subject: Logo Design & Its History [print this page] Do you know what Logo Design or the word Logo actually means? It would be interesting to go into the roots of logo design and found out more about this wonderful invention.
Initially, the word Logo meant describing something with the help of words and letters only. But now, with the increasing use of Icons, it is difficult to allocate individual meaning to both icons and logos. Icons are used to describe something via image but logos nowadays are also using images to represent the face of the company. This makes it challenging to identify which one is an icon and which one is a logo design. The literal meaning of Icons is to have an image to develop likeness; however, in the modern times we live in a products identification has become sort of cloudy. Most of the logos we see these days are a combination of different tag lines and images to create that enhancing image that will attract as many viewers as possible. There are logos that have used only words and have been very successful for decades; Coca Cola is the most famous example of such type of logos. However, the increasing trend has been seen towards the combo style i.e. both text and image based logos.
Going towards the history of logo designing, one of the earliest logos of all times was made in 1910 showcasing a dog Nipper sitting in front of a phonograph and listening very intently. The main theme of the logo was to demonstrate His Masters Voice motto. And whats astonishing to know is that logo is still in use. RCA, the corporation which took over the Victor Talking Machine Company in 1920, still uses that Nipper dog design to get its products on board. In 1896, an even earlier logo was made and it is still being used Prudential Insurance logo showcasing the Rock of Gibraltar. Prudential Insurance still persuades its customers to believe on the rock aspect of the company.
During the 19th century, general public wasnt aware much of how to interpret a logo design or which one is good and which one is bad; now things have changed drastically. With the latest technological invention at our side, the process of logo designing has changed immensely. Consumers have gone smarter now; they can interpret logos in no time and can actually determine the future of a company because its customers who make or break a firm.
