Archive for the ‘Graphic Design’ Category
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25September
- Back to School with College and University Logos
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Ah, college. What a great time in a young adult’s life to experience higher education, a chance to grow and mature, time to do a little partying and the sheer opportunity to gain a little independence. They say college years are the best years of your life and that is true for the most part. There is no other time in the future that is exactly the same. Most of us who thoroughly enjoyed college are always trying to get back there. Unfortunately, the time passes so quickly and right when we feel like we are adjusting, it ends, but it leaves us with a world of memories.
Higher education is a business, like any other. Both colleges and universities have to do their part in selling themselves to students to stir interest in their facilities. Of course, this means branding themselves, and displaying a great logo is a huge part of that branding. The logos for colleges and universities all vary in different ways, but are all very formal. Some have slogans and some display a coat of arms representing the history of the school. You can tell a lot by the logo such as an idea of the age of the school, it’s history and you can gain a feel for their branding efforts. The variety of logo designs is extremely interesting, but they all share a very professional look along with a bold font.
Penn State in State College, Pennsylvania, has multiple logos to represent their very large, well known school. It’s easy to see that the school’s logo designers have put forth a successful effort in their development. All four examples involve some form of their famous Nittany Lion and their navy blue and white school colors.
A coat of arms for a college or university is used as a common symbol to represent the school. A coat of arms is a traditional design that represents a group of people or a family. The coat of arms usually contains ancestral designs within a shield. The symbols stand for ancestry and achievement. Most colleges or universities date back over a hundred years, therefore the coat of arms contains history and meaning. The details change from school to school, but the symbols celebrate pride.
College is a great accomplishment is a graduate’s life and once all that studying and hard work is done, there exists a sense of pride in an alumnus’s heart. A great logo for a college is important since it’s not only all over the school, but the life of the logo continues as alumni proudly display it on clothes, bumper stickers or other merchandise. School logos become traditions, therefore an effort to be the best is well worth it.
-Nora Reed
Tags: college logos, Graphic Design, graphics, higher education, Logo Design, university logos
Posted in Graphic Design, Logo Inspiration, LogoBlog | 3 Comments »
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08September
- Logo Blog has Swine Flu! Swine Flu Logos
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The Swine flu or H1N1 virus has created quite a stir in the past few months. The media has made sure that we are so aware of it, that it has been the basis of paranoia among those who have even the slightest germ fear. Supposedly, this winter season is when it will hit the hardest, but who really knows? The precautions that we’ve been encouraged to take are a bit ridiculous. Basically school students are encouraged not to have any physical contact with each other whatsoever and colleges are considering having a quarantined area for those who feel sick. Is this flu stain really a good reason to stir such a fear in people? It could very easily be something created by the drug companies to sell more vaccines.
Whatever the case may be, the Swine flu is still the biggest health threat that is creeping up on us right now and it seems that we hear more and more about it every waking hour. It’s almost impossible not to think about it all the time, therefore designers express their own interpretation and create logos that represent or mock the virus.
Although we have been encouraged not to fear pigs themselves, the swine flu still got its name from a pig, therefore there are a lot of opportunities to use the pig image in a Swine flu logo creation. The bio hazard symbol along with the pig seems to be a common image. There is also a lot of creativity, in which the pig’s snout is replaced with a skull. This image is a bit morbid, especially since the media is referring to Swine flu as “deadly,” although it’s just as deadly as the regular flu, which also claims many lives every year, but we don’t get upset over that. Much like SARS, it’s nothing that can’t be cured with a little chicken soup and sprite, or maybe a dose of Tamiflu.
So it seems we are in for a long winter of encouraged fear, in which every cough or sneeze will be an excuse to stay home, but maybe a little relaxing time isn’t a bad thing. Just make sure to drink a little extra OJ in the morning and your dose of vitamin C should be covered, but I still wouldn’t recommend going around kissing any pigs.
-Nora Reed
Tags: epidemic, H1N1 Virus, swine flu, tamiflu
Posted in Graphic Design, Logo Design Tips, Logo Inspiration, LogoBlog | 2 Comments »
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01September
- I Scream, You Scream, We all Scream for Ice Cream Logos
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Ice cream is normally considered a refreshing treat during summer months, but is also delicious and popular anytime of the year. Birthdays, holidays, or just weekdays, any event is a great excuse for ice cream. With such a wide variety of flavors and ways to eat it, ice cream is a successful business. Below are the logos for most of the well known ice cream producers. These companies have proven successful, but are their logos worthy of their delicious products?
It seems that an arched banner is used quite often in ice cream logos. The top three have this, although the Blue Bunny company tried a straight across banner style. Ben and Jerry’s always had the arched banner design. I don’t think that their logo has changed much over time, but why mess with a good thing? Turkey Hill actually sells more than just ice cream but they still use the banner look nonetheless. I love how Edy’s makes creative use of the apostrophe in their name, in which it is a leaping person with an ice cream cone. It’s a creative take on an otherwise plain logo design.
Breyers uses the leaf design to show that their products contain all natural ingredients. With our society so interested in “going green,” they are already ahead of the game. Their latest logo is very professional and adds a nice touch to their packaging.
The Baskin Robbins logo has also gone through a series of changes through the years. Their latest version dropped the “31″ and stuck with their “BR” initials in the center. It seems that the company is trying to pull off what Dairy Queen made popular by just using their initials, although I think “DQ” works better than “BR.”
Good Humor dropped their stripes and their second color too in their logo redesign.
Does this logo say ice cream to you? I think it is a bit more elegant in appearance than most of the others. To me, it looks like gourmet ice cream, not to be confused with the everyday. Haagen-Dazs is something you would enjoy for special occasions, to treat yourself to the best.
Cold Stone Creamery has a different take on ice cream with the way they make it right in front of you and pack it with toppings, cakes and candy. Their logo is classy and inviting, but you can’t buy Cold Stone in the grocery store. You have to visit them directly to experience the tastes that they offer, but the trip is worth it.
Just by the many company logos out there, it is easy to see that an ice cream company is a popular business and there’s no reason it shouldn’t be. Sounds like it’s time for a snack!
-Nora Reed
Tags: ice cream, ice cream logos, Logo Design, summer snacks
Posted in Graphic Design, Logo Inspiration, LogoBlog | 3 Comments »
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20August
- Get in the Game: Game Logos Part III
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Recreational Sport Logos
Sports and active competition are a major part of our society. Most days of the week are dedicated to some sporting event and we just can’t get enough of it. Just like most things, sports can open the door for other marketing opportunities like TV commercials, merchandise sales or team logos. Everyone knows the major designs for our most famous sports teams, but what about some of the lesser known ones? In the world of recreational sports, there are a ton of smaller, non-professional teams that have worked hard and created logos that are just as good as the famous ones.
With some inspiration from the NFL logo, the Mount Lawley indoor soccer team uses a shield to express its strength and it stands out with a bold, black line surrounding it. The ink splatter makes it more unique and gives it a distinct look. The spots that are left on the white background somewhat resemble the black and white of a soccer ball.
Simple and to the point. Outlaw Motor Sports sticks to only a few warm colors that compliment each other and don’t overkill the design. The text looks like a low sunset at the bottom of a mountain with the yellow fading into the red.
I love how the “M” and the horse’s legs seem to run together in this design for the Medaille Mavericks. The design has potential, but does not seem complete to me. The “M” could be reworked a little to flow better and some yellow highlights on the horse may help a lot.
I’m not sure why this monkey is kick boxing or how the monkey itself represents anything that has to do with kick boxing, but perhaps that is the idea behind this logo. It may be meant to cause you to question it. It looks like it is done well, simple, limited color use and memorable, but the monkey just confuses me. At least it does stand out.
The Seattle Orca logo is a great visual for team logos. It has the orca whale as the main focus with a football on its fin as if it’s holding it. The Space Needle in the background is a great addition, representing Seattle and the text is a perfect representation of sea life. Overall, the logo has everything and works great.
I know this qualifies as a video game, but since it also forces you to get off the couch and work those muscles, Wii Sports Resort also qualifies as a recreational sport. The logo is just blue text, but the font used for the word sports has an italicized look as if it is leaning from a swift wind blowing by. It’s a nice, subtle touch that seems to carry a feel of energy.
Magic is a race against your other opponents and also works as a social event. Like most card games, interaction with others is involved and Magic brings the fantasy element to the table. The logo has that fantasy/sci-fi look, like something right out of the pages of a book of spells. This version of the logo briefly demonstrate the detailed work that is displayed on each individual card. They all represent different things depending on what the card is about, but the artwork is pretty amazing in itself.
Uno has a very simple logo with bold, block lettering. The letters have a sleek shine and 3D effect. On the box cover, there is a plain, red background, but the individual cards have the “Uno” name within a red oval with a black background. This oval carries on to all the other cards thereafter.
Sports and logo designs seem to go hand in hand. Every team needs a great logo. If they didn’t have one, what would they display on their shirts or helmets? Recreational games are an enjoyable part of all our lives, why not get involved?
-Nora Reed
Tags: activities, Logo Design, logos, recreational sport logos, sporting events, sports
Posted in Graphic Design, Logo Inspiration, LogoBlog | 2 Comments »
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18August
- Get in the Game: Game Logos Part II
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Board Game Logos
I personally never really liked board games for most of my life until the last few years when I took a major interest in them and realized that they are a lot of fun. There are many really great ones out there that are both challenging and enjoyable, however I usually find the classic games to be the best. Its got to be hard to try to come up with games that can top monopoly, scrabble, yahtzee or clue. They are just too good, which is why they have stayed popular for such a long time.
My interest in games lead me to assess the logos and box art that is displayed so proudly on the game’s cover. It seems that most of them are simple designs such as a manipulated font or just colored text. I found it difficult to find pictures of the logos themselves, so you get to see the entire box cover for most of them, but you can get the idea.
This is actually the cover of a Nintendo DS game, but the game is based on a few of the original board games, so it was a good example of a bunch of their logos all in one. Most of these seem to be simple text with few flashy graphics, but I believe that is because high quality graphic design was not as convenient at the time when these board games were fresh and new.
The Monopoly design is very simple with just the name of the game in a red banner. Other versions of the game’s logo had the same design, but with Mr. Monopoly popping his head out of the center. This same design was later modified in which higher tech graphics were used to give Mr. Monopoly a more 3D look. A shadow was added behind his hand and he is in color. The letters themselves are also more 3 dimensional and emerge a bit from their red banner background.
The Scrabble Board game logo has gone through an update as well. The original was very formal and classy, using a lot of curly ends on the letters. The “S” and the “E” had a handwritten script look to it and the “R” only came down below the “A.” In the new version, the “R” extends below the entire rest of the word. It also lost the red scroll in the background and gained an abstract, bubbly design behind the letters. This version has a much more modern look, which may help it appeal to the current generation.
With simple capital lettering in blocks of color, the game of Life always keeps its logo, but changes backgrounds according to different themes it has taken on over time.
Candy Land has the perfect logo for its title. What better way to demonstrate a world of candy, but with lettering that is made up of peppermint sticks? It’s just a preview of the peppermint forest that you travel through while playing the game.
Blokus is quite an enjoyable game if you get a chance to play. It is one that I think every gamer should try out if they haven’t already. It is a basic strategy game, but is a lot of fun. Their logo isn’t bad either. The square design is right from the game and the four colors represent the four players.
I enjoy this game, although I think there should be an apple somewhere in that logo. The lettering and colors do seem to suit it, but with a picture of an apple missing, it just seems incomplete.
I think that board games have been pushed aside a bit with all of the newer technologies that are available, but I still find them to be great pass times. They are something to do that is social and can bring people together. A party just isn’t the same without breaking out a game of Balderdash or Apples to Apples. If you haven’t tried it yet, its a great way to get a party going.
-Nora Reed
Tags: board game logos, board games, brand, classic games, gamers, identity, logo designs
Posted in Graphic Design, Logo Inspiration, LogoBlog | 2 Comments »