Second edition
Digital Edition
The definitive guide to the world’s greatest logos
THE 50 BEST LOGOS EVER Where does your favourite come on the list?
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46 sony Yasuo Kuroki, 1973 The current form of the Sony logo was launched in 1959, with minor tweaks to the typeface taking place in 1961, 1962, and 1973, the latter being the version used today. The logo was drawn and revised for the most part by Sony design legend Yasuo Kuroki, who died in 2007.
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45 RCA Francis Barraud, 1898 You may immediately think HMV, but this image goes way back to 1898 when Francis Barraud, the last owner and brother of first owner of the dog Nipper, painted a picture of the fox terrier listening to a wind-up Edison-Bell cylinder phonograph. Originally owned by the Victor Talking Machine Company and used from 1902, the image was popularised by the simplified version used by RCA, which it introduced in 1977. It is, of course, now a trademark of HMV – being used as the marketing identity for shops in the UK and Europe.
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30 MTV Manhattan Design, 1981 MTV’s logo ruled the airwaves during the 1980s, first in the US and then the UK. Yet far from being created by an industry monolith, it was the work of three young, unknown designers and one enthusiastic exec at the channel, who together encapsulated the sort of energy and excitement which the channel sought to represent.
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Images top to bottom: The MTV logo went through several versions before the final block 'M' and fluid 'TV' were settled on. The initial sharp designs with hands and musical notes (the apple being a play on 'freshly-squeezed music') were quickly disregarded as not representative of the modern brand.
MT V in the making
How three unknown designers disobeyed all the rules of corporate logo design to create an 80s icon Although it’s now regarded as a barometer of its time and an iconic symbol of the early 80s, MTV’s logo certainly wasn’t born of any great graphic design strategy hatched by multiple agencies. Like the channel itself, it was more the result of inspired experimentation by a bunch of enthusiastic people who, by their own admission, weren’t sure what they were doing. In 1980, Warner Amex had plans to launch a 24-hour cableTV music station, showing something (they weren’t quite sure what as videos weren’t yet commonplace) for every hour of every day – and they needed a logo. Together with Alan Goodman, Fred Seibert was tasked with promotions and programming, and in 1981 called on old schoolfriend Frank Olinsky to help. Olinsky, together with Pat Gorman and Patti Rogoff, made up Manhattan Design, based in New York’s Greenwich Village. “Although this design studio had a very establishedsounding name, it was kind of a joke,” says Olinsky. “[We] were just starting out and chose the name to fool potential clients into thinking [we] had been around for a while.” They “didn’t have much experience or money, but they sure made up for it with spirit and creativity,” he adds. Seibert thought that Manhattan Design, with its fresh young approach, might be suitable for the market that the channel was aimed at. So Manhattan got to work with a vengeance, eventually roughing out more than 500 designs. Early versions revolved around musical notes and other standard themes, but these were felt to be too passé. The team hit on the idea of incorporating the letters MTV. The ‘M’ gradually became larger and more defined, with the ‘TV’ oscillating around it in various ways. But it still looked too staid, not lively enough, until Olinsky spray-painted the ‘M’ using a piece of acetate in the studio’s stairwell, which inspired the trio to experiment even further. “We had no idea this thing was going to be very significant,” Olinsky says. “We were just happy to get work that paid a few bucks.” From Seibert’s point of view, it was vital that the logo disobeyed all the usual rules that corporate symbols labour under: that it can’t move, can’t be distorted, and so on. Once the initial MTV design was approved, this thinking applied to the corporate colours: “The decision was made that there weren’t any, and that the logo should always change,” says Olinsky. Later, of course, that concept was taken even further with a series of stings featuring the logo and showcasing a wild variety of animation styles, from stop-motion to CGI. These days MTV may not have the cultural impact that it did in the 80s and 90s, but its logo lives on as a testament to the age.
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12 1890 This rarely seen version of the logo was used only once, on the first calendar ever printed by the company. The creator of this design is unknown, but they certainly brought an unusual feel to the lettering.
1893 A slightly thinner rendering of the words Coca-Cola coincided with the company’s early growth. Asa Candler had acquired the brand from Pemberton and the strategy was to outfit chemist shops with soda fountains. Syrup plants were built in Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles.
1898 The Coca-Cola logo as it appeared in a print advertisement in 1898. Before long the company would spread abroad to Canada, Panama, Cuba, Puerto Rico and France.
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12 1903 The next phase of the company’s development was all about protecting its trademark and its drink formula as copycat firms appeared.
1905 This hand painted sign advertised CocaCola by the bottle for 5c, equivalent to 3p. The company's advertising at the time encouraged consumers to ask for the product by name.
1915 To further enforce the authenticity of real Coca-Cola, the contoured bottle was developed in 1915, and went on sale in 1916. Later, the curve of the bottle would become not just an indicator of the product, but part of the brand.
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5 Rob Janoff Working at a small agency called Regis McKenna in Palo Alto in 1977, graphic designer Rob Janoff was handed the job of designing a logo for a company called Apple Computer. Working with Steve Jobs, he helped develop the visual identity that Apple has stuck with ever since. Both the logo itself and the products it has appeared on – from the Apple II to the iPhone X – have come to represent great design.
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5 Today, Rob Janoff is based in Chicago and has advertising clients around the world.
1976 The first Apple logo was designed by employee Ron Wayne. It depicts Sir Isaac Newton sitting under an apple tree. He's about to formulate the Universal Laws of Gravitation. Steve Jobs realised the illustration looks far to complex for just about any application, and would not reproduce well on computer boxes. Can you imagine it on your phone?
1977 Jobs gave the brief to design a corporate identity for Apple Computer to the Palo Alto agency Regis McKenna, which was creating advertising for many other Silicon Valley clients. Rob Janoff came up with the Apple brand – the colours of the spectrum are in the wrong order, but represent Apple's USP. It was the only colour home computer in 1977. The logo took only two weeks to create.
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OU R E X PE RT PA N E L
Michael C Place Build founder, creative director, resident perfectionist and part of our expert panel, says it’s horses for courses when it comes to identity design – not all clients need a cross-platform branding campaign!
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Having famously cut his teeth at the Designers Republic in the 90s alongside Universal Everything’s Matt Pyke and Sanderson Bob’s Bob Sanderson, Michael C Place migrated south. From 2001, he ran his studio from home in central London, before finding the perfect space in Walthamstow a few years later. Today, Build balances a string of high-profile clients such as Nokia, Getty Images, Nike and Design Museum London with smaller independents. Build swears by a simple but effective mantra, which informs all of its work. “We have this thing – ‘it’ll do won’t do.’ That’s something I’ve always been big on; everything is thought about and considered,” explains Place. This self-confessed perfectionism spreads to the way he manages the studio, too. “I’ve always been very, very hands on, it’s just what I’ve always known and always genuinely enjoyed,” he goes on. “I’m much better now, but to start off with I was like, ‘Oh, just let me do it.’ I’m quite impatient, so I just like to get on with things.” Integrity is a strong theme in the studio. Build is as proud of the way it approaches the work as it is of the work itself. “It’s down to very simple things, so rather than just green washing we actually try and do things ethically,” insists Place. “We try and source things in the UK, and work with UK manufacturers wherever possible. We’ll also always pay people on time, because we know as a small business that cash flow is a huge thing. We’re not here to try and disadvantage anyone, we just try and work in the way that you’d hope that you’d be treated yourself.”
Besides integrity and attention to detail, a typographic approach to design is another distinctive hallmark of Build’s work. “Type’s always a big thing,” confirms Place. “I’m massively into type, and our work tends to be more graphic than photographic. But despite the attention to detail, I very rarely use grids. I’m just not a grid person at all.” Nowhere is the studio’s penchant for clean typography more apparent than in its branding portfolio, with recent identity commissions ranging from large commercial clients such as iStock, to small independent organisations like Made and Dsigndot. This diversity of type and scale of client helps to inform Place’s viewpoint on logo design in general. “Whilst I believe that identities should be as dynamic as the company they represent, I also believe that a conventional logo still has its place in the world,” he argues. “For certain brands, of course a more all-encompassing branding system is the right way to go – but not for all brands,” he continues. “In short, it really is horses for courses. I would never propose something to the level of, say, Coca-Cola for a furniture restorer. I would, however, expect the furniture restorer to have as good a logo as Coca-Cola,” he smiles. Michael C Place Build London, UK www.wearebuild.com
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