Famous Company Logo Designs

Why are logos so important? Think of some of the most famous company logo designs of our time. Nike is a good example, but what does that internationally recognized "swoosh" symbol coupled with a graphically enhanced depiction of the company name really do for Nike? A logo is a starting point for any form of communication in which the company engages. All marketing materials incorporate the company's identity. All advertising incorporates the company image. All promotional materials incorporate the company logo. You see the Nike swoosh on shirts, sweatshirts, hats, key chains, and a host of other promotional stuff that has nothing to do with Nike's core business: shoes. Nike can now use the "swoosh" symbol without the name and people all over the globe know its Nike. How powerful is that? Assuming your company has a positive image; mere recognition of the symbol is enough to get the job done. If it's from Nike it's got to be good no need to read.

Logos Convey the Image of the Company

Nike is a great example of a company that illustrates how company image and logo relate. Today most people think Nike and they have positive thoughts but in the not too distant past Nike got caught up in a bit of a scandal over the child labor practices in some of their international manufacturing locations. For those who were aware of this issue, the Nike logo now evoked negative images. But as many great companies do in the face of trouble, Nike responded and responded effectively. Today most people see the child labor issue as ancient history and once again the image conveys positive images.

In today's economic climate, banking logos provide more examples of how a company's overall image and its logo are intertwined. When banks like Bank of America and Chase were increasing credit lines and credit offerings, we all loved them. Spotting the BofA flag logo evoked a positive response. But if you've had your interest rates raised by these banks, how do you feel now when you see their identity? The learning point is the greatest identity in the world will not help a company with a negative public image improve that image. Let's talk about a few other famous logos and see what we can learn from them.

Famous Company Logos: FedEx, Apple Computer, and McDonald's

Apple is one of the few logos that never included the company's name. It is a rare, pure symbol only logo. Today, the Golden Arch symbol no longer needs to include the name "McDonald's" for brand recognition, but it didn't start out that way. FedEx is an example of a words only logo. The name FedEx is graphically enhanced with color, contrast, and box shapes. Some might argue that the enclosed box is actually a symbol. What we can learn from these three is that they all share common characteristics.

Common Design Characteristics

The characteristics that made these corporate logos famous can be summed up in a single word: simplicity. The value of simplicity is that it breeds functionality. All three of these logos are completely functional. They can be enlarged or reduced and reproduced in black and white without any impact on the message they convey. The evolution of the Apple logo illustrates this point. This image originally appeared with layers of different colors, but this limited its functionality. When the logo appeared on the cover of some Apple laptops, it just didn't look good.

Nike Logo

Nike’s marketing strategy rested entirely upon a brand image which is favourable and has evolved into a great multinational enterprise over time. The favourable brand image has been kept afloat due to the strong association with the Nike’s logo which is quite distinctive and the slogan “Just Do It” which has been used in advertisement for quite some time. The company has been known to invest heavily in advertisements and brand promotion (Fill C, 2005 p.54).

Market Segmentation

Most of the consumers of Nike’s products are mainly sportsmen. This is so because of the utility that comes with the products. An athlete is more likely to go a sports shoe designed and marketed by Nike more than a person who detests sporting and exercises. Nike targets these consumers by agreements between Nike and athletic teams, college’s athletic teams1 etc for product sponsorship and eventual promotion to the members of these teams. In this way, Nike is able to reach a wide number of consumers and consumers who are more likely to buy. Even though others are likely to buy the products, Nike pays specific emphatic targeting to the athlete more than any group of individuals even though it also targets the youth who have embraced the hip hop culture (Mercer David, 1996, pp 171).

The Nike logo is a very simple yet effective logo. Even without the brand name, the "Swoosh" alone is recognizable and memorable worldwide. It was created by a graphic design student back in 1971 for a new athletic brand now known as Nike.

A good example of this is the Nike logo. The main thing that represents Nike is the Tick design AKA "Swoosh" design. The Swoosh represents the wing in the famous statue of the Greek Goddess of victory although not many people are aware of this. We all recognize the design as a swoosh for speed and as Nike are known worldwide for providing sports shoes it represents the company well. The swoosh is known notoriously worldwide whilst the company continues to strive and get bigger, it's the perfect example of a simple yet very successful logo.

Sport Logos

A logo is a graphical symbol which aims to add a visual representation of a sports team. A sports team logo design plays an important role in giving a team an identity among fans and competitors. It can reflect the mood and determination of the team, its goal to win and the spirit of success. Sports logos should be energetic and be a powerful bridge to connect the team with its admirers.

There are some basic rules which can help to create a good sports logo design as a unique emblem.

Color

If you look through popular logo designs you will notice that very often bright eye-catching colors are used like red, green, blue and orange. They reflect energy and action. White and black contrast can also make a strong effect on the audience. Often the colors of flags are used to give identity to the people and their patriotism.

A mistake would be to use the colors which were popular 20-30 years ago, like a fluorescent green that was widely popular in the 1990's. A logo should create a strong connection with the current generation of fans.

Correct Fonts

A sports logo design is a message which should be easy to remember and easy to grab the attention of the audience. Team fans will happily buy sports related products that contain a logo design of their favorite team. So, this logo should be easy to print on any surface. If a logo has words, like a team name, probably Times New Roman, Arial and Verdana fonts are the best variants for a graphical emblem creation.

Sports-Oriented Symbols

Indeed, it would be very strange to see a plate or a mattress on a sports logo image. Sports logos can have images of birds and animals whose character features reflect the speed, fortune, energy or even aggressiveness. So, eagles, tigers, bears will be good for active kinds of sports. Look through popular logo designs and you will see alligators, lions, elephants and sharks. Though penguins, ducks and dolphins appear very seldom, mostly they look very scary.

Uniqueness and attractiveness

A sports logo should have the elements that can represent the team. This can be a mascot of the team or the team initials. Some designers point out that many logos gain popularity just because of their simple but very recognizable design.

Attractiveness for admirers

A logo should attract not only existing admirers but also potential new fans. People need to identify themselves with the team and they will try to find something that they can connect with. This may be a T-shirt or a mug with the team logo, a scarf, a magnet for the fridge and so on. So, the logo can add a lot to an interior design, to a person's life.