Logo Showcase Episode 3

Logo Showcase Episode 3:

1.

Mitsubishi Logo

      “The current Mitsubishi logo appears to have surfaced in 1964. The shipping company that was formed in the 1870s and later became Mitsubishi used a triangular water chestnut on its ships’ flags. “Mitsu” means three and “bishi” means water chestnut. The three-diamond mark used today emerged as a reinterpretation of the family crest of the founder.”

Gernsheimer, Jack (2010-02-23). Designing Logos (Kindle Locations 2330-2332). 

Skyhorse Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

      Yet another car emblem that has taken over the world and reached the status of universal recognition. This logo was created to represent a water chestnut that was used on a flag of the “shipping company that was formed in the 1870’s". The use of 3 diamonds meeting at the center give this logo symmetry and balance as well as great use of negative space. The three diamonds form three negative triangles that also meet at the center of the logo, a place that our eye is automatically drawn to. This simple display created using symmetry and geometry makes for an appealing logo with a defined focal point. The water chestnut fact is not really necessary for their brand identity, but it makes for an interesting shape and captivating logo. 

2.

Saturn Logo

      “The logo for GM’s emerging automobile division Saturn was introduced around 1984. Always set within a red rectangle, the intersecting circular and oval lines, which bleed out of the box, represent the spherical planet and its encircling rings.”

Gernsheimer, Jack (2010-02-23). Designing Logos (Kindle Locations 2583-2585). 

Skyhorse Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

      Although out of business today, I assure you that is not because of this logos failure of representation. This logo never needed the word saturn, but wow did they do a nice job with the typography. The letter “A” seems to separate the word into two parts, “S” and “Turn”. The logo itself uses negative space inside of a rectangle to create the image of the planet saturn. The logo breaks off at the borders of the rectangle without losing its representation of a planet. Somehow our brain manages to finish the rest of the image, and we see a planet even though less than half of the image (planet and ring broken off by the red border) is represented, now that is pure logo mastery. 

3.

          Target Logo

      “The Target logo is a classic example of simplicity at work. Granted, the logo’s designer lucked out when it came to creating a logo with obvious imagery, but the concentric circle-within-a-circle interpretation of a target is brilliantly simple and communicates universally.”

Gernsheimer, Jack (2010-02-23). Designing Logos (Kindle Locations 2425-2427).

Skyhorse Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

      Target is one of the most simple, yet successful logos of all time. It manages to use an outlined red circle and another red circle inside of it to represent the companies full name without using a single letter. The target is created from this red bullseye which immediately has the focal point and representation of a target. Target’s simple recreation of a target is amongst the most successful of all logos. Proving that in the logo world we must remember K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid).