Oct 26, 2011read the 20 comments
Literally
“Some of the best logos are obvious, that’s what makes them resilient.”
— MICHAEL BIERUT
Red Cross, designed by Henri Dunant, 1863
Penguin, designed by Jan Tschichold, 1949
Blue Circle, designed by F H K Henrion, 1970
Shell, designed by Raymond Loewy, 1971
Apple, designed by Rob Janoff, 1977 (updated 1999)
Bell System, designed by Saul Bass, 1969
Greyhound, designed by Raymond Loewy, mid-1950s, (updated 2010 by Ajana Green of BSSP)
Chevron, designed by Lippincott Mercer, 1969 (updated 2005)
Sometimes, the design is in the name, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
20 appreciated comments, click here to add one
Steve Perry
Timeless, also, language is no barrier with these great examples of great design.
Oct 26th, 2011
CA
Well… It’s worth nothing they’re an obvious depiction of the name of the company, but not of the industy they’re in.
Oct 26th, 2011
David Airey
A logo doesn’t need to say what a company does.
Oct 26th, 2011
Tino Cordes
Wow, Red Cross, 1863. That must have been like Illustrator Beta :-D
Oct 27th, 2011
Silver Sova
No idea who designed it, but Puma’s original logo dates back to 1948. The image we recognize today, gets its backbone from a version produced in the seventies.
Oct 27th, 2011
Andrew Richardson
I’d also like to point out how a simple name has played into the success of these companies. A lot of companies try to squeeze so much into a name that it becomes almost as exhausting as their ghastly logos :).
Oct 28th, 2011
Neha
“A logo is only as good as the company it represents” – Paul Rand.
Having said that a logo needs to connect, and these surely do. Being literal representations of the name itself enhances that connect.
Oct 30th, 2011
Bas van der Horst
The Blue Circle and Red Cross logos are great in simplicity. Why aren’t there more company logos like this ;) Just back to two or three basic shapes combined.
Oct 30th, 2011
CA
@David – “A logo doesn’t need to say what a company does.” Of course not. First huge misconception that laymen will make tho.
Oct 30th, 2011
CA
@Neha – “A logo is only as good as the company it represents”. That probably is grossly taken out of context. Why? Because it should read “a logo can be only as good as the company it represents”. We’ve all seen cases of a great company with awful (not only aesthetically) logos.
Oct 30th, 2011
Suvadip Roy
This is called perfect branding! One can close his eyes and recall each in a flash. No introduction required. Thanks for sharing these.
Oct 31st, 2011
Kelly
These are examples of logos that can be presented without the logotype, which makes them even cooler. As you mention, the obviousness is what makes them. Keeping things simple, makes them more sophisticated.
Oct 31st, 2011
Neha
@CA – “A logo is only as good as the company it represents” is a quote by the GOD of Graphic Design – Paul Rand – may he rest in peace.
Oct 31st, 2011
Neha
@Kelly – rightly said.
Oct 31st, 2011
Amanda
I adore the penguin logo. I like Red Cross a lot too.
Oct 31st, 2011
CA
@Neha – You might have missed my point…
Anyway, I’ve seen that quote attributed to Paul Rand somewhere else. Where did he say that tho?
As far as I know, this is as close as you’d get to that quote: http://www.paul-rand.com/site/thoughts_logosflags/
Exactly what my original point was.
Nov 1st, 2011
Neha
@CA that was it, my bad :)
i’d read this one long back.. thanks for sharing it again.
I totally love and admire Paul Rand, I think he had this amazing quality of simplifying incredibly deep thoughts – a very difficult thing to achieve for most people.
Nov 4th, 2011
Melissa
I remember studying about Jan Tschichold in school and thought he was kind of dull. I stand corrected. The penguin logo is still relevant today and a well recognized icon.
Jan 27th, 2012
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