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graphic
design logos
1 droplets
Two or more droplets caught in the act of merging, usually symbolic of
convergence or union: The Cingular logo is a wonderful example. The effect can
also be used to express a technical or scientific association. Sometimes these
shapes are flat, but other designs have highlights or shadows that give the
impression of dimension.
1. design firm: proart graphics/gabriel kalach client:
g2 team sales
2. design firm: grapefruit design client: grapefruit
design
3. design firm: planet propaganda client: interactive
media solutions
2 refinement
Over the past few years, there has been a return to simplicity in major
corporate logos, alá Chermayeff & Geismar, which has never really
strayed from this post. There are many more marks based in geometries, mixed
with the simple twist of visual phrase. Possible reasons abound: Is this graphic
design logos an homage to the 1970s and the days of
classic logo design? A greater reliance on the computer's
natural geometric tendencies? Or is it possible that there are fewer and
fewer designers out there with the hand skills necessary to craft more
illustrative marks?
1. design firm: liska + associates communication
design client: the wexan group, ltd.
2. design firm: chermayeff & geismar inc. client:
multicanal
3. design firm: prejean loblue client: 1st intranet
bank
3 pop
In the ongoing "Blast from the Past" tour,
in which we trace a complete circle about every 30 years, companies that cater
to the youth market as well as more boutique organizations have embraced the
pop culture language of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Period letterforms, in
particular, have enjoyed a resurgence in popularity,
possibly the result of ready availability from companies such as House
Industries and from less common sources such as rave flyers.
1. design firm: howalt design studio, inc. client:
work, inc.
2. design firm: adamsmorioka, inc. client: nickelodeon
3. design firm: braue; branding & corporate design
client: stylus production
4
natural spirals
Imagine a few drops of dark paint dropped into a
gallon of white paint, and you stirred them just slightly. Or picture the
circle of light created by a child as he draws circle after circle against the
evening sky. These are the less-contrived vortex or spiral shapes found in
nature, not in a computer program. There is a mix of chaos and hard geometry in
these marks that suggests order and freedom at the same time.
1. design firm: lieber cooper associates client:
swissôtel-chicago
2. design firm: cato purnell partners client: the
federal group
3. design firm: cronan group client: kintana
5
animorphic
Animals continue to be used to help companies quickly develop equity in their
identities by reflecting the particular positive attributes of an animal back
onto the company. Although this is a tactic used more by small- to mid-sized
companies, there are a few Fortune 500 companies graphic design logos that rely
on it, too, such as Pacific Life's whale or John Deere's deer, recently
rehoofed by Landor Design. Although illustration styles vary widely, all of
these logos rely on implied symbology.
1. design firm:
2. design firm: felix sockwell client: peace
3. design firm: alterpop client: pardox media
6 canted
How can you take an unassuming geometric solution and
make it remarkable? Cant it or wrap it onto a sphere, a task easily
accomplished with a click of the mouse—not only by you, but by many other
designers as well. Thanks to FreeHand and Illustrator, even very
two-dimensional logo solutions can live in a faux 3-D world.
1. design firm: cato purnell partners client:
2. design firm: kontrapunkt a/s client: danish
national center for development of competence and quality
3. design firm: grapefruit design client:
7 alpha-face
In an effort to make a company's identity more friendly and approachable, many
a wordmark has been turned into a face or a little person. Letterforms and
their many shapes are turned into eyes, noses, ears and mouths and applied to a
mark, alá Mr. Potato Head. Although these designs have been with us to
some degree for generations, designers continue to find new and fresh
iterations of the theme.
1. design firm: cronan group client: tivo
2. design firm:
3. design firm:
8
shadows
Be they hard or gentle, shadows continue to give logos
a sense of place. Sometimes shadows are used beneath a mark to give it a
greater iconic presence: A logo that defies gravity must have supernatural
powers of some sort. Other logos have used the shadow because, really, they had
no baseline and the shadow tethers them to reality. Illustrator Guy Billout's
work graphic design logos has provided another, more skewed influence: His
delightful way of twisting the natural phenomenon of the shadow into performing
contrary feats has inspired a number of designers to misshape shadows or set
them off on strange trajectories.
1. design firm: jon flaming design client: central
& southwest
2. design firm: evenson design group client: brooks
and howard
3. design firm: cronan group client: verio
9 transparency
Let's face it: The old rule that dictated that any really well-designed logo
had to (A) be reproducible in only one color, and (B) that color had to be
solid, not screened, is gone. Sure, there are still challenges to be faced in
playing fast and loose with these rules when a job must actually go on press,
but the internet is much more forgiving. There are many logos today, like the
MSN butterfly, that have transparent qualities that
reveal themselves through multiple layers. These designs can be very
compelling, especially since they are still novel enough to stand out from the
already crowded world of flat one-, two- and three-color logos.
1. design firm: mires client: fusion media
2. design firm: cato purnell partners client: neil
henson fashion bytes
3. design firm: landor associates client: altria
10 green
This is a literal and metaphorical trend. The roots
for this can be traced back further, but Landor's greening of BP was a seminal
effort. Although Raymond Loewy was using green and yellow in the historic BP
logo, Landor gave it an environmental sense of place with the use of the
flower/sun. Cargill, ADM, and Monsanto — all companies that might be likely to
take an environmental hit—are all going green. It's a trend that is a breath of
fresh air in an industry awash with red, white and blue. Public utilities have
also picked up on this trend. But if it is overplayed, corporate green will
soon become a tired joke to the public.
1. design firm: enterprise ig client: monsanto company
2. design firm: landor associates client: bp
3. design firm: kiku obata & company client:
ameren corporation
11 punctuation
At one time, those punctuation marks at the top of the keyboard were reserved for expressing
profanity. Today, they are all smileys. There is an entire shorthand language
out there, created by youthful internet users, that is increasingly understood
by the public at large.
The dotcoms
almost played out this trend all by themselves: Every logo had an "@" in it. But as long as there are punctuation
variations to explore, these marks will probably continue to be pounded out,
even for logos that aren't for copywriters.
1. design firm: trickett & webb client: riba
2. design firm: the office of bill chiaravalle client:
numbers@work
3. design firm: sackett design client: workplace
answers
12
labels
These are usually innocent little marks that are often
simple silhouettes of innocuous objects. Inside the object, a name will be
reversed out in a very legible font. These marks are often associated with
hipper entities: The picture says what they do and the word says who they are.
There's not much room for affectations — just a quick, painless dose of
honesty.
1. design firm: thomas vasquez client:
2. design firm: thomas vasquez client: glue brand
design
3. design firm: howalt design studio, inc. client:
work, inc.
13 photo
icons
These can be extremely well-done or extremely
over-done. A simple photo from a CD stuffed with royalty free images is
isolated on a white background, and the name of the company is run beneath it.
The approach is decidedly more elegant when the visual is supported with a
twist of phrase, or when the phrase is supplied with a somehow unexpected
visual.
1. design firm: sanna design group, inc. client:
orange e-graphic
2. design firm: chermayeff & geismar inc. client:
turning stone casino
3. design firm: proart graphics/gabriel kalach client:
our special video
14 slinky
This is an effect that is one generation past the
swoop: Instead of just making the short stroke, these marks loop in orderly
patterns often above the company name. The curvilinear form is very reminiscent
of the fun of a Spirograph, and perhaps these accurate but flowing forms
suggest the feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction that two plastic gears,
four pins and a ballpoint pen can provide: It's a simple victory.
Then again,
the form may simply spring from osmosis, absorbed from
the screensavers we all share our spaces with, especially iTune's visual space.
Their ability to fill space with light and a fluid image is calculated and
fresh.
1. design firm: cato purnell partners client: energex
2. design firm: hornall
3. design firm: enterprise ig client: delta
15 wire
Put a pen to paper and craft an image with absolute economy and elegance of
line. Picasso and Calder were creating art this way long before anyone embraced
the form as a means of illustration or logo design. Felix Sockwell is the
master of the technique today, and others have achieved success with it as
well.
Because of
its intensely artistic nature, designers may feel the saturation of this
technique before clients and the public do. But wire-form logos will probably
continue to appear for at least a few more years unless a behemoth of a company
adopts the style and wrangles the life right out of
it.
1. design firm: tim frame client: host marriott
2. design firm: howalt design studio client: herman
miller
3. design firm: felix stockwell client: hand eye