Logos have proved time and time again that they are an important part of creating an identity. It seems President Obama and his administration have realized that, therefore, they have created quite a buzz with their recent logo use.

We were first introduced to Obama’s campaign logo during his run for President. The logo is the “O” with the American flag strips that was a big conversation starter, since it resembled the newly designed Pepsi logo, which is also a circle “O” shape containing a stripe of white across a mass of red and blue.

It seems that the buzz has begun once again with the administration’s new attempt at Obama’s health care logo.

The logo contains the original Obama Hope Logo with an added caduceus integrated at the top. The caduceus is traditionally known to represent the medical profession. The light blue, mono toned background shows the United States covered with hopeful people in front of a rising sun. The overall design looks very hopeful and promising. The people look happy and are looking forward to a bright future, but is it all a lie?

The big argument that the new logo brought up is not about how legitimate the hope that the logo offers is, but the debate is over the way the logo seems to resemble a specific Nazi symbol. It seems that the government logo designers do not think with much originality considering it is so easy to find symbols that compare closely to them, or are people simply looking for flaws?

I personally think that the comparison is reaching a bit. Yes, there is a bird with outstretched wings, which could look like the wings of the caduceus and a circular Nazi symbol at its feet, which could look similar to the round design of the Obama Hope Logo, but the only thing that looks similar is the outward shape. If you stare at both designs and blur your eyes, then I would agree that the outward shapes look pretty similar. The symbol in the Obama Heath Care Logo does have wings, but it’s not a bird. The caduceus is a traditional symbol that has existed since the time of ancient Greeks and has been used to represent medicine for decades in North America. Is the American public so desperate to criticize that they will go to any measure?

-Nora Reed

Real or Photoshopped? Sometimes it’s hard to tell. With a little knowledge of the program and some creative ideas, you can do just about anything in Adobe Photoshop and there are many who have. The images below are quite obviously tampered with, but they look so well done that they are as close to real as you can get. Take a look for yourself and enjoy and please, let me know what you think!

-Nora Reed

Video Game Logos

Over the past 30 years or so, video games have come a long way. Those of us who remember the days of Atari and old school Nintendo can really appreciate the way games have advanced, but we learn to take the good with the bad. There have been a lot of terrible attempts at games, but then there are others that are created well and pave the way. What helps sell a game? Whether it’s a video game, board game, computer game, card game, DVD game, or whatever else might be out there, games are there for entertainment value, so as long as they are fun and well thought out, they will sell. What makes the the public interested enough to buy a game and start that word of mouth that helps them sell? Well, it seems that is where the marketing aspect comes in and packaging and logos are the best way to get a game started and selling off the shelves.

Creating any game is a challenging concept and some are great, while others fail. Where does the inspiration come from to make a game let alone a logo to sell it? I suppose it can come from anywhere, but usually popular events like sports or skiing or the Olympics inspire most games. As long as there is a collection of quirky characters thrown in, a great game is born. Games have always been the greatest form of interactive entertainment and as technology progressed, so did the nature of the games. With motion sensor and wireless technology, we have Nintendo’s Wii, which opened up a whole world of possibilities for gaming. It’s just a shame that Nintendo failed in almost every way in making successful games for their fantastic system. The best game is still the one that the system came with. Most of their games have great potential but are lacking in many areas. Video games rely more on word of mouth to get sales, but great logos always makes a major difference. Here are a few examples of game system logos.

Game systems themselves have creative logos and they should, since the gaming companies have to sell you on the console before they can sell you the games themselves, so the system logos are just as important. The console logo is also usually displayed on all the games that go with that system as well.

I love how a simple idea became such a popular and addicting game. Guitar Hero is a great interactive game that really is a lot of fun and great for groups. The logo works well because it has a cutting edge font and a great feel for the rocker style. The typography is very linear and the thick, black edges make it appear tough and foreboding.

Here is a classic symbol for a classic game. This is one of those that stirs up arcade memories in dedicated gamers.

I really like the Kingdom Heart’s logo. It is fun and adventurous and really draws you in. The font is very medieval and Gothic in appearance and something like that attached to a video game just screams mythical journey or adventure, which everyone has a natural attraction to. The background heart and crown design just brings it all together and creates a well established overall look.

I like how the DDR logo has that great arcade look to it. Since it is an original arcade game that was later modified to play at home, the logo works very well. It’s bold and colorful and full of energy. The circle of color behind the letters looks like a form of disco ball. It seems to be exactly how a logo should look for a game that represents dancing.

Video games probably still have a long road ahead of them. We still haven’t explored all the virtual reality options that are most likely approaching in the near future. It’s only a matter of time before we feel we can jump right into the TV screen when involved in a game. These future prospects are always good news for logo designers, since future games mean a need for new or updated logos!

-Nora Reed

I seem to be a little behind when it comes to seeing the latest movie releases in theaters, but I did get a chance to see the new Harry Potter movie this weekend, “Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince,” and I have to say that the books are so good that they do ruin the movies a bit for me. The book is always better. Don’t get me wrong, the movie wasn’t bad, it was most definitely entertaining, visually stunning and enjoyable to watch, but with the amount of story that the book contains, I don’t always think that the right parts are chosen to go into the film. Major plot points of the book are always cut out and they are important. I do understand that following the entire book on the big screen would probably result in a 6-8 hr movie, but I think the decision to cut some important scenes is not always in the movie’s best interest.

The main logo design for the Harry Potter series is a simple design with Harry’s name in bold, carved out lettering. It has a jagged look as if it were scratched into a piece of wood or embossed from a piece of wood or even gold. The highlight of the lettering is the lightning bolt shaped “P”, which resembles Harry’s scar. There are many variations on this, in which the lettering appears in gold or silver and sometimes with a background glow. The other versions no longer look like carvings, but like thick metal. They all have a very ominous feel so that we know there is trouble out there for our friend, Harry.

There are not that many other designs scattered through the current six Harry Potter movies, but I did find this interesting Hogwart’s Crest. The symbol represents the four houses that make up the school as a whole and can sometimes be seem displayed on articles of Harry’s clothing or uniforms.

Another famous image toward the later movies is the “dark mark,” displayed above. This is the symbol for the evil death eaters and the dark lord. I will not say his name. The symbol, a skull releasing a snake from its mouth, is tattooed on the arms of his followers and often appears in the sky when they are creating mayhem.

It’s amazing how much popularity a book series can stir up, but when something is good, it’s not long until word of mouth spreads it to the rest of the world. The series has been popular for over twelve years now and as a fan, I thoroughly enjoy both the books and the movies, although for anyone who only watches the movies, I would recommend some sit down reading time with each novel. It’s definitely worth it and there is always the hope that a new logo will come about for the next one!

-Nora Reed

July 22, 2009. Today was the occurrence of the longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century. Depending on how you look at it, this is either a glorious act of nature, or a negative omen that will bring about chaos and turmoil, or so they think in India based on religious views. Supposedly the energy can be felt worldwide, although I simply find it fascinating and think of it as an astronomical event that we rarely  have the opportunity to witness. Unfortunately, living in the US prevents me from seeing it live, but it still stirred up some thought on how a solar eclipse has been inspiration to create logos. Take the show “Heroes” for example, their main logo focuses on this interesting event. Below are a few samples of the show’s logo design.

The logo has a few variations, in which one includes visuals of the cast members or a different version of the actual eclipse, however, the glowing sun is present in every version, even if it is mostly hidden.

An eclipse is a powerful image and here, in the above wallpaper display, Apple created their own view of a solar eclipse, in which the Apple logo replaces the moon. It makes the logo appear very strong and powerful with the bright back light shining behind it.

An eclipse style logo is used for many other businesses as well as TV shows. Here above, we have Eclipse eye wear, Eclipse gum and Eclipse is even the name of a specific bar and grill where the crescent moon makes up the “C.”

Hopefully all of those who could see the eclipse made sure to do so. The next one won’t occur for quite some time. An eclipse is a rare and beautiful thing, and based on the logos I found, it’s very effective in the design world as well.

-Nora Reed