Red Cross, designed by Henri Dunant, 1863
Sometimes, the design is in the name, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
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More on how marks like this are made in Logo Design Love, third edition.
Some of the best logos are obvious.
“That's what makes them resilient.” — Michael Bierut.
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Steve Perry,
Timeless, also, language is no barrier with these great examples of great design.
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.
David Airey,
A logo doesn’t need to say what a company does.
Tino Cordes,
Wow, Red Cross, 1863. That must have been like Illustrator Beta :-D
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.
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 :).
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.
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.
CA,
@David – “A logo doesn’t need to say what a company does.” Of course not. First huge misconception that laymen will make tho.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Neha,
@Kelly – rightly said.
Amanda,
I adore the penguin logo. I like Red Cross a lot too.
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.
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.
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.