Logo Inspiration & Discussion Thread

You know the situation. You need to do a logo for a client, but no ideas. This thread is to get the ideas for your logos, discuss what kind of logos are perfect for the different kind of company your doing the logo for and to know some basic rules about logos like: "Can I use a bitmap?", "Should I do a black and white version?", "Do I have to create a custom font with the logo" ...

Post logos you like, what you like about them and maybe even what could be made better.

This is not the thread to discuss your own logos, but if you like you can post them, too.

I start with the logo of the USA Volleyball Organistation:

http://www.usavolleyball.org/media/images/logo.gif

What I like about it is that even without the text, you know the text. There is the flag of the USA implemented in the form of a volley ball. Works really great and is simple enough for a logo.

Fredi

One logo I like at the minute is the BT (British Telecom) logo.

http://www.geckorecords.co.uk/extras/bt.jpg

The designer behind it has gone for a good use of colour, some graduation and used a slight opacity to it making it look good to the eye when used with this decent font. Yet it is still simple. (Does anyone know this font?) I think without the font, or even with the wrong font this logo could look so wrong.

The last BT logo was of an athletic man jumping while blowing a trumpet, sounds bad? You should of seen it.

Excellent post Subway!

I like the Nike logo best, its so simple and you can look at someones shoes from 6 feet away and straight away u know they are nike's (the branding behind it may be a major factor)

i'm not that keen on the new BT logo, but it is better than the old one (the horn blower) :)

bp

The BT logo is another example of logo design busking the 'rules' that have been part of the process of logo design for centuries almost - that a logo must be simple, work in black and white etc.

More and more large companies (like BP as another example) seem to be producing logos that wouldn't have been possible a few years ago. Of course you have to be able to afford digital colour printing and all that to ensure that your brand is consistent but I think it's a good trend, allows people to be more creative.

The BT logo is also a good example of a design that has obviously from the very beginning been created with motion in mind, if you've seen their ads the coloured 'globe' is rotating and the colours blending as they pass infront or behind of others. I think in some ways the logo only really becomes complete when you see it moving.

This site should not be left out of this thread. (15 trends taking shape in logo design)

Fredi

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Originally posted by aversion
The BT logo is also a good example of a design that has obviously from the very beginning been created with motion in mind, if you've seen their ads the coloured 'globe' is rotating and the colours blending as they pass infront or behind of others. I think in some ways the logo only really becomes complete when you see it moving.

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I do watch quite a bit of TV, but until you mentioned the logo actually moves I wouldn't have said off the top of my head that it's an advert that I would remember, I didn't even mention it in my original post. Good logo, naff marketing.

If I'm really stuck for an idea I sometimes break the name down into syllables. Each of these syllables is assigned a phonetic shape.
I speak out loud each syllable until I have a strong image of it phonetic shape; a phonetic shape is a simple directional line that describes the density and velocity of the sound.

Take for example the word 'banana'. It has three syllables: 'ba', 'na' and 'na'.

'ba' is hard and has a fast acceleration due to the starting 'b', just like in the word bang. This I would interpret as a vertical line that illustrates the high volume and short duration of sonic impact along a horizontal axis.

'na' is the same but is soft and has a slower acceleration. It also has a very distinct rise in tone and therefore would be drawn as a longer, rising diagonal line, possibly with a curl at the start to illustrate the vibrato qualities of the 'n'.

The resulting three shapes are drawn in the centre of the page and that will usually give me a foundation for the general aesthetic of the logo.

Try it for yourself and let me know if I am the only person this works for.

oooh... could have used this thread a couple of weeks ago.


company finally chose new logo *kicks nearest wall* they chose the one that I hated the most! lol. murphy's law!

oh well :P

diplomacy at its best.

Yuusen.. that is a top tip!

Yeah, great inspiration Yuusen.

Here are two great tutorials I found at DesignHarbor:

http://www.designharbor.com/Design/o...&id=73&page=1&

http://www.designharbor.com/Design/o...&id=74&page=1&

Fredi

PS: I made this thread a sticky for the moment, so don't post smalltalk in here.

The way that we started with the new logo for our company was a brainstorm. We belted out everything that had to do with our company and the way out software does its job. From there we developed trains of thought... we even had Where's Wally (Waldo for the US!) references...

We wrote all the words down - sent them to key members of staff, and got them to vote on their favourite concept that represented the company - no matter how obscure.

The top five concepts were then taken to drawing phase. Rendering these in black and white in the most wacked out ways - just letting the pen swirl until there were over 100 marks to choose from. From here, the top 20 were chosen and developed further. From these we narrowed down the list and reworked again.

Eventually we were left with two logos... :)

the brainstorm was by far the best way though because we always had a reference of what the company stood for for various key members of the team

From a logo design company:

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Logo Design Theory:

A perfect Corporate logo Design is defined by 3 factors: A logo must be most and for all 'identifiable', this means that some details in your logo makes it readable in any kind of circontances (on a Fax, on TV or on a car, a logo can be huge or extremly small).
Your logo needs also to be 'memorable' among all other business logo design. This means: a simple shape, 1, 2 or 3 colors maximum and a simple but smart idea. More color and more shapes are used more it is difficult to remember. It takes an average 46 times to remember a 2 colors logo, much more when 3 colors are being used. The last but important factor, a logo have to be 'harmonious'.The aesthetic of a logo is not only a question of beautiful image and nice color it is also a question of harmony between 'an idea' and 'a shape'. This is why the selection of the right concept for your logo design is key to reach an appropriate result.

A professional Graphic Design Logo Services should let handle 50% of the creative process by the client. The difference between a Small business Logo Design and a Corporate Logo Design are the expensive brand bulding work. A small business just want an affordable logo Design and an easy to use stationery. Graphic Design Agency used to be costly and time consuming. With the computer, the internet and the capacity to exchange digital media, Online logo Design Agency have appeared by the hundreds during the past 5 years and any small business can now request to create its own affordable logo design in a matter of days spending 1/10 of what it used to cost with professional result.

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And an other tutorial link: http://www.bamagazine.com/Ligature/Ligature01.html

About creating a logo that should be trademarked: http://www.registeringatrademark.com...esigning.shtml

The process of redesigning a logo: http://www.digitalwebmag.com/tutoria..._2003-04.shtml

A huge list of great logos: http://www.logoed.fsnet.co.uk/logos.html

Fredi

http://www.lucent.com/images_v1/nav/logo.gif

No beginning. No end. Inspired by a Zen ring and using red, the Lucent logo is one of my favorites.

Mine is http://www.alias.com/eng/tmpl/img/lo..._nodivider.gif

They also use a text based logo which is simply Alias | Wavefront

Man i just love that

All flash except a couple. Pleased with most, except a few..

logos galore!

Also here's my tutorial on doing this in flash

logo and text tutorial

http://images.fedex.com/images/globa..._corp_logo.gif

This is one of my favourites, because of the hidden bonus, can u see it?

I assume you are talking about the arrow that is created by the negative space in between the 'E' and the 'x'? :)

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Originally posted by RUSHVision
I assume you are talking about the arrow that is created by the negative space in between the 'E' and the 'x'? :)

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U assume right, heres your prize :doughnut: :)

Ooohh...a prize! :D That FedEx logo is a nice piece of work. Simplicity itself, yet full of complexity. :)

great stuff... the fedex arrow has certainly been catching my eye the last couple months.

oh, and in the mind's sequence of cognition shape *does* come first!

Here is my favourite Logo:

http://625.uk.com/tv_logos/logos/bbc_corp_97.gif

Being a familiar identity in every UK houseold since 1936, the BBC logo has an advantage in that everyone already knows the brand. It has not changed it's simple approach since it was first introduced, other than to italic the letters "BBC" inside 3 squares, in 1988. Since then, it has become fine tuned into the ultra-symbol that it now is.

Beautiful. Strong. Functional. Everything a logo is required to be.

I don't know for certain what my favoriate logo is yet. But I must say that the Bank of America logo is very well done. Lots of american symbolism, and yet pretty simple.

http://www.bankofamerica.com/global/...d_reg_logo.gif

Had ahard time finding a bigger version.....

anybody got any cool examples from photographers logo's?

This is the logo for our family business Fiestas BTI (catering, party rentals, etc); my sister came up with it several years ago, and I always thought it was pretty cool. Recently it's been my turn to put it on the world wide web...
http://members.aol.com/bighunk/chefvector800x900.jpg

Hey nake, I like that logo. I doesn't really look like a party rental business, but the catering I could see. Nice!

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Hey nake, I like that logo. I doesn't really look like a party rental business, but the catering I could see. Nice!

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Thanks :cap:

And I agree with you on it not having anything to do with party equipment rentals, but that's because back when my dad opened the business it was only food.

These days I struggle with trying to get my talented sister (the one who designed the logo back then), to try some tutorials and learn to use digital graphic design programs such as the Studio MX suite; up until now she just blows me off saying she's too busy raising 4 kids, blah blah, yak yak yak...

One logo that draws my attention is the logo for Nebula Music, one of those record label companies. All tho it reminded me more of an IT company, I could see that it also applies to a record company as well. One reason being, is that the star stands out as a unique figure, while everything else bends away from it. Giving the impression, that this record label company will make the musician (sp?) stand apart from the crowd.

I try to use S.W.A.T. in logo's I do. You will be suprised how much info you can get when you step back and look at the big picture.

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Originally posted by byokitis
I try to use S.W.A.T. in logo's I do. You will be suprised how much info you can get when you step back and look at the big picture.

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S.W.A.T, I know your not talking about that movie or the game :D . So, what does that acronym (sp?) stand for?

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Originally posted by Subway
This site should not be left out of this thread. (15 trends taking shape in logo design)

Fredi

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support:) :)

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Originally posted by phreakdevil
This is one of my favourites, because of the hidden bonus, can u see it?

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i love hidden items in logos - especially when they mean something.

when the Big Ten Conference expanded to 11 teams, they did not change their name.
they did, however, change their logo to reflect the change.

http://graphics.ocsn.com/confs/big10...-04-top-03.gif

nice!

A little bit off topic, but if you ever need the vector file of a popular brand, have a look at this site: http://www.brandsoftheworld.com/

Fredi

My favorite logo would have to be the Flash Kit logo. I think that if that logo were to be put on another site, people would notice it right away and they'd come here out of curiousity just to see what this site was all about.

i think one logo that has allways stood out in my mind is the disney logo...the castle is what i am referring to and how it has the animated shooting star....very nice...

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Originally posted by Subway
A little bit off topic, but if you ever need the vector file of a popular brand, have a look at this site: http://www.brandsoftheworld.com/

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btw fredi, that is a great link!
i have not only found it useful, but others have been thankful i passed it on...cheers!

this is my favourite.

not sure if it has to do with the design or just the word its self. which I guess is equally important in the branding gamehttp://www.moogmusic.com/images/logo-top.gif

Can't really think of a favourite logo. But this one for the V&A by Pentagram is pretty good http://www.graphicdesign.org.uk/pent...hic-design.htm

Every time I see a movie done by Focus Features I always say I like how their logo is so simple yet cool with the out of focus "O".

http://www.lost-in-translation.com/i...footerLogo.gif

This is the best copy of their logo I could find on short notice. :)

HAY every one Nice post and thx 4 share

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Originally Posted by goodide

Can't really think of a favourite logo. But this one for the V&A by Pentagram is pretty good http://www.graphicdesign.org.uk/pent...hic-design.htm

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I absolutely love the V&A logo, it seems timeless.

Another I like is this...
http://vecindadgrafica.com/galeria/d...a/2/mother.jpg ...ahh the wit! Makes me smile when i see it. Sad eh?

Nice post. Thanks for the info.