Logo Inspiration: 10 Great Logo Design Examples | Blog inside the design (2023)

MEach of the world's greatest logos has been in use for decades or, in some cases, centuries.

What makes those particular logos so resilient about those graphics, even when their brands have struggled?

Not only branding specialists have to work with logos: branding and logo design encompass all design disciplines,Includingdigital product design. Our mentors at Designlab work with students to help themDevelopment of visual and UX design skills, including developing successful logos for apps and websites.

In this article, we share our thoughts on what we believe are the essential ingredients of a successful logo. Grab them and let them be your logo design inspiration.

(Then use InVision Cloud to collect and organize feedbackyour team).

What makes a good logo?

The best logos in the world seem to have these three elements in common:

simplicity

Almost without exception, the most revered logos are graphically simple. That doesn't mean they're easy to create. Reducing an idea to a basic symbol is often the most difficult part of the logo design process.

The most graphically complex logo in the list below is Coca-Cola, but this is offset by itsconceptualSimplicity: Just the brand name defined in the script.

Many wonderful logos have no graphic ingredients other than lettering. On this list alone, Coca-Cola, FedEx, and Lego have created a classic logo using just text. Other fantastic examples include Sony, 3M, IBM and countless others.

memorability

A logo's memorability is usually directly related to its simplicity.

We were able to identify the single visual concept that made this icon memorableatof logo inspiration on this list - be it a swoosh, an arrow, or a mermaid.

Many logos, even those of large and successful companies, are not memorable because they cannot be easily associated with a single idea. Sometimes because they are too complex and sometimes because they are too abstract. Great memorability usually lies somewhere between these extremes.

abstraction

A common misconception about logo design is that the icon is neededliterallyrepresent the brand; However, some sort of separation is often helpful and nurturing.

The most literal version on our list is Apple's - but here the brand name itself has a useful separation from what the company actually does. As for the mermaid, gold arches and swoosh, their strength lies in being visually memorable, rather than literally representing what the brand offers.

Time is the hardest test of all. Great logos are able to weather economic storms and offer a focus on identity, authority and stability in turbulent times.

All of the logos on this list have been around for decades. Paying attention to the points above—simplicity, memorability, abstraction—is often a recipe for something timeless.

We've seen time and time again that brands that get carried away by trends reduce trust and become visually diluted. The classic example is Microsoft (sorry, Bill), who have burned no fewer than five major logo reconstructions since 1980.

We've compiled a list of ten logos that exemplify those values ​​and put the rest of the world to shame.

10. Lego: The Bubble Writing

Designed:1954 (bubble writing), 1973 (current version), 1998 (minor update)

Designer:Various internal Lego employees

years of use:1954 to present

Lego is every child's favorite toy at some point during childhood and represents creativity, freedom and fun. The bright brand logo connects easily with all of these messages.

It went through many iterations, especially in the early years of the company. The bubble script was first used around 1954, and the current version has been in use since 1973 (aside from a minor modernization in 1998).

9. UPS: A Pro

Designed:1961

Designer:Paul Rand

years of use:1961 bis 2003

Paul Rand was one of the greatest graphic designers of the 20th century and was behind many acclaimed logo designs including ABC, IBM and Westinghouse. His design for UPS took the "shield" shape of the previous company logo, simplified it drastically and added a charming and distinctive bow at the top.

Unfortunately (IMO) UPS reverted to an armor-only version of the design in 2003.

8. Ferrari: The Prancing Horse

Designed:1947 (in combination with Ferrari lettering)

Designer:unknown/traditionalprancing horseEmblem

years of use:1947 to present

According to legend, the Ferrari logo was not created on a car but on a WWI fighter plane. The famous Italian pilot Francesco Baracca died in action in 1918. Afterwards, his mother apparently asked Enzo Ferrari to put up the graphics that had appeared on Baracca's plane and use them on his cars.

After spending some time on the Alfa Romeos Enzo Ferrari was involved with in the 1920s and 1930s, the Prancing Horse is finally herefirst appeared in a Ferrariin 1947. Ultimately, however, the logo does not impress because of its history, but because it is simple and memorable, and combines ideas of speed and power - perfect for a sports car.

7. FedEx: A Seta

Designed:1994

Designer:Lindon Guide

years of use:1994 to present

If you don't know the arrow in the FedEx logo, get ready - there's no going back. Designer Lindon Leader created the FedEx logo in 1994. At first glance, it's a word markset in bold future, the iconic geometric typeface designed by Paul Renner in 1927.

But for this logo, the font is specially modified so that the negative space between the "e" and the "x" forms a nice white arrow. Just as silence is as important as notes in music, white space is just as functional in graphic design as positive elements.

6. McDonald's: The Golden Arches

Designed:1952-1968

Designer:Stanley Clark Meston und andere

years of use:1968 to present

Created in 1952 by brothers (non-designers) Richard and Maurice McDonald, the Golden Arches motif was developed by several hands over the next two decades. The current version has been in use for over fifty years!

As with many great logos, its awareness is supported by the broader brand, including the company's distinctive red and yellow color palette. This can be seen in the success of a recent ad campaign that used well-tailored portions of the logo, the two brand colors and little else.

5. Coca-Cola: The Script

Designed:1886

Designer:Frank MasonRobinson

years of use:1886 to present

Coca-Cola has one of the oldest logos still in use and, like McDonald's and a surprising number of other great logos, was not created by a "designer". In fact, Frank Mason Robinson was the accountant of John Stith Pemberton, the drink's inventor.

The logo was based on the Spencerian font that was common in the USA at the time. By retaining its old-school logo across design trends and fads, Coca-Cola has maintained its iconic status.

Broader branding elements, including the famous glass bottle, also helped reinforce the logo's memorability.

4. Starbucks: The Mermaid

Designed:1987

Designer:Several

years of use:1987 to present

Starbucks' mermaid logo concept originally dates back to 1971, but was simplified considerably in 1987 and made into a "proper" logo. Since then there have been a few more iterations, the last of which in 2011 removed the text and just went with it. the circular logo graphic.

Starbucks is a great example of how the primary purpose of a logo is to create awareness rather than literally explaining what a company is selling. Naked mermaids don't seem like the obvious choice for a coffee company. Yet it is precisely for this reason that the Starbucks logo has made it a distinctive brand despite increasing competition. The way the logo has been simplified graphically over the years only adds to its memorability.

3. Woolmark: The Vortex

Designed:1964

Designer:Franco Grignani

years of use:1964 to present

It's easy to forget that logos are created for industry and manufacturing standards, as well as brands. Meet the Woolmark logo, commissioned in 1964 as part of an International Wool Bureau design competition. (It is a mark that indicates that a garment is 100% wool.)

Franco Grignani, a well-known and respected Italian artist, was a member of the jury of the competition. However,history says soGrignani was so disappointed with the quality of the entries that he snuck in his own entry under the alias "Francesco Saroglia".

Although Grignani voted for another entry, presumably to cover his tracks, his own design was the winner. The Woolmark logo became one of the most famous of the 20th century.

2. Apple: The bite

Designed:1977

Designer:Rob Janoff

years of use:1977 to present

The Apple logo has weathered major corporate changes, including bouts of abject commercial failure in the 1990s and global success in recent years.

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Its history is similar to the Starbucks logo in that it began as an intricately engraved illustration of Isaac Newton, who discovered gravity (hence the apple). But unlike Starbucks, its abstraction into the simple icon we know today happened all at once when Rob Janoff created the multicolored striped version in 1977. Since then the shape has remained the same, although it has been designed in many different styles. . paths since 1999.

1. Nike: Oh Swoosh

Designed:1971

Designer:Carolyn Davidson

years of use:1971 to present

The Nike "Swoosh" is one of the most famous symbols out there, but its early days weren't all that great. It was designed in 1971 by designer Carolyn Davidson, who was a student at Portland State University at the time. The task was to capture the idea of ​​the movement.

Initially, she was paid $35 to create the logo, although she later received shares in Nike. The company is now ranked 89th on the Fortune 500 with a market valuation of over $100 billion. It was $35 well spent.