Logo-rhythms #2: Going Green

"Nothing is new except arrangement."

- William J. Durant

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So the "big thing" going on in society recently is a movement toward being green: eco-friendliness, recycling more, sustainability, and all that jazz. Thus, it makes perfect sense that a lot of logos popping up revolve around these topics, so much that many of them have evolved into stereotypes -- icons, if you will. 

A leaf is a leaf. 

However, a green leaf is no longer just a leaf. It is a symbol of sustainability, no matter what form it comes in. Take a look at this logo:

It combines the typical lightbulb of cartoon and animated "bright ideas" with a leaf. The result? "ecoideas." In terms of logo design, it is, again, clean and crisp. Sans-serif fonts are generally "friendlier" and more modern; thus, it works great in boosting the appeal of eco-friendliness. The roundness of the characters is reflected in the lightbulb itself, which uses Gestalt principles to imply the shape of the entire lightbulb, though pieces are missing. The use of different but complementary green hues is an aesthetically pleasing touch, as it keeps the logo lively rather than flat. The bolder dark green also stands out, visually, giving a slight sense of depth, as well as emphasis on the "eco." These aren't just ideas.. they're ecoideas. Using the darker green allows for the same amount of emphasis as one would imply from bolded text.

Brilliant, in the sense that the concept is easy to grasp. But is it original? Definitely not.

Ecofuel uses the leaf in a different sense -- it's the flame of a campfire. As with the ecoideas logo, "eco" is separated from the rest of the text in a green hue, giving it emphasis. However, because the brown text is relatively the same value, the green coloration doesn't create the same kind of bolded feel as it did in the first one. 

There are plenty of other examples out there today that probably make use of the exact same techniques to promote "going green." It's alright, though -- at least it's a sacrifice of originality to go towards a good cause. And they don't look half-bad, at any rate.

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Find these and more logos at http://brandstack.com.