The Grand brand design expedition from Sydney, to London and New York. Explore how the storytelling logos differ in their narrative in the 3 major cities.
8. Finding
A city that happens to be a
doorway to a continent is not
famous for its design sense or so
the world thinks.
Despite all contradictions, it is
the birthplace of some unique
storyteller logos.
Let's find out their story and how
they are different from the rest of
the world.
Answers
in
9. Aussie
At the time of its inception, the
kangaroo was depicted as
carrying the globe with its feet.
In 1995, the redesign added wings
which gave it a mystical,
untouchable edge, that also
happens to narrate the story of
the brand.
The logo has seen too much
controversy. At one point, it was
dubbed as the big foot.
Legendary
Aviator
10. Sport
The challenge was to dispel tired
and quaint clichés of Australia,
namely, the koalas and
kangaroos.
The logo depicts the image of a
running athlete outlined in a
hand-drawn style, capturing the
human aspect of what the
Olympic Games stands for.
He holds an Olympic torch from
which trails a line of smoke that
draws the iconic white peaks of
the Opera House.
S dneyy
11. Double
The Australian Broadcasting
Corporation (ABC) logo is
known as the worm.
The monolithic logotype with a
reflective silver finish was
applied from screens to
stationery and is still in use by
the ABC today.
Somewhere along 2008, there
were speculations that the logo
was getting dumped but the
only modification was meant to
refashioned to accommodate
the digital television era.
Infinity
12. Digitsfor digital
The numerical nine besides 9
dots, a rather strange looking
logo to get acceptance.
The makers of this logo
believed that this was an
opportunity to showcase
Nine’s talent pool in a unique
way and reflect the
Australian lifestyle and
landscape.
With a relaunch in 2008, the
dots were represented as 3D
discs but later on spheres
were used.
13. National
Post
The bright red ‘P’ for ‘post’
smartly incorporates the image
of a postal horn: a traditional
instrument European postmen
use to announce deliveries.
After years, it is still ubiquitous
and stands for all the values.
The logo is now a familiar face
visible in every street corner on
street posting boxes and on the
thousands of Australia Post
motorbikes, vans and trucks.
14. Points of
3. Minimalism and flat is not a
trend across the board.
in
Distinction
1. The choice of colors is
restricted but blue and red enjoy
notable prominence.
2. Logotypes are preferred over
wordmark.
4. They are finding it difficult to
drift away from conventional
symbols.
15. Finding The largest city of UK along
River Thames famously known
as the cultural capital of the
world.
Their design is a vibrant mix of
modern British and
contemporary art. The cultural
and intellectual life of London is
depicted elegantly in their
brands.
Let's take a look at some of the
sleek logo designs that narrate
a unique story to connect with
the audience.
in
Answers
16. It is one of the oldest brands
that specializes in
pharmaceuticals, healthcare
and beauty products. They
never did any extra effort to
change their brand identity.
In fact, they only played around
a little with the color of the logo
but the font remained
untouched.
However, the brand has lately
been through some mergers and
acquisitions which means we
can expect some rebranding in
future.
Born
English
17. Argos is a catalog retailer that is
a parent to several other
electronic brands. This type-
based logo went through some
fascinating changes but the
extended "A" leading to "S" was
never dropped completely.
This smirk looking underline
became an identity and without it
the brand story was incomplete.
So even in the latest rebrand
Argos retains a concave
underline.
The bright red color depicts the
strength and the brand on a
global scale.
Get Set
Go
18. The department store across London
is not just famous for its service. Their
cursive logotype conveys a message
of integrity, and reliance.
The logotype is in thin font so to
maximize visibility by protecting the
clear zone around it.
An amazing shade of green or golden
represent this departmental chain of
stores. However, it was quite
challenging to make this logo
impactful on different items.
A class
Apart
19. Tesco logo was introduced in 1996
that featured a modern look and
included the five stripe
reflections under the company’s
name.
The new font was a replacement
of the typewriter font that had a
vintage appeal, but it still retains
the essence of the brand.
As you can see, the colors are
borrowed from the British flag.
Red symbolizes prosperity and
happiness, while the blue color
depicts excellence and
trustworthiness.
A name of
TRUST
20. The famous “Spread Eagle”
emblem of Barclays, came from the
late seventeenth century when
very few people could actually read
and write so business owners used
pictorials signs to brand their
businesses.
After using the black colors for
decades, the Barclays logo came in
blue color for the first time in May
1970.
The current logo is a simplified
version of the corporate visual
identity that follows minimalism.
Beyond
Corporate
21. 1. The colors of the flag are always
hit.
Distinction
Points of
2. Wordmark is preferred over
symbolic.
3. They redesign more frequently to match
trends and core values while retaining
historic elements.
4. They have had a brief transition
but now their logo designs are
moving towards contemporary.
22. The cultural and financial capital
of the world is filled with vibrant
design ideas, creative designers
and erratic trends.
It is the birthplace of innovative
emerging brands that are keen to
narrate a unique story for their
brand.
Check out how the logos narrate
their stories through brand
identities.
Answers
Finding
in
23. The first logo of ESPN had an
encapsulated feel which casted a
mediocre impression.
However, the redesign truly sets the
brand apart. The new wordmark was
first introduced with a swoosh which
was eventually dropped to cope with
the trend of minimalism.
The bright color gives away a spirit
of passion and love for sports
whereas the white version stands for
purity, reliability and integrity. The
line spanning the four letters is an
indication of uniformity.
Sports
Buzz
24. The customized font of Disney brews
an essence of cheerful and light
entertainment. The logo is a stylized
version of the founder's signature
which is a genius idea.
The logo has preserved its
uniqueness over the years but some
animations and styles have been
added to meet new design
standards. The timeless logo has
engaging stories of delight that
never fails to impress.
The fancy font represents
entertainment industry quite well
but fancy use of colors could've
ruined the subtle logo.
Magic
Alive
25. The logo was designed by
legendary Massimo Vignelli,
who created a strong core
identity for the brand with the
most popular typeface of all
times, Helvetica.
The use of emblem became a
perfect fit for the airline. the
colors represent energy, vitality
and passion while the royal blue
stands for duty, care and trust.
Since it's a national airline, the
use of flag colors was all but
inevitable.
National
Airline
26. The first logo of Fedex was a
diagonal wordmark. After the
company became a name in global
delivery, they felt the need to
strengthen the identity.
So they came up with an iconic
corporate image with hidden
symbolism that communicated an
intriguing brand message. The arrow
symbolizes forward movement,
accuracy and thinking.
It's purple color communicates the
message of elegance, prosperity and
prestige and orange is for pace and
connectivity.
Corporate
Symbolism
27. Another remarkable example of
hidden symbolism to narrate a story.
Though the peppy font has often
been critiqued, the stand-alone B
and R showing number 31 was an all
time hit.
People loved the way they coded the
information of 31 flavors in brand's
visual imagery. Some believe the
digit 1 is also a spoon that is offered
to customers to taste samples.
The blue depicts reliability, quality
and promise for exceptional service.
Visual
Treat
28. 1. Hidden symbolism is the ruling
currency as if brand narrative is
incomplete without it.
Points of
Distinction
3. Colors are finalized after heavy
research on consumer psychology.
2. Rebranding is frequent which is
usually done after consumer
analysis.
3. They love to experiment with
typography.
29. New York - consumer
priorities are defined
Putting them
together
Sydney - brand story
is narrated
London - core values
are depicted