THE 30 BEST LOGOS IN HISTORY

What is a logo?

A logo is a graphic representation of a trademark. It is created for easy recognition of the company’s brand among consumers.
A logo should be unique and of high quality, attracting the attention of the buyer. Logos were created to distinguish the products of manufacturers from the same industry.

KOLORO is dedicated to designing one-of-a-kind logos.

There are several types of logos:

1. Letter logo – one or more letters are used.
2. Logo “Symbol” – depicted as graphic or letter symbols.
3. Logo “Emblem” — a graphic element of image and text.
4. Logoslovo logo – consists of letters only.
5. Abstract Sign Logo – Creates a visual form of the company’s concept through a symbol.

The world’s first logo

The first logo in the world was a picture of a dog listening to a gramophone. The dog’s name was Nipper.
One of the Barro family brothers saw a dog enjoying listening to the Edison-Bell phonograph and decided to capture the moment by drawing a picture of “Dog Listening to the Phonograph.”

In 1900, Mark Barro’s brother Francis took Nipper’s drawing to the Disc Gramophone Company. The owners of the company liked the drawing very much and decided to produce their goods with this image. But the original version of the drawing, which depicted a drum gramophone, was changed to a disk gramophone. The drawing became the first trademark of the companies: “HMV music stores, RCA, Victor and HMV records. The company also began to produce records with Nipper’s drawing.
The logo is now being used by the store’s music channel HWV.

Evolution of logos of global brands

World brand logos have not always looked stylish and concise. Some companies, even being popular among consumers, have redrawn their logos. The main reasons:

• rebranding;
• change of direction;
• following new trends.

Let’s, take a look at some examples of the evolution of company logos.

• Apple World Corporation

The company’s first logo was an engraving of Isaac Newton under an apple tree, which was wrapped around a large ribbon with the signature “Apple Computer Co” (1976-1977). The designer of this logo was one of the company’s founders, Ronald Wayne. After Ronald’s departure, the logo was changed.

The second Apple logo was made by designer Rob Janov. There is nothing left of the old company logo, except, perhaps, the idea of a fruit falling on Newton’s head. The new Apple logo is a rainbow apple (1977-1998).

The logo we see now on Apple products was changed in 2007. The “Apple” became metallic with reflections, but the shape remained the same.

• Samsung

Samsung means “three stars” in Korean. The company was established in South Korea. In the first three logos, stars and the name Samsung were used.

In 1993 the company decided to create a new logo for its 55th anniversary. It still exists today. It is a blue ellipse with “SAMSUNG” written in white stylized letters in the center.

• Twix bars

The first bars were produced in 1967 in Britain. They were called Raider. But a few years later, in 1979, the name was changed. Raider became Twix. After the name change, the products began to be exported to the USA.

The name Twix is made up of two words, “double” and “biscuit”. Twix bars are very popular all over the world. In Ireland, they are still sold under the first name Raider.

• Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola has the most recognizable corporate logo style that is over 117 years old. The company was established in 1886 and the logo in 1893. The company’s logo is written in the calligraphic Spencer font. It was created by Frank Robinson, an accountant and friend of the company’s owner.

In the early 1980s, due to competition from Pepsi products, the decision was made to change the company’s logo to New Coke. By making this marketing move, the company began to lose sales. Consumers did not like the new name of the drink. After some time, the drink was returned to its former name of Coca-Cola, thus the company improved its sales.

• Pepsi

In 1903, the Pepsi-Cola brand was created. Agreed, the first logo of the company is not very pretty. You could say it was a failure.
To prevent this from happening to your brand, you need to turn to the team of professionals at KOLORO, who will help you make your logo perfect.

After the great depression of the 30s, Pepsi-Cola was able to prove to the Coca-Cola Company that it could compete with it on the same level.

In 1962, the company changed its logo to a tricolor ball and also removed the Cola prefix. It is now referred to only as Pepsi. Still, the company’s logo changes very often. What this is related to is unknown.

• McDonald’s

In 1940, the McDonald’s company was established. The company’s first logo was an image of a Speedee chef. Later, the Speedee logo was redrawn. In the 60s, Jim Spindler changed the company logo to the one we know now. And that’s the letter M.

Fashion industry logos (famous fashion brands)

Almost every one of us can recognize and name the monograms of brands. For fashion houses, the logo is very important because most of the fashion houses are named after the founding designers.

• Louis Vuitton

The fashion house was established in 1854. The company’s corporate logo is the LV monograms. The color of the monograms and the canvas could change, but the logo of this brand has not changed to this day, except for a little simplification in the 2000s.
The brand’s clothes are made of very high quality materials and therefore the products are expensive.

Louis Vuitton brand goods are copied the most. But it is very easy to recognize a fake – in the original, the brand logo is always symmetrically arranged.

• Chanel

The Chanel logo first appeared in 1921. It was depicted on the bottle of Chanel No. 5 perfume. The company logo is a double letter C. It resembles two wedding rings that are not joined together. The letter C is the initials of Coco Chanel.

• Fendi

The Fendi logo was created in 1972, by the company’s new designer, Karl Lagerfeld. The brand logo is a large letter F, which is mirrored.

• Versace

The logo of the house of Versace is very extravagant and unconventional. It was designed in 1978 by Gianni Versace. The logo represents the head of Medusa Gorgon, a representative of Greek mythology. The designer explained why he chose this character: “It is a synthesis of beauty and simplicity that can mesmerize anyone, just like the clothes produced by the brand”.

• Givenchy

In 1952, Givenchy brand begins to produce high quality clothes, as well as a line of jewelry and perfumes. The logo of the brand is very simple and laconic. The quadruple letter G is placed in a square. It resembles the jewelry of the Celts.

Automobile brand logos

“Winged” cars:

Bentley is a British luxury car. The characteristic of the car can be described in just two words – aristocratic luxury. The logo of the car is the letter “B” enclosed in wings. The emblem indicates the power, speed, elegance of Bentley limousines.

Aston Martin – the car logo was created in 1927. These are eagle wings that frame the inscription Aston Martin. The owners of the company compared their car to an eagle. Because an eagle is a fast, agile and predatory bird.

Chrysler – the first logo of American cars was a pentagonal star created in 1923. After the company joined the German concern Daimler AG in 1998, the logo was changed to “open wings”. They demonstrate the virtuosity and uniqueness of Chrysler cars.

Cars with animal logos

Jaguar – whose emblem was originally SS – Swallow Sidecar. From English “swallow” means “swallow”. After World War II, most Europeans had negative associations with the SS emblem (association with fascists), so the owners of the company decided to change the name of the brand. Swallow Sidecar was replaced by Jaguar. Agree, strength, grace and elegance are very suitable for modern Jaguar cars.

Lamborghini – at first, the Italian company was engaged in the production of tractors. Therefore, the bull became the emblem of the company. This animal is very hardy and strong. Now, Lamborghini cars are powerful, expensive supercars, and the emblem of the golden bull suits them very well.

Ferrari – the automobile logo of this brand is familiar to everyone. Its main attributes are a galloping black stallion on a yellow-gold background with a painted Italian flag at the top of the logo.

The Ferrari emblem was originally on the airplane of pilot Francesco Baracca, during the First World War. Enzo Ferrari, asked Francesco to give him the logo. The pilot agreed and gave Enzo the right to use the logo.

The best music industry logos

Virgin is a British record label. It was founded in 1972 by Richard Branson and Simon Draper. The name of the label is very interesting. Virgin means “virgin” in English.

Created the logo for Virgin Records (the first company), by English illustrator Roger Dean.

A few years later, the Virgin brand became very popular with English performers. After Virgin signed a contract with the punk rock band Sex Pistols, Branson decided that their company lacked boldness. Therefore, the decision was made to change the company’s logo.

Legend has it that an artist drew the new logo we know now on a napkin. Branson loved it. Richard associated the new logo with his company. “Simplicity, attitude and energy – that’s us,” Branson said.

Sony Music Entertainment – established in 1988 and owned by Sony. It is one of the “Big Four” record companies in the world. Sony Music covers practically the entire show business.

The first logo of the company was multicolored, small triangles with the letters SMV in the middle. The company’s logo changed very often. In 2009, Sony Music decided to make the logo completely different. The new logo looks like this: a simple red brush effect on a white background and the text “SONY MUSIC” appears in the appropriate Sony font.

AC/DC is a world famous rock band. Most people may not know the band, but everyone recognizes the AC/DC logo.

Creative director Bob Defrinom helped the rock band create the logo. The font was chosen from the Gutenberg Bible, the first printed book in history.

Huerta’s intention was to create an emblem in keeping with the biblical imagery of the AC / DC song “Let There Be Rock”. Of course, the lightning bolt and blood red coloring suggest the presence of less angelic influences.

The Rolling Stones are a famous British rock band. Designer John Pasche helped the band to make the logo. He received 50 pounds for his work. The designer was inspired by Mick Jagger’s expressive lips and tongue. He was also inspired by the Hindu goddess Kali.

Queen is a British rock band of the mid-1970s. It captured the hearts of many listeners. The logo was created by the band’s lead singer Freddie Mercury. He depicted the letter Q (the band’s name) surrounded by the zodiac signs of the band’s musicians.

Trends in logo design 2017

Design trends change almost every season. This applies not only to clothing, makeup and style, but also to trends in graphic logo design.
Logo Trends 2017

Minimalism

Many companies resort to this style, because minimalism is simplicity and brevity. In minimalism, very few colors are used. Everything should be simple and executed in one style, without unnecessary additions.

For example, the well-known Instagram app used this style.

The company’s first logo was a black and white image of a Polaroid OneStep camera. In May 2016, the company decided to rebrand not only the logo, but also to change the design of the app. Now it is a camera and a rainbow made with a gradient effect.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=hU9BoGlwtIY

Color Gradient

Create a logo with a gradient of colors – a very good move for many companies, because this trend will be at the peak of popularity for a long time. A vivid example is the international payment system MasterCard. The designers of the company simplified the design and used the filling of geometric shapes of the logo.

Black and white trend

Black and white design will always be on trend. The brevity and simplicity of two colors is always a win-win option.

The best example is the world-famous Nike brand.

Carolyn Davidson helped to create the logo for the brand. The logo features an abstract wing of the goddess Niki.

Geometric shapes

To create a unique but at the same time simple logo designers use geometric shapes that are very easy to perceive and remember.

Example – the logo of YouTube, a service that provides video hosting services. The brand logo is a “bubble” with a “play” icon in the middle.

Lettering

A fairly simple style. The letters are selected specifically for a particular name or text and are used only once.

Lettering can be referred to as the logo of Google. The first logo of the company was created in a graphic editor by co-founder Sergey Brin. The designer of the new style of the Google logo, was Ruth Kedar. It was she who came up with the design of the logo we know now.

Hand-drawn

Hand-drawn logos look clear and “vernacular”. A lot of world-famous companies use this style.

“Johnson & Johnson ” is a good example of the new trend of 2017. The company logo is very simple – it is red text on a white background, handwritten.

Web animated logos

Web animated logos are the trend of 2017. They look very bright, extraordinary, With the help of Gif logos you can attract the attention of consumers.

Disney has been capitalizing on this trend for quite some time. Back in 1985, Tinker Bell began flying over Sleeping Beauty’s castle.

KOLORO company will develop for you a unique design of your logo, because our specialists are always in touch with new trends of world design.