Logos create an entire brand story. No wonder companies allocate huge budgets for rebranding, hiring the best designers, and listening to customers. The entire success of a company depends on the logo – it is responsible for recognizability and overall brand identity. The emblem should be so detailed that customers subconsciously have associations and warm feelings. Colors, symbols, shapes, lines, fonts – all details should reflect the values of the business. Interestingly, some famous logos were created several decades ago and still haven’t lost their relevance.
What is The 10 Best Logos of all Time?
The top 10 include logos from the Red Cross, Apple, IBM, FedEx, I Love New York, Target, Shell, London Underground, Nike, and Woolmark.
Red Cross
The most important logo that has saved the lives of thousands of people is the Red Cross. The laconic and neutral symbol was created in accordance with the Geneva Conventions of 1864. The emblem is similar to the Swiss flag, only with opposite colors: a red cross on a white background. The emblem reflects the neutrality of medics and respect for the victims of military conflicts.
The bright, contrasting colors are visible from a great distance, so it is unacceptable to shoot a person with this emblem. International law supports all aspects. In 1876, the troops of the Ottoman Empire used a red crescent. The reason for changing the emblem was the connection with the Crusaders, which was considered offensive to Muslims. Later, in 1929, the Diplomatic Conference recognized the emblem, and most Muslim countries used it. In 2007, an additional logo, the Red Crystal, came into effect, combining the two previous symbols.
Apple
Everyone knows the Apple logo. The minimalistic and seemingly simple symbol is associated with luxury and successful technological solutions by consumers. Graphic designer Rob Janoff created the famous logo at the request of the company’s founders. According to the creator of the logo, Steve Jobs asked not to make it cute. This is how the world-famous overbitten apple came into existence.
For the first logo, a wide range of colors was used; since then, Apple has been producing personal computers with a color monitor. In the process of change, the logo took on a white, chrome color. An interesting fact about the creation of the logo is that Rob Yanoff created only one “backup” version, namely a whole apple, in case “the founders of the company found the first logo too cute.” Some sources claim that the whole fruit resembled a tomato, so it had to be “overbitten”.
IBM
Paul Rand in 1972 created the logo that the company still uses today. The emblem is an updated version of the 1956 logo. It consists of the company’s name in blue. The letters have distinctive serifs and are written in City Medium font. They are also separated by horizontal lines (8 in total), which is a reference to cathode ray tube monitors.
IBM is a company that has received the famous nickname Big Blue, i.e., “blue giant.” According to one version, the reason for this name was the famous emblem, which has a bright blue color. The logo of the brand, according to all the principles of the IT sphere, represents dynamism and speed. By the way, next year, 2022, the emblem will be 50 years old.
FedEx
FedEx is a large American company engaged in logistics within the country and around the world. The famous emblem has won many awards for its simple yet unusual design. It is a perfect example of brand recognition through its logo. It is placed on all of the company’s vehicles, which is about 31,000 units, and on the parcels themselves.
The designer of the logo, Lyndon Leeder, experimented with fonts and colors to achieve the perfect blend. The logo consists of purple and orange, which symbolizes rapid development, prestige, and quality. Inside the logo, between the letters E and X, you can see an arrow created by combining Universe 67 and Futura Bold fonts. It indicates the direction of the company’s activity – delivery of letters and parcels. The emblem is constantly at the top of the best logos in the world and takes the leading positions.
I Love New York
This symbol, which can be seen on souvenirs, clothes, and other things, was created in 1977. Its creator, Milton Glaser, was so in love with his city that he drew the emblem in red chalk on paper while riding in a cab. The emblem is officially registered and is a trademark.
The emblem consists of the letter I, a red heart, and the capital letters N and Y (an abbreviation of the city’s name) underneath it. To create the emblem, the designer used a set of fonts, Slab Serif. It should be noted that the text is black in color, and the letters are rounded at the ends. The logo idea is often used in different regions when other names are used instead of N and Y, which is not always agreed with the legislation.
Target
The Target logo is another logo that accurately reflects the name of the company. The bold and creative logo helped the brand to make a statement in its time and achieve unprecedented popularity and recognition in America. The company’s core value is hitting the mark and achieving perfect customer service.
The first logo was designed by Stuart K Widdess. According to one version, he and his team came up with about 200 variations, and among them was even the famous “apple”. The first logo resembled a dart board made in red and white colors. The name of the brand was written in the middle of the emblem. In 1968, a rebranding was carried out, as a result of which the number of rings was reduced to make the logo more concise. Since 2006, the company name was removed from the logo, as the symbol successfully existed without it.
Shell
Shell is a large oil and gas company originating from the UK and the Netherlands. It is impossible not to notice the bright logo when passing by a gas station. One can be sure that the company’s logo is one of the most successful in history, as it is often used without the brand name, without ceasing to be recognizable. The logo symbolizes the excellence and superiority of the company.
The creator of the legendary logo is the French designer Raymond Loewy. It was he who drew the first seashell, which still remains the symbol of the company. The logo has changed several times and is currently a combination of red and yellow colors. The bright color scheme should attract the attention of drivers passing on the highways at high speed. In addition, in 2015, the company created a sound logo – Sound of Shell.
London Underground
It’s not easy to imagine the UK capital without red phone booths and all those sights we’ve seen in school textbooks. It’s even harder to confuse the London Underground with any other in the world. The simple shape and laconic font so captivated the inhabitants that the emblem has remained virtually unchanged for decades. A red circle and white lettering on a blue background – it would seem what could be simpler, but the logo became a major brand. In his book The London Logo, David Lawrence states that “for many people, it [the logo] represents many things – a city, transportation, culture, place, a unified system, a cool design.”
The logo’s creator, Edward Johnston, drew more than just a subway emblem in 1919. Now, it is used to designate all transportation in London. There is even a special guideline, according to which it is necessary to observe all the proportions and use the right fonts and colors to designate the transport system.
Nike
Can you imagine the legendary Nike logo cost only 35 dollars? That’s how much student Carolyn Davidson received in 1971. The company’s founders were impressed by the Adidas logo and had to come up with their own unique symbol to keep up with the competition. After the brand’s considerable success in 1983, Philip Knight gave the designer 500 shares of the company and a gold diamond ring with the Nike symbol on it.
The famous emblem has a special name – “svush”. This word is associated with the noise of the wind when running fast or making other movements. The emblem itself went black and is still used by the company today. The emblem stands for constant speedy movement. The main inspiration for the emblem was Nike’s Greek goddess of victory. Her wing was depicted on the emblem of the company. The emblem, the history, the name – all the details indicate constant movement.
Woolmark
Are you ready for a bit of a paradox? One of the best logos in history doesn’t belong to a commercial company. An Australian wool research and certification organization uses the logo. The company cooperates with many producers and points out the high quality of the products.
The main logo comprises six black stripes that cross each other to form a ball of wool. The creator of the logo is a little-known designer, Francesco Sarolla. The logo itself means that the product consists of 100% wool. If the product has a lower percentage of wool, other logos with two or three stripes are used. The symbol is very elegant, perfect for denoting a natural substance. In today’s world, most manufacturers have long since switched to synthetic fibers. The Woolmark logo emphasizes the exclusivity and naturalness of the product.
One of the coolest in terms of aesthetics and popularity is the logo of Chupa Chups. It harmoniously combines bright colors, and the unusual shape does not look like a standard circle at all. In addition, the font is selected in such a way that immediately attracts attention. And it is unsurprising because this design was created by the father of impressionism himself – Salvador Dali.
According to this criterion, it is not easy to single out any one logo. Good symbols are simple but memorable symbols that have deep meaning and are associated with a particular brand.
The prominence of a logo is determined by the prominence of the company it represents. Therefore, it is not surprising that the first places in popularity are usually occupied by graphic marks of Apple, Nike, Amazon, FedEx, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, and other famous brands.
The best logos are recognized as those that combine simplicity, creativity, and uniqueness of design. But this is a subjective assessment, as everyone considers something different to be good.
