gave this type. It kinda makes me want to design my own characters based off this style. Hmm...

#3: Julien Hébert

And now for something a bit more colorful! Hébert, a designer at the Montréal-based Paprika studio,  created the top poster for a type convention as well as the stamps commemorating the 50th anniversary of F1 in Canada. For the poster series, Hébert combined different stretched typefaces on top of various background colors, which definitely commands your attention. For the stamps/pamphlets, I love the combination of serif and sans-serif typefaces in each of the names. Because of the first names being serif and the last names sans-serif, it’s also easy to sort them out in alphabetical order if need be.

The next blog will be about branding (woo!) Don’t miss it!

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Post 1, Part 2: Logo No-Goes

Now here’s the fun part: me ripping on icon sets like Gordon Ramsey.

...Or maybe not. I’m too nice for that.

Ready? Let’s go!

#1: Power Station of Art Icon Set (original Behance link doesn’t work)

This set is just... broken. There’s no other way to describe it. In the first two icons, I thought the camera were dollar bills. Not a good sign. Speaking of bad signs--well, that’s exactly what they are. Too fragmented to be seen and understood from a distance. Booooo. 

#2: These Bad Chat Icons

Before I jump into this, let’s just say the source website’s “not safe for work” and I’ll leave it up to you, the reader, to find the source. if you find it or know it already... may God have mercy on your soul. 

Anyway.

These are old, and it shows. Just look at the gradients, for starters. It just screams “early-mid 2000′s.” Of special vindication is the scraggly-haired emoticon. Its purpose is hard to nail down, and the added height of the “hair” throws it off of alignment with the rest of the icons. Not good.

Oh yeah--I also took this capture from the website on Jan. 19, 2018. They’re that outdated.

#3: 2000 Sydney Olympics Icons

I appreciate the boomerang theme throughout all of these icons, but the shape creates strict limitations on how expressive the figures can be. But the design choice in this picture that puts me off the most are those off-center, jagged, colored backgrounds. During the transition into Y2K, apparently these designers took the late 90′s with them, creating a scheme that just doesn’t age well. But Who knows? 80′s stuff is back in fashion, so in a decade, maybe these will be seen as avant-garde. Until then, I highly doubt that’s the case. 

On that note, my subjective icon analysis has come to an end! More logo design posts are on their way! 

If you missed Part 1, here it is: https://jrc-logo.tumblr.com/post/169905222004/post-1-part-1-the-good-icons

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Post 1, Part 1: The Good Icons

Which kinds of icons inspire me in my designs? Which ones are logo no-goes and should be shunned off the face of the Earth?

...Okay, that might be a little harsh, but I digress. Here you’ll see what styles tickle my artistic nerve. A separate post will have ones that don’t. Source links are hyperlinks in the titles.

Sound simple? Then let’s jump right in!

#1: Free Pik’s Animal Icon Set

Tumblr’s infamous image compression strikes again--but that’s just part of the reason why I like this simple, minimalist icon set: all the animals are discernible despite being compressed to all hell. (Plus, it includes weasels, my favorite animal. What’s not to love?) Practically, however, I struggle to find a wide-reaching use for them. Maybe as place markers on a zoo map or decorative flourishes in a nature center’s promotional material? I don’t know. Despite their limited usefulness, I still think this set is straight and to-the-point with its message.

#2: White Studio’s Porto Set

Stupid compression. Anyway, this icon set works despite this issue just the same as the first set in this post: the icons’ simple lines still convey their intended meanings. Plus, they have the added bonus of all having a square shape--something that the left side of my designer brain appreciates and so that they can all be used in a variety of settings around the city. Nice, clean, and geometrical--all good points with me.

#3:  Japanese Prefectural Flags

Okay, while these might not be “icons” per se, these flags deserve this “best for last” spot for me. Many of these flags include stylized forms of the kanji (Chinese characters), hiragana or katakana (Japanese syllibaries) that make up the prefectures’ names. Not only that, they’re stylized in such a way that they show off something unique about the prefectures themselves (read the wiki article in the tile for more details). The most amazing aspect to me, though, is that they all look like a coherent set when they’re grouped together. Meanwhile, the US’ state flags...

Yeah. There might be a post for that later. I dunno.

Thus concludes Part 1. Part 2 is here: https://jrc-logo.tumblr.com/post/169906682039/post-1-part-2-logo-no-goes.