Over the decades there have been countless famous brands with their respective attractive logos, and it’s often wondered who created this or that magnificent logo? Behind every successful brand, there is always a great designer. It’s not so much the design itself, it’s the face and persona who brought their iconic logo to fruition and how.
An overview
For every logo that identifies a brand and message, there is a person or team who has put their creative juices to work. In this article about logo designers, the 10 best will be featured–those very same people who have rocked the design world over the decades.
- What is the significance of a great logo?
- Who are the 10 best logo designers of all time?
- You, too, can create a sensational logo with a few simple steps.
What is the significance of a great logo?
When you’re considering all of the factors that go into building a business, creating a logo might not seem like a top priority. You might even be whispering to yourself “Maybe I don’t even need a logo at all.” This is probably the farthest from the truth.
Try not to listen to that voice that’s whispering from the back of your mind, as having a logo is an integral part of making your brand a successful one – right up there with having high-quality products and positive referrals. Logos are important because they grab attention, make a strong first impression, are the foundation of your brand identity, are memorable, separates you from the competition, fosters brand loyalty, and is expected by your audience. As you can see, you need a logo; it’s a vital part of building a successful business and brand.
Who are the 10 best logo designers of all time?
To achieve stardom in logo design, the following 10 designers have sealed their place in logo design history. Some of them are no longer among us, but their works are famous and eternal.
Saul Bass
Saul Bass was born in 1920 and died in 1996. He was a celebrated graphic designer of the twentieth century and was well known for the design of movie titles. His logos included very successful brand identities such as Bell Telephone System Communications, United Airlines, AT & T, Minolta, and Warner.
Paul Rand
Born in 1914 and died of cancer in 1996, Paul Rand was an American graphic designer, recognized for his famous corporate posters and identities such as ABC, IBM, and UPS.
Alan Fletcher
Alan Gerard Fletcher was a British-born graphic designer between the years 1931 and 2006. The Daily Telegraph described him as “the most respected graphic designer of his generation, and probably one of the most prolific.” Some of their corporate identities, which are known to many, are the Reuters logo composed of 84 points made in 1965, the logo for the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the logo for the Institute of Directors projected in 1989, which still today are in use.
Sagi Haviv
Sagi Haviv is an Israeli graphic designer born in 1974 and currently working in the US, as a partner of Chermayeff & Geismar. Among its various corporate identity designs are logos for the National Parks of New York Harbor, Free Radio Europe, Library of Congress, and the famous Armani Exchange fashion brand.
Walter Landor
Walter Landor was born in Munich, Germany in 1913 and died in 1995. One of his most famous logos was that of FedEx, which is considered one of the best in the world. Landor was talented in packaging design and logos, and his work covers brands such as Del Monte, Marlboro, Fujifilm, Tab, and Bank of America. He also made numerous corporate identities for airlines such as Alitalia, British Airways, Japan Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Cathay Pacific Airways, and Singapore Airlines.
Herb Lubalin
Herbert F. Lubalin, born in 1918 and died in 1981, was a popular graphic designer. His most noticeable designs were the wedding/marriage logo made in 1965 and the families logo dating back to 1980. Herb Lubalin designed the ITC Avant Garde font, and this particular typeface can be described as a postmodern interpretation of art deco.
Chermayeff & Geismar
Ivan Chermayeff and Tom Geismar were two Yale students in the mid-1950s. Chermayeff & Geismar Inc. are the creators of various famous brands and corporate identities. Some of their most prestigious works are for large corporations such as Mobil, Time Warner, Viacom, and Xerox.
Wally Olins
Wally Olins is recognized as the most experienced in the world of corporate identity and branding. Wally Olins was nominated for the Prince Philip Designers Prize in 1999 and received the Royal Society of Arts medal for his tireless efforts in the design industry. And also, it was he who made the Portuguese Tourism logo.
Gerard Huerta
There are few graphic designers who have the opportunity to apply their design expertise in areas as wide as Gerard Huerta has done. Huerta is a designer with a versatile portfolio. His most famous corporate identities are Swiss Army Brands, Calvin Klein Eternity, MSG Network, CBS Records Masterworks, The Atlantic Monthly and PC Magazine.
Raymond Loewy
Raymond Loewy was born in 1893 and lived a long life until his death in 1986. He is recognized as one of the best industrial designers of the twentieth century. The 1971 Shell logo, which is still used today, was designed by Loewy. He also created the old British Petroleum and Exxon logos.
You, Too, Can Create a Sensational Logo with a Few Simple Steps
The logo design process can be difficult to define outright, as every graphic designer has their own approach to logo development. Following are a few simple steps in how to use your own unique talents to boost creativity and bring a logo to the mainstream:
- Evaluate the brand
- Research the industry
- Create a list of where the logo will be used
- Sketch a variety of logo concepts
- Experiment with logo colors and typography as digital drafts
- Refine your logo design with feedback
- Prepare and deliver the final logo files
Although at the end of the day your logo may not resonate with every single viewer, a robust logo design process is your best opportunity to bring your brand vision to life.
Conclusion
You could say that great design takes talent, but you can never know for sure what that means or whether you have it. What you can conclude for sure is that great logos do not happen by accident. They are the result of critical thinking, interrogating, collaborating, exploring, failing, and starting all over again.
Each detail of your logo–the colors, fonts, sizes, shapes, and more–can affect the kind of impression it makes on customers for an entire lifetime. The iconic designers featured above are the ultimate testament to logos that get sealed into memory and don’t let go.
