Chapter 18 - Logotypes and Branding

Introduction

The word logo is rooted in the Greek word lógos meaning a word, saying, speech, discourse, thought, proportion, and ratio. In the world of graphic design a logo must represent all these concepts. Logo is associated with logotype which is defined as; a graphic representation or symbol of a company name, and trademark, which is uniquely designed for ready recognition. Any study of logos, need to look at it from the perspective of both historical evolution of graphic design and, of course, an overall marketing strategy in which a logotype would be presented as a symbol or a brand to distinguish a particular product among its many rivals in the marketplace. In economics jargon this is called Product Differentiation. Of course, many nonprofit humanitarian, cultural and political entities also use logos to convey a particular image of themselves.

Table of Contents

Humanitarian, Cultural and Political Logos

The flag of the Olympic Games has been designed by Pierre de Coubertin. The circle is considered a symbol of unity, because all the regular polygons are embraced by the circle. It is also the symbol of timeless excellence, without beginning or end, perfect, the ultimate geometric symbol. Elegantly using the cultural symbolism of circle, the flag reminds us of the minimalism of Mondrian. According to Coubertin "This design is symbolic; it represents the five continents of the world, united by Olympism, while the six colours are those that appear on all the national flags of the world at the present time."

The logo of the Socialist Party of France depicts a rose as a symbol of community (the flower’s petals), socialism (its red color), taking care of those who are less able to compete (the fragility), the struggle (the thorns), cultural life (beauty). Historically, the red rose became the party’s emblem during the nineteen-seventies. At first the party used a vertical fist as a symbol of resistance. However, François Mitterrand's Socialists rebranded the party and turned the fist into a horizontal hand holding a rose.

In 1958, British artist Gerald Holtom, a professional designer and artist and a graduate of the Royal College of Arts, drew a circle with three lines inside, intending the design to be a symbol for the Direct Action Committee Against Nuclear War (DAC). He showed his preliminary sketches to a small group of people in the Peace News office in North London. He later wrote to Hugh Brock, editor of Peace News, explaining the genesis of his idea in greater, more personal depth:

I was in despair. Deep despair. I drew myself: the representative of an individual in despair, with hands palm outstretched outwards and downwards in the manner of Goya’s peasant before the firing squad. I formalised the drawing into a line and put a circle round it.

Eric Austen added his own interpretation of the design: the gesture of despair had long been associated with the death of Man and the circle with the unborn child. Gerald Holtom had originally considered using the Christian cross symbol within a circle as the motif for the march but various priests he had approached with the suggestion were not happy at the idea of using the cross on a protest march. Later, ironically, Christian CND were to use the symbol with the central stroke extended upwards to form the upright of a cros. Holtom finished his design on February 21, 1958 and the design was then first introduced to the public at a DAC march on April 4. The symbol quickly spread. In Britain, the symbol became the emblem for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), thus causing the design to become synonymous with nuclear disarmament. In 1960, the symbol migrated to the United States and began to be used as a symbol for the peace movement. This symbol has become internationally recognized and is still used by peace activists today.

A candle in barbed wire, had been chosen for Amnesty’s first ever Christmas card because of “its simplicity and the effectiveness of its symbolism”. The logo combines two recognizable images to convey complex notions: barbed wire communicates oppression, while a burning candle evokes hope. It was inspired by the Chinese proverb, “Better to light a candle than curse the darkness”. The card was designed by Diana Redhouse(1923-2007) who was born in London to Jewish parents of Polish/Russian origin. Her education was cut short at the age of 16 when her mother withdrew her, fearing that her weakness in maths would prohibit her from passing the school certificate. She took a clerical job at Hendon town hall until the second world war disrupted her life, and in 1943 she received her call-up papers. In the 1970s she attended jewellery and enamelling classes, which led to 20 years of productive work, characterised by strong, bold designs and an eye for colour. Her creative energy was compromised by recurring episodes of bipolar disorder which first appeared following her mother's death in 1969. The logo was redesigned in 2000 by ex-pat Kiwi Simon Endres, one half of the New York-based design company Team Pro-Am.

United Nations Human Rights Council

Known worldwide by its panda logo, the Switzerland-based World Wildlife Fund (WWF) participates in international efforts to protect endangered species and their habitats. The powerful image of an engendered specie like panda bring home the point both intellectually and emotionally. Gerald Watterson was the creator of the original panda.However, through the years the design has become more articulated and aesthetically more pleasing.

Médecins Sans Frontières, or Doctors Without Borders, is best known for its humanitarian projects in war-torn regions and developing countries facing endemic disease. Their logo using a minimalist approach modulates a nonjudgmental, apolitical, humanitarian visual impact.

The Iranian Broadcasting Corporation’s news network logo effectively encodes its communicative function by employing a minimalist typographic treatment of the Persian word 'خبر' (news), integrating linguistic clarity with visual economy.

The symbol of Communist Russia. The emblem of the hammer and sickle is undoubtedly the most recognizable symbol of the communist revolution in Russia and the world. The color red, exemplified the tone of the revolution. The color evoked familiar cultural images that are easily identifiable to the Russian people because the color was traditionally a symbol of Easter and the resurrection of Christ. Similarly, red suggested a metaphor for the rebirth of the nation. For this reason, Bolsheviks embraced the adoption of red as a revolutionary symbol. Also, over the course of the revolution and civil war, the color had become commemorative of the blood that had been shed by the martyrs of 1905 and 1917. The hammer and sickle already had a history in provincial heraldry and first began to appear on Bolshevist propaganda around 1917. The hammer and sickle (in Russian the order is reversed, "серп и молот --  serp i molot") surrounded by a wreath of grain was selected from a competition of artists assembled by Lenin and Lunacharshy. The authoritative icon immortalizes two familiar tools which symbolize the essence of communist ideology. The working class proletariat is represented by the hammer and the rural peasant, by the sickle.  Originally, the seal also featured a small sword that was meant to represent the army. Lenin adamantly opposed to the use of the sword because he wanted to portray the new nation as a peaceful one. After several weeks of argumentation, the sword was removed. 

Branding and Logos in the world of commerce

Early logos, 1910-13

Product differentiation; in quality, packaging, design, color, and style - has an important impact on consumer choice. This is how branding strategies work, they create product differentiation in the minds of consumers. A well designed commercial logo would be flexible enough to represent the evolution of a company through time, they must represent universal aesthetic values that transcend any cultural, and social boundaries; and they must be simple and distinct. In fact, every time that we fill up our cars, the petrol we purchase is relatively identical whether we go to a Shell, an Esso, or any other stations. But branding strategies have to sell, and they achieves this goal by positively influencing people's perceptions of their product or service.

Today there are thousands of branding gurus who are providing advice on branding strategies. However, it is important to remember that if a company does not have a real product that would satisfy a need of a consumer branding would be of no use, Of course, there are those who argue a powerful company, with deep pockets, can always create in the minds of consumers an artificial feeling of a need for a useless product, such as many of the health products, cosmetics, bottled water, and so on in today's markets. Nevertheless, these products still satisfy various needs - albeit the illusive ones, of making someone more healthy, more beautiful, more safe, and so on, and if they cannot deliver on those promises sooner or later the value of that brand will diminish.

Many argue that a great brand name is one of the most powerful forces in marketing and advertising. A brand name, however, is not created right of the bat. The fact that Google became such a great brand was because its search engine was working much more efficiently than Altavista, Yahoo, and other competitors at the time. Once people recognized the merits of a product, then the story about what makes that company different from its competitors and the emotional tug that connects the company with its customers becomes a branding story.

Unfortunately, visual design terms are too often used inconsistently, leading to confusion for designers as well as clients. Contrary to common usage, the words “logo,” “identity,” and “brand” are not interchangeable. A tasteful, and potent graphic identity is a touchstone for any company, and logos are among the most tangible artifacts graphic designers produce. Today, anyone with a computer and Internet access can create a kind of graphic identity. Many entrepreneurs may feel satisfied by acquiring run of the mill logos, but when their products become popular and the time arrives to benefit from their many years of hard struggles, the competitors begin to enter the same markets with similar products to delve into their sources of profit. The new entrants compete with better logos on their magazine ads, delivery trucks, business cards, lobby signs, and so on, and because their logos can deliver the message more clearly, they can borrow from the credibility of the earlier products, and can connect with the target consumers more emotionally, motivate them and generate loyalty and good will.

Thus, to succeed in branding, entrepreneurs must anticipate the needs and wants of their customers, understand the aesthetic of their logos, and integrate their brand strategies through the activities of their companies at every point of public contact. A potent brand would etch on the hearts and minds of customers, clients, and prospects. The brand would simply become a promise that the company would provide the same quality of service for the same authentic product that customers that have valued through their experiences.

As it should be clear form our discussion, so far, a logo by itself cannot create a brand for a company. Other elements, such as its commitments to quality controls, its ethical values, its community relationships, the design of its products, the quality of its advertisements, and even the style and color of its stationery all are very important. Most of the logos we admire more often than not are part of a well-designed system that include all these other elements.

Homa, a mythological bird who lives high in the skies and never lands on the ground is the symbol of Iran Air. A very popular motif in Persian literature and art, it also represents the acronym for "Havapimayee-e Melli-e Iran, National Iranian Airline. A vision of Homa is a favorable, auspicious sign, and if the Homa lands on the head of a person, or its shadow passes over a person, it indicates the bestowing of kingship. The logo is inspired by a double-headed statue of a griffin (Homa) , one of the few that have survived, in the Palace of Persepolis.

Otto Firle (1889 - 1966) was born in Bonn and studied architecture at the Technical University in Munich .   In 1918  Firle, who was a World War I pilot, designed the original Lufthansa logo, which was interpreted as a flying crane.  He also designed the first emblem  of  Deutsche Reichsbahn  in 1920.

Otl Aicher, in his 1962 study for crating a new identity for Lufthansa wrote;

"The origin of the logo owes a debt to heraldry; originally this was a symbol  whose meaning was recognizable by the then society. Lufthansa’s logo must change if it is to retain its symbolic character. In the age of jets and supersonic flight, the meaning conveyed by the Lufthansa's logo - the bird - is outmoded. A symbol’s force increases as it approaches the arrow form".

Lufthansa management did not heed Aicher's advice out of respect for tradition and continuity. However,  they did allow him  to add a circle around the crane.

A recognized brand name is a great ambassador for a company. It can act as a guarantor of quality for other products of the company that are still new and unknown. It also helps differentiate a company’s offerings from the competition’s.

A great brand name must be both linguistically appealing and must strategically reminds the clients of all other elements that are part and parcel of its identity. In other words, the brand would be a shorthand signal for the high quality of products, the company's trustworthiness, ethical integrity, and good corporate citizenship.

Today finding a right name and an appropriate logo has become a real challenge. It is interesting to note that in 2003, there were more than 260,000 trademark applications in the United States and over 98 percent of the dictionary is registered as a “dot com ” company. This has created many jobs for some smart people to search a for a good brand name. I do not think, finding a name is that important as the Johnson & Johnson, P& G, and 3M brands as well as many others demonstrate. 

In today's world a brand name needs to have strong presence in Web search engines such as Google and Yahoo. This is in a context that the globalization has released an enormous competitive force from a torrent of new products which makes it enormously challenging to develop a new brand. A business needs to build its products or services with a perceived or a real unique value or unique competitive advantage. However, in a globally competitive market the competitors, usually fairly quickly, copy, or even improve upon, those unique values or advantages. Over time, most highly valued features would become common, or in technical terms they become commoditized. Commoditization occurs as a goods or services market loses differentiation across its supply base, often by the diffusion of the intellectual capital necessary to acquire or produce it efficiently. As such, goods that formerly carried premium margins for market participants have become commodities.

A comprehensive visual communication strategy is the only viable solution within a branding strategy that would combat that loss of advantage or uniqueness. For instance; Apple Inc.'s branding strategy is to compete with a tasteful and elegant designs across several highly competitive consumer electronic markets, which includes the Mac brand in personal computers, the MP3 segment represented by the I Pod brand, digital music distribution through its iTunes Music Store, the phone segment led by iPhone and more recently in the critically important domain of convergence, between the smartphone, the notebook and the media player with the Apple iPad. What connects all these branding activity is apple's logo.

History of Commercial logos

The most ancient logo is Swastika that has been used for over 3,000 years, which is even older than the ancient Egyptian logo, the Ankh!. The word "swastika" is rooted in Perso-European word svastik, with "su" meaning "light," (in Persian and Sanskrit), and "asti" meaning "to be," and "ka" as a suffix. Swastika was a logo for the sun-god, Mithra, and the ancient Mithraists incorporated the logo in their gammadion; representing the divine power that can enlighten the darkness, and purify the impure. They decorated their temples and dwellings with it to bring the divine light and to protects the community from evil spirit.

The Middle Ages were extremely prolific in inventing ciphers for ecclesiastical, artistic, and commercial use.Chi and Rho are the first two letters (ΧΡ) of "Christ" in Greek ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ. (Christos). Sometimes it is called the Monogram of Christ or Chrismon or Labarum. While it was used very early by persecuted Christians in the catacombs,

Obverse of a bronze coin issued in 353 AD by Magnentius with the Chi-Rho symbol. Alpha and Omega are also shown.

Monogram of Christ, Museo Pio Cristiano, Vatican, undated. Notice the Alpha and Omega symbols as part of the Chi-Rho monogram.

The use of modern logos as trademarks can be traced back to the thirteenth century. They include masons marks, goldsmiths marks, paper makers watermarks and watermarks for the nobility, and printers marks. Logo designs are usually giving the first impression about the characteristics of a company.

Stone mason's mark in a stone in the church of Sénanque abbey, Gordes, Vaucluse, France

Stone Mason's mark on Nochty Bridge at Auchernach, 1833

English Goldsmiths' Marks

This logo doesn't just represent the U.S. currency. Originally — and to this day— the symbol also represents the peso. Several Spanish-speaking countries consider it their own. Peso literally means “weight” in Spanish. The origin of the dollar (or peso) sign is uncertain. However, the reigning theory is that it comes from the Spanish coat of arms, which was engraved on Spanish colonial silver coins, called Real de a Ocho, or “piece of eight.” On the coin, there were two columns, which represented the Pillars of Hercules, and an “S” shaped ribbon around them. Also represented on the coin was the motto plus ultra, which is Latin for “further beyond.” This was added after Christopher Columbus’ voyage to the Americas. The symbol first cropped up in business correspondence between British North America and Mexico in the 1770s. In 1785, the U.S. adopted the currency of Spanish-Mexico. At that time, the dollar sign and the word “dollar” gained widespread use.

The Prudential Insurance logo- the Rock of Gibraltar is one of the earliest modern logos that was appeared in 1896. Although Prudential has modernized this logo in recent times, it still urges consumers to "depend on the strength of Gibraltar Rock".

This is the original RCA logo, which has not changed all that much over the years. The company's roots are in the broad cast industry with early product focus on the marketing of GE and Westinghouse's radio equipment. In 1929 the company made its first moves into consumer electronics products when RCA purchased the Victor Talking Machine Company, then the world's largest manufacturer of phonographs (including the famous "Victrola") and phonograph records. With Victor, RCA acquired New World rights to the Nipper trademark.

Today RCA is a global trademark administered by RCA Trademark Management, that selectively licenses the RCA brand.




The RCA logo which made its debut in 1910, is one of the earliest logos, in which the dog Nipper is sitting in front of a phonograph and listening in amazement. The motto "His Master's Voice" clarifies the message of the logo. The logo is based on a painting by Francis Barraud, His Master’s Voice, originally painted with the dog Nipper listening to a phonograph cylinder machine. In April 1898, William Barry Owen, who had left New York to set up a syndicate for exploiting the Berliner Gramophone, formed The Gramophone Company, a Limited company in London, with his partner Trevor Williams. A year later, his Gramophone Company sent a letter to Francis Barraud, making him a formal offer for a revised painting that would show Nipper and a gramophone, instead of a phonograph cylinder machine, paying him a further £50 for the copyright to his painting after originally paying £50 in 1899 . At his visit to London in may 1900, Emile Berliner, the Germany-born and Washington-based inventor of the flat disc record and the gramophone, saw the painting hanging on the wall in Owen’s office in the gramophone company. Berliner contacted Barraud and asked him to make a copy of the painting which he brought back to the United States and immediately sought a trademark for it, granted by the patent office on july 10, 1900. Berliner passed the trademark on to his partner Eldridge R. Johnson (with whom he had worked on improving the gramophone). Johnson’s company, the Victor Talking machine, extended the trademark protection to Central and South America, the Far East and Japan.


In 1929, RCA made its first moves into consumer electronics products , and purchased the Victor Talking Machine Company, then the world's largest manufacturer of phonographs (including the famous "Victrola") and phonograph records. This included a majority ownership of the Japan Victor Company (JVC). The new subsidiary then became RCA-Victor. With Victor, RCA acquired New World rights to the Nipper trademark.






This graphic design of the Coca-Cola logo is the work of Frank Mason Robinson who created it in 1885. There is no proof as to who originally wrote it, but master Penman Louis Madarasz(1859-1910) was said to have told one of his students that the work was his. When the work was created Madarasz had a mail-order business and could easily have done it, and the writing style is similar to his. In the book "An Elegant Hand" by William E Henning, it states that Frank Mason Robinson, who was the bookkeeper of the firm originated the name Coca-Cola and specified that it be written in Spencerian script. In a 1914 court case, Robinson testified that he was "practically the originator" and that "some engraver here by the name of Frank Ridge was brought into it" This old Logotype has been around more than a century, which could be regarded as a measure of its success. A successful logotype will store a sense of loyalty for the clienteles.


The mark of a good logo is legibility and good brand recognition. Because of the diversity of products and services sold by many businesses today, the need for new, unique logos is even stronger. Probably the most famous Chrysler Imperial logo, the eagle, was designed by John Samsen. It first appeared on the 1962 hood ornament, reappearing in 1964 not only on the hood but in the middle of the rear bumper as well, and staying until 1975.




Rob Janoff , a graphic designer of corporate logos and identities, is probably most famous for his creation of the Apple logo. In 1977, he worked for Regis McKenna as an art director and was tasked to design the logo for Apple Computer, creating an apple with a bite out of it. Janoff presented Jobs with several different monochromatic logos, and Jobs immediately took a liking to the bitten apple. While Jobs liked the logo, he insisted it be in color, as a way to humanize the company. It is suggested that the bitten apple pays homage to the mathematician Alan Turing, who committed suicide by eating an apple that had been poisoned with cyanide. Turing is regarded as one of the fathers of the computer. The rainbow apple logo appears to be out of favor in the company these days.

Hoever, in response to questions that what does the bite in the apple represents? Is it a reference to a computing term byte? Is it a reference to the biblical event when Eve bit into the forbidden fruit? and so on Janoff has stated;

Well, I'm probably the least religious person, so Adam and Eve didn't have anything to do with it. The bite of knowledge sounds fabulous, but that's not it. And, there is a whole lot of other lure about it. Turing the famous supposed father of computer science who committed suicide in the early 50's was british and was accused of being homosexual, which he was. He was facing a jail sentence so he committed suicide to avoid all that. So, I heard one of the legends being that the colored logo was an homage to him. People think I did the colored stripes because of the gay flag. And, that was something really thought for a long time. The other really cool part was that apparently he killed himself with a cyanide laced apple. And, then I found out Alan Turing's favorite childhood story was Snow White where she falls asleep forever for eating a poisoned apple to be woken up by the handsome prince. Anyway, when I explain the real reason why I did the bite it's kind of a let down. But I'll tell you. I designed it with a bite for scale, so people get that it was an apple not a cherry. Also it was kind of iconic about taking a bite out of an apple. Something that everyone can experience. It goes across cultures. If anybody ever had an apple he probably bitten into it and that's what you get. It was after I designed it, that my creative director told me: "Well you know, there is a computer term called byte". And I was like: "You're kidding!" So, it was like perfect, but it was coincidental that it was also a computer term. At the time I had to be told everything about basic computer terms.

The original Dell logo was designed by the Siegel and Gale company in 1984. The elegance of the slanted “E”, despite being interpreted by some as representing the founder’s drive to “turn the world on its ear”, simply adds some 3D impact, One may also see some connections to the IT industry, for example E may represent the "electronic" aspects, or digital bar-code and so on, The above version was introduced in 2010, as part of the re-branding of Dell by Lippincott branding agency.

Using the Museo typeface, designed by Dutch designer Jos Buivenga the height of E was extended and the characters were further pushed to the left on both of the “Ls” and also note that the E's bars have now sharper ascending angles.

The Nike logo represents the wing of the Greek Goddess of victory, "Nike," .This simple logo is a classic case of a company gradually adopting its corporate image as its branding strategy takes hold. Niki's first logo appeared in 1971, when the word "Nike" was printed in orange over the outline of a check-mark. A s, the brand became known the check-mark survived but the company name itself became superfluous.

The Nike "Swoosh" is created in 1971 by Carolyn Davidson, a graphic design student at Portland State University. Phil Knight the owner of the Blue Ribbon Sports (BRS) was teaching an accounting class where Carolyn enrolled as a student. She began some freelance work for BRS. Phil Knight approached Davidson for design ideas for a new line of athletic footwear in 1972, and at a rate of $2 per hour, she agreed to do some designing for him. In June 1971, Carolyn presented a number of her designs to Phil and his associates. They ultimately selected the Niki's Swoosh. Davidson received a total sum of $35 for her more than 15 hours of work. This stunningly simple corporate logo was registered as a trademark in 1995.

Raymod Loewy was approached by Shell to redesign their logo so that it can be more recognizable from a distance, and in poor lighting conditions. Loewy's first rendition was a redesign of a mussel shell logo that was introduced in 1900 and replaced in 1904 by the first version of the scallop shell motif. Finally, in 1971, Loewy designed the current iconic pecten symbol.

The logotype for Google, a prominent high-tech company, is created by Ruth Kedar and reminds us of the Mondrian minimalism. Kedar has emphasized the playfulness of her design, and its simplicity that conveys an illusion of non-design. According to her " The colors evoke memories of child play, but deftly stray from the color wheel strictures so as to hint to the inherent element of serendipity creeping into any search results page ... The texture and shading of each letter is done in an unobtrusive way resulting in lifting it from the page while giving it both weight and lightness".


In the early 1980s as a Stanford graduate student, Andreas “Andy” Bechtolsheim designed a simple but powerful computer workstation that would help define the modern technology era and launch Sun Microsystems. Sun's logo was designed by professor Vaughan Pratt, of Stanford University. It is a stunning example of minimalism using symmetry and order. Pratt brilliantly uses the letters u and n which when arranged adjacent to each other give an impression of the letter S which in a new juxtaposition beside another u and n , it reads SUN. But the later u and n themselves create another S in perpendicular to the previous S, thus creating a square made of the word sun on each of its four sides. The initial version of the logo was orange and had the sides oriented horizontally and vertically, but it was subsequently redesigned so as to appear to stand on one corner and the color changed to purple.

In 1956, Paul Rand designed the first IBM‘s logo, using a retooled version of the City Medium fontface, a 1930 design by Georg Tromp. In the first design, Rand made the letters "IBM" to look solid, grounded and balanced. In 1972, he given the opportunity to redesign the logo. Keeping some elements of the old logo, he added eight (in another version thirteen) horizontal stripes to suggest "speed and dynamism," that became one of the most iconic identity designs of all time time.

Logos with hidden messages

Designed by Lindon Leader, the designer who created the logo in 1994 while working as senior design director in the San Francisco office of Landor Associates, the FedEx logo has won over 40 design awards and was ranked as one of the eight best logos in the last 35 years in the 35th Anniversary American Icon issue of Rolling Stone magazine.

“I started squeezing the letter spacing, I saw a white arrow start to appear between the E and the x. I thought, ‘There’s something there.’ I tried both fonts, but I didn’t like how much I had to distort either typeface to make the arrow look good. I thought, ‘Would it be possible to blend the best features of both?’ I took the high x of Univers and mixed it with the stroke of Futura Bold. The x rose to the crossbar of a lowered E. I kept tweaking, and eventually not only did the arrow look natural and unforced, but I ended up with a whole new letterform. (...) ” The arrow could connote forward direction, speed, and precision, and if it remained hidden, there might be an element of surprise, that aha moment. “I didn’t overplay it, didn’t mention it. And you know, most of our own designers didn’t see it! But when I previewed the mark along with a few others with the global brand manager, she asked, ‘Is there an arrow in there?’ She saw it, and it was game on!” ”

Yet, the logo was approved by "the global brand manager", apparently a very important corporate person, who saw the arrow and approved it because of that. Non of Leader's designer friends were able to see it. A lot of my students also have not been able to detect it. But, I've lived long enough to understand that the pundits typically love a hidden message in a logo, never mind if the ordinary observers cannot see the clandestine connection of forward direction, speed, and precision. Abstract from that ingenuity and the logo looks very much prosaic, heavy and unbalanced. Perhaps the balance can be established by adding a second arrow.  

Google Beta appeared in 1998 with a highly colored logo, and a strong 90s vibe. The first Google logo had an entirely different scheme than the one we know today. As can be seen, the logo also included an exclamation mark in response to Yahoo!’s logo.

However, the exclamation mark was eliminated in the May 1999 version, in which the text was rounded and had shadows that built a 3D effect, to stand out and promote the technology.

The 3D effect shadows were eliminated in the May 2010, but the letters had still a slight suggestion of 3D effect.

The Google Logo in September 2013 completely eliminated the 3D effect , with its typography that was more elegant.

Google decided to officially unveil its adjustment in 2015. The new logo was supposed to mix the mathematical purity of geometric forms with a childlike visual simplicity! The latest logo typeface only has 305 bytes, away from the giant 14,000 bytes that the previous logo had. Unfortunately, once again, an unnecessary philosophizing, destroyed the elegance of design.

When Lawrence Yang, a San Francisco-based artist saw the new Pepsi logo created by the brand strategy agency Arnell Group at the cost of more than $1 million all he could see was a fat guy. He posted the above design on his website and wrote:

And every time I see the logo, I can't help imagining a big belly button in the middle... So I thought I would share my vision with you all. You'll never look at the Pepsi logo the same again

Logos of contemporary art museums

Museums have embraced the brand's power to represent a diversity of backgrounds, eras, media and geographies, with performative quality.  The world's most renowned institutions have now adapted new approaches to visual communication that require a revision of the old approach to visual identity  with the aim to create a more modular, adaptable and scalable design system that can remove noise from our modern media landscape.

The MoMA logotype, set in Franklin Gothic # 2 and designed by Ivan Chermayeff, has been part of the New York cityscape and international museum graphic design since its inception in 1964. With changing needs and channels of communication, the MoMA logo was created as a central graphic device as part of a new visual identity launched in 2009. Created by Julia Hoffmann, Creative Director of  of Graphics and Advertising, this flexible visual identity was developed to bring a systematized and coherent program to print, web and environmental applications. 

Wolff Olins designed the current Tate brand as part of a rebranding of the entire Tate organization in time for the launch of Tate Modern in 2000. They created a new brand for Tate during construction. with the goal of creating something to unite all the different Tates. This notion of artistic organization as a brand was unusual (and controversial) at the time, although it has since become common practice.

After several workshops with Tate customers, Wolff Olins came up with a theme to describe the brand, which was “look again, think again”. From there, they started to work on ideas on how this could be expressed visually. The way that started to translate into visuals was to think of Tate as something constantly evolving, but it's still Tate. Because “look again, think again” was meant to be how art constantly pushes you to question yourself and see the world in a different way. Everyone has a different way of understanding art, there is never a question of being too frozen. So the whole identity had to reflect this idea of ​​something that was not fixed, but very open, very fluid. The result was a logo that left a lot to be desired. A great example that cannot be relied on too much to convey the intent of its design philosophy.

Monograms

A monogram is a motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letters to form one symbol. They are often made by combining the initials of an individual or a company, used as recognizable symbols or logos. Historically, a monogram was used as a royal signature. Romans and Greeks used them on coins to identify their rulers. Then, in the Middle Ages, artisans began to use them to sign their work. Victorian-period high-class persons adapted the monogram for personal use as a symbol of their place in society. Logos in the form of monogram are clear and straight-forward, and don’t ask the viewer to interpret much.

The French fashion house Louis Vuitton, one of the world’s leading international fashion houses, was founded in 1854, and its monogram logo, LV, is today recognizable on many of its products, ranging from luxury trunks and leather goods to ready-to-wear, shoes, watches, jewellery, accessories, sunglasses, and books. Louis Vuitton (1821, 1892), the founder of the company, traveled a distance of 400 kilometer to Paris by foot from his home in Jura, in 1835. In Paris he became an experienced trunk-maker for the aristocracy, and eventually Napoleon III appointed him as Layetier to his wife, Empress Eugénie de Montijo. Soon after he began to design his own luggage, and founded the Louis Vuitton label in 1854.

The other leading French fashion houses also follow the monogram logo tradition of the LV. Coco Chanel (founded 1909) uses CC, Guccio Gucci (founded 1921) uses GG, Fendi uses FF (founded 1925) and Givenchy uses GGGG (founded 1952).

Re-branding

As competition intensifies and profit margins decline, companies often start to question their branding strategies. Re-branding means redefining the unique values or advantages of the product. It is a new attempt at product differentiation in order to leave the past behind and move forward. In all too many cases, however, those expensive re-branding efforts fail to yield the desired business results, because the consumers have a long memory, and if the company has done something wrong in the past they will not forgive just because the company has changed its logo. In such circumstances companies need to be forthright about their mistakes. However, sometimes re-branding is necessary, not because the company's past mistakes but because of changes in consumer's tastes. In such cases re-branding breathes a new life into the brand. Because of the fast pace of innovations in the high tech and communications sectors the clients change of taste is more prevalent in these sectors and this is why many of these companies feel the need to re-brand themselves.



Starbucks' re-branding was due to the strong passion Howard Schultz had for espresso beverages. He realized that the unique advantage Starbucks can offer to its clients is in serving coffee in an elegant and tasteful manner. After failing to convince the original owners of Starbucks to focus on serving coffee in an espresso bar fashion he started his own espresso café, Il Giornarle in 1986. However, by 1987, the two remaining original owners of Starbucks decided to sell the business and Schultz jumped at the chance to acquire it and re-brand it into the espresso bar concept similar to Il Giornale. As Schultz relates in his book POUR YOUR HEART INTO IT ; Terry Heckler and him poured over old marine books until Terry

"came up with a logo based on an old sixteenth-century Norse woodcut: a two-tailed mermaid, or siren, encircled by the store’s original name, Starbucks Coffee, Tea, and Spice. That early siren, bare-breasted and Rubenesque, was supposed to be as seductive as coffee itself."

He then describes how they merged the Starbucks logo with that of Il Giornale, which its name was inscribed in a green circle that surrounded a head of the Greek god of messages, Mercury. He writes;

"To symbolize the melding of the two companies and two cultures, Terry came up with a design that merged the two logos. We kept the Starbucks siren with her starred crown, but made her more contemporary. We dropped the tradition-bound brown, and changed the logo’s color to Il Giornarle’s more affirming green."

Starbucks logo was rebranded again on the company's 40th anniversary in 2011, apparently to explore other opportunities in the fast food markets beside the coffee. In the new brand the siren in the circle became the most prominent feature of the logo and the typeface on the ring 'Starbucks Coffee' was removed.

Here are some other instances of re-branding.

The famous bell symbol was created by Bass & Yager design firm in 1969. This minimalist logo with a sans serif letterform achieved a remarkable recognition in the US. The designer was Saul Bass, a graphic designer and Academy Award-wining filmmaker. The circle around the bell symbolized the globe with a UN-blue. The bell icon was used by AT&T for more than 100 years, and Bass kept it because it was a very apt symbol for the brand, as it was a pictogram of the company's founder, Alexander Graham Bell. Furthermore, bells are a means to inform and connect people.

In 1982, ATT was forced by the U.S. Department of Justice to divest itself of the 22 Bell Operating telephone companies as of January 1, 1984. The design development of the AT&T globe symbol began in late 1982, The initial redesign added a globe symbol in conjunction with the logotype "American Bell". However, a Judge ruled that AT&T cannot use the 'Bell' identification. Thus, the symbol was joined with the new name and logotype 'AT&T' to form the identification signature for the restructured AT&T. In the new design the globe symbolized a world circled by electronic communications, by carefully delineated 'highlight' and 'shadow' elements.

In 2005, SBC Communications bought AT&T, and the newly formed company opted to keep the AT&T name and to re-brand its logo. They kept many features of the old logo, with a globe circled by electronic communications with a more emphasis three-dimensionality, with the addition of some computer generated transparency and shading effect. The upper case AT&T was abandoned in favor of a mongrelized looking at&t, presumably due to a belated conversion to a modernist Bauhaus pedigree of international avant-gardism!

The BP has gone through several re-branding phases. Eventually, in 2000, it merged with a group of companies that included Amoco, ARCO and Castrol, and unveiled a new global brand with a new mark, a sunburst of green, yellow and white symbolizing dynamic energy in all its forms. It was called the Helios after the sun god of ancient Greece. In a press release announcing the change, the group said it had decided to retain the BP name because of its recognition around the world and because it stood for the new company’s aspirations: ‘better people, better products, big picture, beyond petroleum.’

Nevertheless, the new logo was designed as a dramatic break with tradition. 'Helios' – named after the Greek god of the sun – symbolizes a number of phenomena - from the living, organic form of a sunflower to the greatest source of energy...the sun itself. Its colors suggest heat, light and nature. It is also a pattern of interlocking shapes: like BP, a single entity created by many different parts working as one.

The oil spill resulting from the explosion and sinking of the BP oil rig Deepwater Horizon in 2010 created tar balls that very quickly were found in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Soon after they spread into the famed island of Key West, Florida, about 600 miles from the spill site. This appeared to confirm scientists’ fears that the oil spill caused by the explosion and subsequent collapse of the Deepwater Horizon rig has been picked up by fast-moving ocean waters knows as the Gulf Loop. Greenpeace UK started a campaign to redesign the BP logo, to more accurately reflect its tarnished status, as well as to raise awareness about the company's plans for extracting oil from tar sands.

According to Doug Bowman, the Creative Director of Twitter:

Our new bird grows out of love for ornithology, design within creative constraints, and simple geometry. This bird is crafted purely from three sets of overlapping circles — similar to how your networks, interests and ideas connect and intersect with peers and friends. Whether soaring high above the earth to take in a broad view, or flocking with other birds to achieve a common purpose, a bird in flight is the ultimate representation of freedom, hope and limitless possibility.

In 1877, the Quaker Man first appeared holding a scroll which read: ‘Pure.’ The full-length illustration was seen in packaging and advertising for decades to come. In 1946 graphic designer Jim Nash created a black and white headshot of the Quaker Man, creating a familiar look that would go mostly unchanged even today. A full-color version was painted in 1957 by artist Haddon Sundblom (who was best known for his Santa Claus illustrations for Coca-Cola). The brand saw its biggest change in 1972 when it introduced a stylized, monochromatic interpretation of the Quaker Man designed by Saul Bass. Known for creating some of the most classic and memorable logos in North America (including AT&T, United Airlines, and many others), Bass’ logo remained in use until recent years when the company decided to switch back to a version of Sundblom’s design.

ReBranding of  Coca Cola

Lufthansa: From Crane Emblem to Global Brand

The story of Lufthansa’s crane began in 1918, when architect and graphic designer Otto Firle created a simple, elegant crane emblem for Deutsche Luft-Reederei, symbolizing flight, movement, technical precision, and the new freedom of air travel. After the formation of Deutsche Luft Hansa in 1926, the crane was adopted as its principal symbol, together with the blue-and-yellow color scheme inherited from Junkers, and soon appeared consistently on aircraft, posters, tickets, and promotional materials.

After Lufthansa was re-established in 1955, the company retained the crane and its traditional colors, using the emblem as a powerful symbol of continuity, reliability, and German engineering. However, its visual applications remained relatively inconsistent until 1962, when Otl Aicher and the E5 Development Group at the Ulm School of Design undertook Projekt 1400, transforming the historic crane into a modern corporate identity. Aicher simplified and geometrically refined the bird, established precise proportions and applications, and integrated it into a systematic visual language centered on the distinctive blue tail, yellow circle, and blue crane.

This redesign transformed the crane from a decorative emblem into a modern corporate trademark and identity system. During the 1970s and 1980s, Lufthansa refined its colors and extended the identity throughout aircraft interiors, tickets, signage, and other customer experiences. The enduring lesson of the Lufthansa rebranding is that a successful identity does not necessarily require replacing a historic symbol; instead, careful simplification, standardization, and systematic application can transform an existing emblem into a powerful global brand.

If you want, I can also make the other rebranding stories in this chapter the same length and narrative style, so the whole section reads consistently.

Rebranding and Minimalism

In the second decade of 2000, a new trend of minimalism suddenly started in the world of logos. Many companies have pared down their logos to dry, simple, yet highly legible fonts in the false hope that such a rebranding will reflect their new, forward-thinking identity.

1962- 2012

2012-Present

1999-2018

2018 -Present

Pre 2018

This revamped logo, which has been designed in collaboration with Paris-based creative agency Adulte Adulte, sees a roundel enclose a monogram formed from the letters “P” and “B”; the letters serving as a reference to Pierre Balmain, who originally founded the company in 1946.

How much a company would pay for a simple logo? -- $1.28 billion!!

Symantec's old logo

Symantec, a software company, mainly known for security products, acquired some of the assets from a non-competitor, in order to get that company's logo, the single asset that VeriSign had argued in the past that was its ticket to a stable future.

VeriSign's ; Logo

The VeriSign logo was called Trust Seal A major part of VeriSign's business had been the licensing of the above logo to "trusted" Web sites whose security services pass VeriSign's test. So when online shoppers see that pixelated checkmark inside the circle, they conclude the site they're shopping on is safe. 

Symantec's New Logo

According to Symantec press release "The new company logo brings together the Symantec name with the check mark from the recent VeriSign acquisition. The VeriSign check mark is the most recognized symbol of trust online with up to 250 million impressions every day on more than 100,000 unique websites in 160 countries. The check mark and circle will be the common symbol used across Symantec brands." Thus, Symantec paid $1.28 billion  for this logo. Here are some other examples of re-branding:

Note the arrow in the new Amazon logo moves from A to Z, indicating that they sell everything from "A to Z" and it looks like the smile of a happy face.

Go to the next chapter; Chapter 19 - The Viennese method, and Burtin's Models.
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