The Logo - a brief history...

Logo design has its roots in Ancient Greece with the use of symbols consisting of one or more letters. These typically represented the initial letters of a person or place for use on stationery and signs. Many early Greek and Roman coins bear the logos of rulers or towns. During the Middle Ages, similar logos were seen in abundance in ecclesiastical and commercial use.

By the thirteenth century, these simple letterforms had evolved into trademarks for merchants. These early examples of logo design include marks for masons, goldsmiths, paper makers, and nobility. By the 1700s, every trader and dealer had a trademark or stamp.

The industrial revolution caused a dramatic gain in the value and importance of trademarks. By the 1950s, with the emergence of national and multinational corporations, trademarks began to move beyond symbols, using larger design systems to unify all communications, to accomplish identifiable goals.

Today, company logos have become the faces of business and our economy. The general public has become very responsive to logos, their meanings, and their implementations. Because of the diversity of products and services available, the need for innovative and well thought-out logo and corporate identity design is central to a company’s success.

History has witnessed a world of famous logos. Some of the logos are so famous that they will be always remembered. This process of highlighting business image is not new. It has been practiced for ages.

Greece is a country of symbols. It is famous for its mythical symbols that war used to describe the history and lives of pharaohs and his decuples. Archeological survey shows that many early Greek and roman coins bear the monograms or logos of rulers. The most famous imprint on the coin is the sacred monogram, which is formed by the conjunction of the first two Greek letters of XR, S, T, O and S, (Christ). Even the hub ages were enormously productive in inventing cipher for religious, creative, and marketable use.

It was in the thirteenth century traders started using designs, which evolve from plain cipher to trademark for trader and merchants. Some of the earliest examples of logo design are goldsmith’s marks, masons marks, watermarks. Logos were created according to the jobs.

The word logo means "a name, symbol or trademark, which is designed for easy recognition". It all started with a cipher consisting of a single letter, and later a design or mark consisting of two or more letter intertwined.

With the advancement of time and technology, the face of logo and logo designing started to change. And with the advent of information technology, logos have undergone a sea change. The general public has become conscious of the visual impact. Gradually logo became the face of the company. Soon a professional logo for any business organization became a must. Since logos are the foundation of the image of a company, a first-rate logo design is very important.

With the expansion of market, business started to multiply and hence distinction was needed to identify a particular company or business. It was this necessity that gave rise to a proper idea of logo designing. Soon well-designed logos started to grace the billboard of a particular company. With more and more competition, logos became an indispensable part of the name of the company.

Now when we look back to the last 5-10 years we will see how logo designs have undergone changes in leaps and bounds. Some of the all time famous logos are: IBM, BMW, Mc Donalds, and Cherry shoe polish, Titan Watches, Mercedes/Audi.

These logos are the outcome of immense research and study. Today logos are no more restrained to just some symbol or alphabetical representation. Color, texture, size, shape matters a lot to bring out the desired result. Unlike ancient times today many companies hire logo-designing companies to design an excellent logo for them.

In the point of business view, logo is a company’s distinct most important advertising device. Each moment it appears it communicates a bit about the result or service it represent and differentiate it from a competitor result or service.
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Logos, a history - G. Conlon ©2003

What are logos? How are they different than icons? People are confused about this but it isn't keeping anyone up nights unless they happen to be deeply immersed in the study of ancient civilizations. Even though the word "logo" comes from ancient Greek and it translates to "word" or "speech", other cultures - the Babylonian, Assyrian, Mayan, Chinese, Egyptian also used pictographs to communicate words and ideas. Pictographs could be considered early logos; unfortunately, gang graffiti on the walls of inner city buildings continues that trend of identification through signs and pictures.

Icons (derived from the Greek) are also used to communicate, but with pictures instead of words. The dictionary definition of "icon" is "image or likeness". Thus, logo is to "word" as icon is to "picture" yet in the modern world of product identification, the distinction between the two is sort of cloudy; many well-known logos combine a tag line/motto and a picture with the corporate or product name in the logo. Other logos are clearly just words - the company name with no pictures. Maybe what we need is a new word to define the crossbred creation - a "locon" or "logon"?

Until that comes to pass, let's stick with logo, even though many well-known logos are combinations of words and pictures. What is important about logo history is what has happened in this century - the universal adaptation of the logo as a key element used in the identification and advertising of a product or service.

One of the earliest logos anyone who is alive today will remember is that of the dog Nipper sitting in front of a phonograph and listening very intently. The motto "His Master's Voice" is part of that logo. This logo made its debut in 1910. Is that logo still in use? You bet it is! RCA, the corporation that took over the Victor Talking Machine Company in 1920, still uses Nipper to hawk its products.

An even earlier logo, which is still very much in use, is that of Prudential Insurance - the Rock of Gibraltar. This came on the scene in 1896 and Prudential still urges consumers to "rely on the Rock".

Some logos are so powerful they become universally known as symbols of a complete profession. Any doctor's office will turn up a host of papers and other medical items imprinted with the symbol of a snake entwined around a staff - the caduceus. The medical community uses this logo to identify itself and every layman recognizes it.

Various religions use logos to reach their flocks. The cross, the Star of David are symbols of two of the major sects.

In the secular world, however, logos have grown so ubiquitously, that children in the new generation can identify popular logos even before they have learned to talk. What little child doesn't immediately recognize the Golden Arches of McDonald's?

The use of logos as trademarks goes back in time to the early days of the Renaissance, the 13th Century. Goldsmiths' marks, paper makers' watermarks were among the first logos used in this way, as trademarks. Trademarks, in today's world of advertising, provide an easy method for recognizing a particular product.

Call them what you will - icon, trademark or logo - these powerful symbols have revolutionized the advertising world.