February 17, 2021

Stories Behind the World’s 6 Most Iconic Brand Logos for the Students of Visual Communication

When you look at iconic logos, at once you know which brand it represents. That’s the sheer power of a logo. However, the backstory of many iconic logos is quite long. As markets and trends are evolving, designing a logo is not as easy as it may appear. If you are interested in studying visual communication, here are a few fascinating stories behind iconic logos, how they were designed, why they have been so successful, and what you can learn from them:

Nestle: The brand’s bird’s nest logo continues to be familiar around the world. However, you will be surprised to know that this wasn’t the logo when the company was founded. Nestle means ‘nest’ German and this is the reason the Swiss manufacturer developed a logo featuring a bird on its nest. The first logo has a bird and a coat of arms. As the company makes products for infants and children, it gave its logo a nurturing look. Instead of a single bird, the logo featured three baby birds being fed by their mother signifying. The logo was further simplified over the years with lines that were straight, clean and neat. In 1988, the three birds were changed to two representing average modern family.

Apple: The tech giant is iconic and so its logo. Do you that the bitten apple wasn’t even there in the first logo of the company? It featured Isaac Newton sitting under the tree of an apple. However, when Steve was managing the business of design, he thought he wanted a logo which is small in size. By the end of Apple’s end of the first year, the bitten apple logo was launched. Till date, the logo remains while the colour is changed.

MGM: Generations of movie-goers across the world associated MGM with the roaring lion. The classic trademark logo was created in 1916. The use of a lion was inspired by ad executive alma mater, Columbia University, whose athletic team nickname is The Lions. Over the years 7 lions have featured in the logo which underwent different changes. It is hard to imagine what the logo would have looked like had the ad executive gone to a different university.

Adidas: The three stripes logo of the sports brand is recognised all over the world. It is interesting that the company had purchased the logo from another company. The three stripes represent landmasses where Adidas shoes were sold – North America, Europe, and Asia. The current logo which looks like a triangle or a mountain signified overcoming challenges – indicating that their products are up to the challenge.

Google: For students of visual design, Google’s logo is a lesson in itself. Text-based logos are often difficult to create as colour and font are the only things to work around. Despite the challenge, the search engine company logo remains impactful. Though it had undergone, the very essence of it remains the same.

Dominos: The red and blue stores with three starts make you think about sumptuous pizzas. But do you know how this logo came into being and what does it represent? The three dots represent three restaurants with which it all started. There were plans to add one more for each new restaurant opened. But the idea was dropped. With so many restaurants all over the world, adding one dot would have been tricky.

As one of the best visual communication colleges in India, we offer B.Design Visual Communication (Graphics) that encourages students to articulate and express their ideas and come with creative visual solutions. Our course prepares students for exciting careers in the fields of graphic design, advertising, web design, multimedia design and print & publishing.

Stories Behind the World’s 6 Most Iconic Brand Logos for the Students of Visual Communication

Karnavati University

Unitedworld Institute of Design (UID):

Unitedworld School of Business (UWSB):

Unitedworld School of Law (UWSL):

Unitedworld School of Liberal Arts & Mass Communication (USLM):

Unitedworld School of Computational Intelligence (USCI):

Karnavati School of Dentistry (KSD):

Karnavati University

Unitedworld Institute of Design (UID):

Unitedworld School of Business (UWSB):

Unitedworld School of Law (UWSL):

Unitedworld School of Liberal Arts & Mass Communication (USLM):

Unitedworld School of Computational Intelligence (USCI):

Karnavati School of Dentistry (KSD):

Karnavati University

Unitedworld Institute of Design