The inside scoop about the Logo Design Business.
Latest in the news about the paparazzi’s favorite celebrity Britney Spears is her soon to be debuted fragrance “Believe”. Renowned cosmetics company, Elizabeth Arden, will soon launch “Believe” which is Britney’s latest and third in line fragrance (the first two being “Curious” and “Fantasy”), branded by the cosmetics giant. Sadly, the starlet’s already sinking career is stricken with allegations of logo copyrights violation in the “I believe” / “Believe” frenzy.
After much speculation, it has been noted that the perfume’s brand is a total rip-off of a Canadian charity organization “Mondonation”. Monodonation came up with a distinct, simple and heartfelt scheme through which people are given a chance to tailor a personal principle onto a t-shirt, a slogan of something they believe in.
The best aspect of ‘mondonation’ is that it donates a portion of the profit earned from the sale of it’s “I believe” t-shirts to various charities worldwide. With the “believe” t-shirts, the company has managed to touch and inspire a great number of people, proof of which can be seen after viewing their YouTube videos (some of those videos have been viewed almost 700,000 times!).
It is sad to see that the charitable opportunities created by the mondonation brand may be damaged by the infringement of their identity. Thousands of people have bought the “I believe” t-shirts and support the many charities working with ‘mondonation’. It will be a pity to see the t-shirts become an advertisement for Britney Spears’ new perfume. Elizabeth Arden, the company launching the “believe” perfume has shown some really shocking and inconsiderate business values for harming a brilliant and positive brand image. They have deliberately and unashamedly copied another organization’s logo. Therefore, they should make things right by penalizing the design team that imitated mondonation’s original “I believe” insignia, and must also compensate by giving a donation to mondonation as a compensation for the damage caused to the charity and its cause.
On other note, some people state that the rip by Elizabeth Arden may have been an unintentional mistake, considering that the typeface used in the fragrance logo is not the same as the original mondonation “I believe”. Certain designers have also tried supporting the attempt. They say that the similar use of colors could have been a mistake since the colors pink and green are parallel to each other on the color wheel, and designers tend to pick colors that are next to each other on the wheel.
Nevertheless, mistake or no mistake, it is a little difficult to believe that the design team of such an influential company could actually make such a big blunder. For most of us with common sense, it is very clear to see that the perfume carrying the pop princess’s name has ripped off the charity’s identity. No wonder so many indignant supporters of the charity have lodged official complaints against Elizabeth Arden to stop the launch of the fragrance and change the logo.
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‘The house of Chanel’ is a popular French designer house established in Paris, founded by Gabrielle Bonheur “Coco” Chanel. The Chanel fashion house is world famous for its line of clothing, perfumes and other fashion accessories.
‘Hermès is also a French designer corporation. It is directly linked to impeccable taste and high-class style. This label is given rightly so, simply because each of their products are of the highest quality and are made painstakingly with utmost care and precision. The Hermès designer logo depicts a horse and carriage. It is a highly symbolic logo and was used by the Hermès family to show how their company evolved with the changing times. The logo itself oozes antique excellence, heritage and has a sense of stature.
The Versace designer logo, unlike any other, is an interesting illustrative designer logo. It is symbolically linked to Greek mythology, which shows the snake-entwined head of Medusa, an evilish character from Greek mythology, who turned onlookers into stone. This designer logo pays homage to Gianni Versace, the founder of the company, who was obsessed with classical themes. According to him, Medusaw seemed the right choice as “she is the epitome of fatal attraction”. The logo depicts a sense of seduction and history and symbolizes the Versace goddess, whom Gianni’s clothes are made for. It beautifully projects the Versace image for being sultry, glamorous and over-the-top. Due to its unique design the logo itself looks highly artistic and bold when used on Versace products. The Versace brand is famous for creating risqué, sensuous and beautiful clothes. 
Givenchy is mostly famous for its line of perfumes as well as clothing and jewelry. The Givenchy designer logo is very appealing even though it is very simple. It nevertheless leaves a forceful impression on the viewer. The logo consists of a quadruple ‘G’ forming a larger square. It is a bold linear logo yet it creates a sense of fluidity. This symbol reminds of Celtic jewelry with a similar sort of complex and delicate design; the symmetrical nature employed is extremely appealing too. 
Louis Vuitton is mostly famous for its monogrammed handbags, luggage and other fashion accessories. Hence, the Louis Vuitton designer logo is widely known and recognized. It is a stylized Japanese inspired floral motif, representing the brand’s initials. The font used for this logo is rather distinguished, having a very attractive appeal, and effectively manages to make the initials stand out.
The newly re-branded Citibank logo was unveiled on February 13, 2007. The launch event, which was notably quiet, featured the announcement of the sale of the umbrella logo, and the creation of the new modified signature system. This change was an endeavor to merge the group’s various companies into one unified ‘Citi’. The change took place primarily due to the transformation of Citibank from “Citigroup” to “Citi”. This transformation was made in 1999; however, the emendation of the brand logo was put off, as the CEO of the Citibank Corporation, Charles Prince, was waiting to eliminate the umbrella from the iconic logo; by selling it back to the St. Paul Travelers Companies. This transaction was eventually made and the amount generated was apparently used to pay for the new “Citi” re-branding. 
The formal name was changed from “Citigroup” to just “Citi” in every respect. “Citigroup” is nevertheless still the corporation’s legal name. The word “Citi” was added to all unit names apart from the Mexican Banamex and the distant unit Primerica. This change is best described as a brand consolidation rather than a re-branding effort as it affects internal agents far more than the external ones.
Hence, the retail bank’s blue-red “Citi” will be applied to unit signatures, but with gray/ silver letterforms. The change hasn’t been responded to with too much enthusiasm. According to some, the previous logo featuring the “Citibank” word mark and compass rose, generated far more impact and is felt to be more confident in depicting a bold visual presence and stature.
Nevertheless, the “Citi” prevails and as agreed by all, has managed to encompass all the units and creates a sense of unity which was previously amiss. Without the umbrella logo, the brand is portrayed positively with a more formal and reserved personality and the gray/silver express the distinction wonderfully.
