Posts Tagged ‘Logo Design Tips’
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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
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