logo design history

In May 1974, the Graphics Improvement Program, under the direction of Jerome Perlmutter, set forth to improve the quality of visual communications and the ability of governmental agencies to communicate effectively to citizens. The prototype federal graphics standard corporate system was designed by John Massey for the Department of Labor. The logo design is composed of two interlocking letter L’s, forming a diamond configuration around a star. By striping the L forms, Massey expressed the American flag’s stars and stripes .

The original Federal Express corporate logo was designed by Richard Runyan in 1973. The new FedEx logo is one of the most recognizable logos due to the company’s presence all over the world. The logo was created in 1994 by Lindon Leader, as Senior Design Director at Landor Associates, San Francisco. The same year it was ranked by Rolling Stone Magazine as one of the 8 best logos of the past thirty-five years. Along side Apple, Coca-Cola, Nike, IBM, Starbucks, McDonald’s and Playboy. FedEx is a syllabic abbreviation of the company’s original name: Federal Express. At first glance the FedEx corporate logo appears to be plain and simple, however there is a detail that once seen changes the perception about it: a right-pointing arrow located in the negative space between the E and x. While the arrow becomes quite obvious when pointed out, most people do not observe it. The arrow has been seldom pointed to as a soft form of subliminal advertising. The arrow symbolizes forward movement and thinking.

This company is the manufacturer of fine quality chocolate and pralines. The company has used the signature of Princess Feodora, who was the sister of the last German empress, as its branding and in its logo since 1910. The key reason for using this insignia was a charity meeting with the Princess Feodora, who was able to then sample the fine wares of the company. The princess was so impressed with the product that she permitted the company to sell its wares under her name. The coat of arms found in the upper left hand corner depicts the family coats of arms from the founding family of the business – the Mayer family.

Ferrari is an Italian car manufacturer involved in the Formula One World Championship. The company was founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929. The famous symbol of Ferrari is a black prancing horse on yellow background, usually with the letters S F for Scuderia Ferrari. The jumping black horse is known as “Rampante Cavallo.” The horse on the emblem honors an Italian flying ace named Francesco Baracca, who lost his life in World War I. The vibrant black silhouette of the Ferrari horse also represents the popular belief that a horse on the top of a car would always guide its driver to victory. Another assumption suggests Baracca copied the jumping horse design from a shot down German pilot who had the emblem of the city of Stuttgart on his plane. This horse theme comes from the origins of the city’s name Stutengarten, an ancient form of the modern German word Gestut, which translates into English as stud farm and into Italian as scuderia. Ferrari has used the Cavallino Rampante on official company stationery since 1929, while the yellow background was added to honor Modena – as yellow is the city’s historic color.

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The FIAT name is an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino (Italian Car Factory of Turin), founded in 1899. As the company began, a special poster was created to celebrate the event. At the top left of the poster, the artist includes a small parchment containing the company name. This very elaborate design becomes the first logo. After several redesigns, the FIAT logo was simplified, becoming circular, with the name in red on a white background. The stylized laurel garland around the outside is intended to celebrate FIAT’s victorious participation in the first competitive motor races. Starting in 1968, the corporate logo featuring four blue rhombuses was adopted, but at the end of the 20th the company decides to return to old style logo. So, in 2006 a new FIAT logo was launched, seen for the first time on the Bravo, and set to be used on all future FIAT vehicles. Fiat explains the return to the old style by saying that the new logo is “designed to convey ongoing change, a sign of the past re-written in a modern key, which is particularly representative of Fiat today, a brand which is focused towards the challenges of the future, but also proud of its historical identity”. The new FIAT logo is designed to sum up the mission of an Italian company that for over one hundred years has been building good-looking cars that are accessible and capable of guaranteeing the best quality of everyday life.

Alongside the Olympic Games, the FIFA World Cup is the biggest sporting event in the world. The World Cup only takes place every four years and in 2010 it will be played on African soil for the first time. The World Cup logo seems to capture Africa’s vibrancy and essence as it renders an African map with the stripes of South Africa’s flag – blue, green, red, yellow, black and white – designed with a lot of dynamic movement. The swishes embody the fiery passion, energy and diversity of Africa, symbolizing the raise of the rainbow nation. The 2010 identity is vibrant, dynamic and unique, graphically encapsulating the African continent. The energetic, lucid figure performing a bicycle kick symbolizes the fact that FIFA World Cup 2010 is not just for South Africa, but for the whole of Africa and indeed the world. The typeface is free-spirited, playful and naïve. It was created to reflect Africa’s personality reinforcing the fact that in South Africa they do things uniquely. The 2010 FIFA World Cup Emblem is energetic in its feel and celebratory in nature.

The Ford oval trademark is one of the best-known corporate symbols in the world. There have been a bunch of different logos Ford has used to market the brand. Today, we all recognize it as the Blue Oval, but it wasn’t always that way. At the very beginning Henry Ford’s engineering assistant developed a fairly complicated, black and white design. In time it evolved in a much simplistic oval design, still remaining black and white. The blue oval appeared around 1928 and through the years it had been modernized into a centennial version that was revealed in 2003 in honor of Ford’s 100-year anniversary. Since 1976, the blue oval has been used as an identification badge on all Ford vehicles as a powerful symbol, recognized in the world as an icon of the company that gives great products. Through the years Ford logo proved to be a very valuable asset. 2006 was one of the worst years of Ford Motor Co and the blue oval logo was one of the company’s assets used as collateral in a $ 25.5 billion financing deal to provide money for recovery plan.