To design a logo with symbolic resonance is to participate in the lineage of social dialogue.įragment of a vase, third millennium B.C. For most Western viewers, the image of an apple summons our associations with nature, food, the ‘forbidden fruit’ in the Garden of Eden, Snow White, Apple computers, et cetera. A logo designer who uses an image of an apple, for example, is drawing on centuries of potent symbolic usage. A logo has meaning because it draws on centuries of signs and symbols (including the alphabet) in human literary and visual language. The fundamental power of symbols remains most important element of logo design. Where does a logo ultimately derive its power from? If we’re so hung up on divining what this Brand Era means for our clients, can we envision a Post-Brand Era? Perhaps this clamorous debate is cause for a look at where logo design comes from, what state it’s in currently, and where it’s headed in the future.

The technological advancements and tumultuous industries of our century are causing its role in our culture to evolve. But some ‘brand gurus’ or ‘brand evangelists’ (translation: ‘bastions of corporate pretension’) seem to enjoy making hyperbolic pronouncements just to sound shocking or cutting-edge. Yes, a branded design environment can communicate sophisticated brand meaning without much (any?) usage of logos. The history of logo design begins with the roots of human expression. Yes, logo design is only one facet of the powerful force that we call brand identity. We live in a Brand Era, where branding is in, and for some, aspiring to the Paul Rand style of logo craftsmanship is about as hip and contemporary as writing your invoices with a quill. One branding professional recently claimed that logo design is [not that hard to do and another said that logos are dead while others concurred. Logo design has been a controversial subject in the design press lately.

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