Are you trying to come up with a logo for your business? It might be difficult to find inspiration, but once you hear the stories of the secrets behind some of the most famous logos, it might get you to think differently about the logo you want.
FedEx
You may have already heard this before, but thanks to the layout of the typography, the “E” and the “X” form an arrow in the space between the two letters. The arrow is also pointing to the right, going with the flow of how we read things left to right. This gives the logo a feeling of forward direction that is in tune with the company’s function as a delivery service – they are always on the move to deliver something to you.
You could also see it as the arrow is “inside the box” of text, representing the item they deliver to you will be inside a package.
The logo’s designer, Lindon Leader, explained in an interview with American technology, business and design magazine Fast Company, that “the arrow could connote forward direction, speed and precision, and if it remained hidden, there might be an element of surprise, that aha moment”.
In a quote from his website, Lindon also explains that he “strives for two things in design: simplicity and clarity. Great design is born of these two things. I think these are what we want from design, and from business, from our work, even from our friendships.”
The logo design was ranked as one of eight best logos in the last 35 years by Rolling Stone magazine, it has also won over 40 awards.
Hot Wheels
Similar to FedEx, the logo for toy car brand Hot Wheels also has a clever hidden image. Using the “o” and “t” and the negative space in between the stylised curve of the “H” and “W”, the typography logo forms a tire.
As the logo has evolved over the decades, updating (as many logos do) to fit with the current times and graphic design trends, this hidden tire has become a bit more emphasised, with the lowercase “t” now curving round the tire rim of the “o”.
Getting a Logo Designed
If you need a logo designed you could always look for local designers in the London, Essex and South East areas by searching graphic design southend on sea or any city near you.
Whether you need a logo created from scratch or you have an idea already in mind but need a professional touch, you can enlist the help of a freelance graphic designer or one with the additional knowledge from a digital marketing agency. You could even opt to get extra services for your brand such as web design and content creation.
Apple
A very well known and talked about company, known for a fairly streamlined and consistent range of stylish products, it hadn’t always been that way however…
The first logo, which was created by company co-founder Ronald Wayne in 1976, was much more complex than the one known today. It was an entire detailed picture of the famously depicted moment of when Isaac Newton discovered gravity and revolutionised science by having an apple fall on his head as he sat under a tree.
The illustration was inside a frame that contained a quote from English poet William Wordsworth; “Newton… a mind forever voyaging through strange seas of thought.” There was also a banner with “Apple Computer Co.” on it. As you can see, a lot is going on.
It was quickly changed within the company’s first year to the bitten apple by Rob Janoff, as Steve Jobs believed the first logo to be old fashioned and too complex to display on computers at the time.
The apple itself has undergone a few updates over the years, beginning with a rainbow colour, to symbolise the Apple II computer being the first with colour display.
Hidden Images and Negative Space
As you can see from the above examples, there’s a lot more to logos than meets the eye and learning about the stories behind them might inspire you. Plus, there’s always experts that can design one for you.
