Logo Immortality

A couple of days ago the great Michael Bierut posted on Twitter the Crest logo, designed by Donald Desky, such a classic design, that’s stood the test of time and is as relevant today as it was conceived back in 1956. This got me thinking, what really is a classic logo or logotype and what are the solid fundamental elements that make logos timeless? Basically, designers and more specifically logo designers are similar to architects. They seek to design something unique and possibly immortal. A testament to their existence and a sense value in our society. Obviously an architect’s job may take longer to accomplish, requires engineering, has far more socio-economic functionalities and physical attributes than a logo or a brand mark. But a logo can impact the existence and endurance of a brand. It defines the mission, vision and voice of company, it serves both an internal purpose as well as an external image. The stronger the foundations are built into your brand identity, the longer they will last.

           Less is more: When a logo or typography designer begins their process, they always have their target audience in mind. Both designers and architects want to guide them through their creation and help them understand what this brand or structure is about. They both strive to connect with that audience through a personal and emotional connection. The same way when an architect builds and office or residential building, the façade and entrance is supposed to be the first indication of what the building is trying to say and how you are supposed to feel about it when you enter the building. For example, Mies van der Rohe’s Seagram Building completed in 1958, symbolized the “less is more” Bauhaus movement philosophy of that era. Sleek and minimalistic, it is an iconic testament to what we now define as modern architecture. The same thinking was applied when Carolyn Davidson designed the Nike Swoosh in 1971, or Paul Rand’s IBM logo in 1972. Paul looked at the previous designs since 1888 and came up with new solutions that removed all the complexities and ornamentations that existed in the old typography. He aligned his design with new company vision that “ Good design is good business”. Following the same motifs from the Bauhaus, Cubism and Constructivism styles, he replaced the older font Beton with a similar but stronger-looking typeface called City. He wanted the structure to look solid and strong just like the giant computing machines at the time. By introducing stripes to establish a better sense of unity, he created balance and movement within each letter. Rand also made sure that the logo would work in all conceivable applications. A timeless brandmark, that still stands tall and strong as One IBM Plaza building itself, incidentally by Mies van der Rohe.

           Form follows function: Both architects and designers serve their clients who in turn serve the need of their costumer. An architect commissioned to build an opera house knows that beyond his/her vision, the structure has to seat a number of people, have clear exists/entrances, consist of amazing acoustics, be of solid foundation and be beautiful too look at. In the same vein, logo designers have to consider elements like color, font style, size, legibility, application, complexity, impact on the brand, is it unique, captivating, and will it be timeless. As much as the Coka Cola logo is iconic, I don’t think would have worked well representing a tech company. Architects and designers hold the same principles, that the form of a design should be primarily based upon its intended function or purpose. Designers want their logos to fulfill its intended need to sell a product and communicate a strategic message. If the logo you design for a product does not help tell clearly what the product is, people will not spend money to buy it, or if the identity for a car company does not create the real impression of trust and comfort in the minds of your prospect and clients, they will not purchase the car. The Mercedes logo has not changed in over hundred years, yet it still represents the same core values of strength, expertise it did back in 1909, but also has stood the test of time to epitomize technology and innovation for todays market.

       Problem Solvers: The biggest common thread between both designers and architects as a discipline lies solely in the fact they both are problem solvers. You have to analyze, define, study and research what are the best ways to reach your goal and bring forth a solution to a problem. Sometimes a simple symbol or shape can becomes the visual representation for a brand and sometimes a wordmark can be associated to a product. Yet they both serve the sole purpose of solving a problem for a product that needs to stand out against the competition in a supermarket or a company that represents a specific service. Lindon Leader, went through more than 200 designs and ideas before landing on what we know as the FedEx logo at Landor. He knew that this logo would be seen and used pretty much everywhere. Therefore it had to standout enough to be recognized, yet symbolize exactly what the business did. The rest is logo history, but to think that something that may look simple now, had to go through so many iterations and when he presented it to the FedEx board members, the only person to see the famous arrow in the logo was the CEO himself, Mr Smith, is as amazing of a story as it gets. Architects like Frank Lloyd Wright, understood exactly his primary purpose as a problem solver, when he was commissioned for the design of Falling Water. The rich industrialist, Kaufmann family, had asked him to create a unique weekend home that seemed as distant as possible from their city life in Pittsburgh. They tasked him to come with a solution that encompassed their love for nature as well as modern standards of living. Wright not only came up with a solution that went beyond architecture perfection and style, but he built the modern home right on top of a giant rock that had the water fall flow through the home. Designers like architects are experts has seeing a problem, and coming up with the perfect solution through creative and imaginative thinking.

           Of course, I know that the parallels I’m drawing between logo designers and architects is a bit exaggerated, of course the role of an architect has much more impact on society and human kind. Still, the notion that they both share the common factor of immortality through their discipline and how society has preserved their work has always fascinated me. Iconic logos, like Nike, Apple, FedEx, UPS, Coca Cola, Crest, Apple, Shell are still all around us and are as recognizable today as they were fifty to sixty years ago when they were designed. The current generation still uses and visually recognizes these brands, without even having to read their wordmark. A true testament to the legends behind those logo designs.

I know it’s something of a cliché to say this, but we really do view graphic design, and especially logo design, as a problem solving process, a process not dissimilar to that used in other related disciplines such as architecture and engineering. 

Tom Geismar