Logo-rhythms #2: Going Green

"Nothing is new except arrangement."

- William J. Durant

---

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.

---

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

Identity Crisis

Logo (n):
First used in 1937, probably as an abbreviation of the word logogram (1840), "sign or character representing a word." From the Greek words logos, "word," and gram, "what is written."

- The Online Etymology Dictionary

---

I've always been fascinated with the way good logos can make an impression on everyone, everywhere. It's hard to find someone in this day and age that doesn't recognize the cursive font of Coca-Cola, the checkmark of Nike, or Apple's fitting apple. They might not know who the company is or what they do, but they've probably seen it around.

To a company that just wants to get their name and product out there, being recognized is important; people are more likely to pick a brand that they feel familiar with.

However, what's more interesting is the evolution logos undergo as times change. Other than companies going for the "outdated look," logos undergo periodic, occasionally drastic, makeovers. To appeal to a growing, modern, and increasingly technological audience where less is more, identities are moving from text-heavy, complex symbols to the abstract and simple.

A good example would be Pepsi's orb of red, white, and blue:

But these changes aren't always beneficial.

Compared to its Coca-Cola-esque original design in 1898, the current logo is abstract -- nothing more than a segmented ball that screams, "America!" It looks clean, an attractive plus in the world of logos, yet the design itself is too dependent on the fact that the Pepsi-Cola company has an enormous consumer base. It doesn't contain any text to hint at the company name, nor an image that even remotely depicts its product for what it is: soda. Unlike the bottle-cap graphic of the 50s and 60s from which it evolved, the colorful circle says nothing about Pepsi or what it's for.

In fact, it looks a bit like the logo for President Obama's 2008 campaign:



"America!"

And this is a bit of a problem. To expand its popularity across growing nations that may not have been exposed to products that are commonplace in the US or other more developed countries, Pepsi will have to fill in the gaps that its competitors don't have to worry about.





So far, Pepsi is the only soda on the market to completely remove name from logo. What's left, then, to distinguish it from what seems to be nothing more than a strongly American company? Sure, people may have heard of Pepsi, but it doesn't help them ignore the blatant "Made in USA" when they don't know the Pepsi look.

In any case, the Pepsi icon does have its merits. It's not clunky. It's easily reproduced, and easily drawn. It's easily recognizable in shape, despite the inability to show its purpose. It also looks good, with smooth contours and use of negative space when placed on a white background.

I'm not saying that Pepsi is bound to fall to its doom just because of a revamped logo -- just that it could have done better. But any impending decline has plenty of time to come. For now, Pepsi-Cola has all the time it needs to come up with another, better master plan to take over the market world.

---

Pepsi-Cola logo history found here. All other images found using Google Image Search.