Company Logo Samples: Famous Examples of Simple Effectiveness

Company Logo Samples: Famous Examples of Simple Effectiveness
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Overview

Bringing together some of the remarkable company logo samples to discuss their merits based largely on their simple yet distinct design features is almost like a course on marketing boiled down to a few words and a picture. Who wouldn’t want to take that short cut?

Just seeing the font alone that is used on some of these logos out of context will conjure up the image and recognition of the product it represents because the two are indelibly intertwined. Whether you’re just interested in learning a little bit about the psychology and goals of achieving brand recognition with a creatively designed logo and business identity system, or you want to use these samples as a spring board of inspiration to build your own, this guide is for you.

Image credit: Flickr.com/Mmmonica

Red, White, and Double the Blue

Pepsi Logo Evolution

Pepsi Current Logo

The Pepsi logo is known throughout the world largely in part to abiding by two fundamental design rules which are achieving a uniquely distinct look while maintaining simplicity at the same time. Due to established logo design tips and practices, seldom will you find an overly complicated logo design that has stood the test of time.

Although Pepsi has been around since the early 1900s, the bottle cap design in the 1940s solidified the soft drinks in the thirsty hearts of people everywhere. The red, white, and blue design represented the support of the USA’s struggles and fighting in WWII, at home and abroad.

As you will see from the images here, the Pepsi logo has gone through several evolutionary changes leaving the bottle cap design to several globe versions apparently leaving the company’s fervor for the U.S. for the increased profits of global markets. An extra shade of blue was inserted at one point and the current one is the globe without even “Pepsi” in it. But the original and all its amendments are still clearly known because all of them are clearly part and parcel with the Pepsi franchise.

Left image credit/flickr.com/alokkrsingh13

Right Image Credit/flickr.com/mashrooms

Coke

Coke Logo

Whereas you can see from above that the evolution of Pepsi saw several changes in the font style, size, and color for the wording of “Pepsi,” the signature Coca-Cola typography hasn’t changed for over a century. That bold and sweeping cursive lettering in white set against the red background is recognized the world over.

Once again, this goes to show that simple is better in logo design. As a matter of fact, you’ll learn that one of the advantages of typography, a key component in creating any logo, the typography Coca-Cola used is known as the Coke font.

Image credit/flickr.com/larae96

Nike

Nike

Maybe it’s obvious but a company or organization can create a superlative logo design, but a vital key to brand recognition is that the product they’re peddling be of superior quality as well. Then again, infamy can be just as memorable, as most people remember the Enron and AIG logos after those debacles.

But in terms of the sublimely simple Nike “Swoosh”, the explosive success of their running shoes coincided with the winning reputation of the track team at the University of Oregon and the legendary runner Steve Prefontaine. The “Swoosh” itself came to represent their corporate philosophy of pushing the limits of professional and amateur athletes everywhere.

Incidentally, Carolyn Davidson was only a graphic design student at Portland State University when she created the famous design for Nike in 1971. She had no access to the many different logo design software options available today for both DIY enthusiasts and professionals alike.

Image credit/flickr.com/mafik66

adidas

adidas original logo

A bane to English teachers everywhere, adidas boldly bucked the system by failing to capitalize the company name on its logo and hence, all of its products. This feature coupled with the three sloping and inverted slashes provided an original symbol that is known by people in virtually every country of the world regardless of what language they speak.

Since the company is known for its athletic shoes and apparel the logo seems to evoke the process of achieving increasingly harder goals, not unlike climbing a mountain. Continuing on with our theme of simplicity, you most often just see this style in black in the famous font that spells out the whole name in lower case lettering.

Image credit/flickr.com/aditya/sriwasth

FedEx

FedEx logo

Among company logo samples, the ubiquitous FedEx logo simply delivers the goods both literally and in terms of graphic design. This was the case long before it became a famous actor alongside Tom Hanks in the movie Castaway. The company had to be very confident in its parceling services to allow itself to be portrayed in the context of a plane crashing and all of those packages getting lost at sea. Normally, companies like that don’t even want the public to think about that as a possibility.

While the FedEx logo adheres beautifully to the rule of simplicity, the clever design harbors a hidden forward thinking arrow in the dead space between the “E” and the “x.” For the very best in what professional graphic designers use, check out top graphic design software for logo design.

Image credit/flickr.com/redomen

Audi

Audi Logo

In certain circles, this car manufacturer could be accused of stealing the thunder and grandeur synonymous with the Olympic Rings symbolizing the Olympic Games to use for its own logo. But that’s just wild conjecture and there are significant differences since there are five Olympic rings and only four for Audi. Plus they’re arranged differently and the four Audi rings actually represent four marques of Auto Union and the amalgamation of Audi with DKW, Horch, and Wanderer long ago.

What could be more basic than four silver circles yet think of the quality and reputation this emblem epitomizes. For the daring, this could be a design guidepost in piggy backing off another unrelated, yet reputable schematic.

Google

Google Meteorite

Google Logo

We couldn’t leave out the search engine that more than likely led you to this article that you’ve graciously now read to this point. While the most famous version is simply the rainbow colors depicting the name, just like the company that tends to constantly change the rules of the game, their logo is always subject to a little change, spelling out Google in a host of different characters to do so. They like changing it up for holidays and events (like the meteorite shower to the right). Could this be a new trend in logo design? We think not.

Although Google can get away with a lot of reindeer games, the traditional rock solid logo that stands the test of time needs to stay the same, to give people a sense of security, stability, and trust about what it represents.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this intriguing round up of company logo samples. And if you’re looking for more help making one, be sure and check out brainstorming ideas for business logos . Look to Bright Hub for solutions and help in all of your desktop publishing projects , that is what we’re here for.

Left image credit/flickr.com/imexmatiasi

Right image credit/flickr.com/Si1very

References

https://www.famouslogos.org/

https://www.toxel.com/design/2008/08/20/20-famous-logo-designs/