Archive for September, 2008
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29September
- India Goes Postal: Accuracy vs. Symbolism in Logo Design
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With yesterdays unveiling of the new Indian Postal Service logo, there is much talk about the symbolism involved in government agencies and their branding choices. I would like to take a look at some of the global logos that you may see daily and not take the time to really examine. Considering current events, how about we first look at the Indian Postal Service.
A Raja, India’s Minister of Communications and IT has recently announced plans for a revamped postal service public. With changes in regards to service, technology, design, and structure, the India Post is implementing drastic changes. These changes can be clearly seen in the new logo design.
As an important part of any organization’s image, the new logo reflects the ideals in which the India Post aims to follow.
Take a look at the new logo, what do you see? First thing that comes to mind for me, an envelope. Whoa, surprising right? I like it. I believe that logos which depict the companies’ purpose in their design are on the right track. I also like how the design incorporates a more abstract approach to a courier service.
The three golden lines could also simultaneously represent a bird in flight. Furthering the idea of increased service, technology, and improvement, this soaring bird seems to fit. Either way, this new logo is leaps and bounds better than the older, rigid design.
Similar symbolism can be found in several other national postal services.
The United States Postal Service(United States) has changed quite a bit over the years. Starting in 1782 the US Postal Service was branded by the Roman god Mercury. This eventually changed into the image of a running pony(pony express) as seen below:
It wasn’t until 1970 that this image of an eagle was used.
Finally in the 1990’s the eagle of the 70’s lost its body, and the eagle head that is used today was the new face of the United States Postal Service. This recent logo incorporates many of the same themes as the new India Post logo. Both are rectangular shaped like an envelope. Both incorporate a bird in flight. Finally both give off the feeling of movement, which we all hope is exactly what our mail is doing.
There is also another interesting postal service who’s logo has undergone some changes for different reasons.
Royal Mail (Great Britain) is one of the more fascinating logos we find in the postage sector. The logo, rich in history, includes the Crown of Scotland first worn by King James the V in 1540. While there is no bird or envelope like the above examples, the essence of a “Royal” Mail alludes to only the highest of level of service. As with many pieces of British culture this logo is strongly intertwined with the history of its nobility.
This of course explains the shock when in 2002 Royal Mail spent over 2 million pounds in an effort to change the name and logo to Consignia.
This logo change was made in an attempt to complement the increasing international aims of Royal Mail, but was an unfortunate failure. This offered another prime example of the dangers of focusing solely on capitol in branding, and forfeiting meaningful design.
Here are some other Honorable Mentions for national post logo designs:
Canada Post
La Poste (France)
Like any industry, international postage demands a high quality logo. As seen in the above examples, this quality can either come from accurate symbolism, or a rich historical perspective. Personally, I’ll take symbolism any day. Which logo is your favorite, and more importatnly is there any room for an exciting Postal Service
Tags: Logo Design News, Logo Design Tips, Logo Inspiration
Posted in Logo Design News | 1 Comment »
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23September
- Saul Bass’ Times are a Changin’
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I have made my personal admiration for Paul Rand quite clear in my past posts. I was amazed to find however that I have not yet even so much as commented on Saul Bass. As my fellow enthusiasts know, Saul Bass is one of the most influential artists in many different forms of American art. Film, logo, graphic, posters, animation, he does it all.
You know his work even if you don’t shop for brand names. Titles such as “The Man with the Golden Arm” and Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho” also boast his work. His revolutionary designs changed multimedia in America forever. My film interests aside Bass’ logo accomplishments themselves take are more than impressive. Let’s take a look at a couple of them.
Girl Scouts of America (1978)
Bell Telephone (1969)
While several of these logos were created many decades ago, they are still timeless. But unfortunately this is not necessarily true for all of Bass’ designs. Please don’t misunderstand me, I love each of his original designs, but apparently the ad execs and new management didn’t feel the same way.
There is a certain feel in several of Bass’ designs that reflects his era. This is to be expected, but does not seem to go over well with the newer generations. Lets now take a look at some of Bass’ original designs, and their current interpretations.
While the new AT&T logo is clearly cleaner cut and new age, the Quaker Oats logo actually uses a painting from 1957. It seems that many organizations are moving away from the style of Saul Bass’ design, to looks from older or modern artists.
Saul Bass is an influential artist, and the world of American art lost a great contributor with his passing. It appears however that his designs are losing their place in corporate America, and finding their home in the museums.
Im still searching for that next great logo designer. While the designs may not last forever, There will be another logo king of the 21st century. Do you know him/her? Is it you?
Tags: Logo Design News, Logo Inspiration
Posted in Logo Design News | 4 Comments »
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18September
- Was a Lame Logo Behind the Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch Drama?
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If you have a TV, computer, cell phone, newspaper, eyes, ears, or any of the five senses at all, you know that both Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers experienced an interesting turn of events over the past weekend. In case you don’t, Lehman Brothers, one of the world’s four major banks filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In the very same weekend, Merrill Lynch, another large player in the world banking market, was bought out by Bank of America.
While I’m no Allen Greenspan, I know this is bad. I cannot even pretend to understand how all of these events unfolded. But I do a have a theory. A design theory. Even though Merrill Lynch was bought out, at least they were bought. Lehman Brothers on the other hand was not.
In the frame of reference of my expertise, one reason for all this failure stands out. Logos. Take a look at these two logos and the companies they represent.
Please do not get me wrong, I understand the industry, culture, and history of these two companies. Bright, colorful, or light hearted logos wouldn’t fit. As a logo enthusiast, I personally have to give Lehman Brothers an F for effort. I am only jesting of course by implying that boredom leads to bankruptcy. That being said, from a strictly visual perspective, Merrill Lynch is the only company I would pay any money for too.
Think this is a one time coincidence? Take a look at two other firms who have been bought out or gone under…
Bought out by J.P. Morgan
Bailed out by the U.S. Government
Coincidence? I don’t think so. Any other companies you’ve seen that went under possibly because of their snore of a logo? All I know is it seems like there may be something deeper here than it would seem.
Tags: Logo Design News
Posted in Logo Design News | 5 Comments »
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10September
- More of a Bore Than Gore,The Maverick of Boring Logo Design: John McCain
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With political tensions mounting I’m hesitant to even mention the name of any presidential hopeful, but I just cannot resist. Considering that Jessica had already touched on the ever changing Barack Obama logo, I would like to discuss John McCain in the interest of fairness.
McCain’s logo is, well, McCainish. There is a certain feel of undeniable boredom that flows over the image. Surely the McCain camp can think of something a bit more inspiring, given John McCain’s valorous service, and repudiation as a maverick Senator.
McCain has also added a little flavor to his logo with different color schemes, avoiding the cliché red, white, and blue. Well, almost, maybe just the red.
This rendition of the logo mixed it up a little better. The subtle color changes in the background allude to a waving American flag, but don’t over emphasize patriotic symbols. Even with these improvements however, the logo lacks any real “pop” that would guarantee votes.
One of the other few creative aspects of the logo is the centered star. But where have we seen this look before?
Two places. It may be hard to believe, but the star in the center of McCain’s logo is a military image. McCain’s connections with the military have been clearly identified, but by only incorporating one military theme creates a one sided logo. While it is easy to criticize for creativity and originality, McCain’s logo may just serve its purpose. He is after all, conservative.
The other? MMMM French fries.
While there are clear differences between the font and star, the name and concept are similar. McCain Foods is the world’s largest supplier of fast food potatoes.
While there is no legitimate connection between McCain the conservative and McCain the deep fryer, its fun to take lighter look at some serious political issues. There are some other different interpretations of McCain’s logo floating around that also seem to stir it up a little. These individual’s choose to take a more humorous approach and poke fun at McCain, but hey, if you cannot take a joke as president, Id be a little worried. Here are some of the interesting logos and slogans.
While these logos might not necessarily help John McCain win or lose an election, they would certainly help him juice up his image, for better or worse.
Any other suggestions for how to give McCain that extra boost at the end of the campaign?
Tags: Logo, Logo Design News, Occasion Logos
Posted in Graphic Design, Logo Design News, Logo Design Tips | 1 Comment »
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08September
- NFL Defeats European Football 1 to Nothing
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In contrast to the Football logos of Europe, American football teams follow different trends in their branding choices. Unlike many of the European football clubs, NFL teams are based around their mascots. Cowboys, Eagles, Bengals, Browns, etc. The importance of these mascots changes the face of the logos which represent them.
This tends to reduce clutter in the design. Many NFL teams have found the perfect balance between their history and simplicity that the European style has not yet discovered. I believe it is better to create a logo for a team, than hundreds if not thousands of years of history. While I am a history buff, in the world of logo design, I say 1-0, USA over Europe.
It is more common in American football to shift focus from the city in which the team represents, to the team themselves. This may be a result of the tendency for organizations to move; the Baltimore Colts to Indianapolis or the Houston Oilers to Tennessee. Whatever the reason, many teams have chosen to brand themselves around a single image.
This focus allows for simpler logos. While some images are complex illustrations, the concept of the image remains relatively basic. Take for example a European team and an NFL logo side by side.
Both logos include a crest, but fill the space in a very different way. Barcelona incorporates several different colors, patterns, images, and text in a small space. As discussed in my previous article, this is because of the decision to highlight the history of the football club. Oakland on the other hand, chose to depict one illustration of a raider, clean and simple. Which do you prefer?
While these NFL logos can be intricate, they still embody a simpler design as the eye processes only one concept. They stray away from confusing and busy images of European Football Logos. I believe this thought can also be applied to many other areas of design. American design in the past couple of years has been significantly more innovative, but attractive at the same time. Company, sport, and even political logos in the states seem to stand out more so than those of European designers.
Take these logos for example. Each is interesting and relatively complex, but leaves the onlooker with a sense of understanding. When looking at each logo I can, without any previous knowledge identify the logo with a jaguar, Viking, or dolphin.
Now look at the Barcelona logo. If you showed this to someone completely removed from the sports world, would they have any idea what it stood for? I don’t think so.
Here are some logos that are not necessarily as clear cut as the other NFL logos. They still however keep the simple, clean, and representative nature of most other NFL logos.
Your views on simplicity, history, symbolism, and tradition all determine how you would feel about these logos. Mine lead me to prefer the clean appeal of American mascot imagery. They are simple, fun, and most of all, memorable. This American style of design is unique and effective. While some European football clubs have gotten it right, to most I say, leave the history for the books.
Tags: Logo Design, logo news
Posted in Logo Design News | No Comments »
