Timeless Branding: Hacks for Lasting Logo Designs
Eternal symbols, brand hacks that lasts for eons
Prelude
The symbol above may mean different things to different people. For some, it might be the embodiment of salvation from the constant cycle of human suffering and sins; for some, this might be God himself; and for some, it’s just a cross. But regardless of what your cultural background might be, if someone were to show you a cross with an extended bottom, anyone, anywhere in the world, could associate it with a particular religion, because it is at the end of the day a symbol, a logo that represents an idea.
This is the exact same psychological motive brands have been taking advantage of for the past three centuries; take a look at the images below.
Regardless of where you’re from, your cultural backdrop, or your race, when a person sees these images, one could instantly associate them with a particular brand and even associate it with the product that they’re trying to sell. You don’t agree ? Just think of carbonated sugared water, and think about what image comes to your head.
Unless you live in a cave in a country under sanctions, these would be the images that come to mind:
Oh, by the way, last time we checked, CocoCola sells everywhere, even in countries hit by sanctions.
The origin of logos
Since the dawn of civilization, humanity has been using logos to communicate and symbolize complex ideas and philosophies: the Christian cross, the Islamic crescent & star, the "Om.” Each depicting a philosophy and the human lives and histories associated with that philosophy.
So can they be considered a brand?
In its purest definition, maybe not, but in a broader sense yes, because a brand at the end of the day is a philosophy, an institution, an idea whose definition is the same for everyone, and this is the power of a logo, or in a broader sense, a visual identity.
Early logos were not associated with brands. Logos, or an idea of embarking on a symbol to associate with an idea or an identity, became popularized in the Middle Ages with the democratization of literacy and printing technology. During those times, wealthy noble families started using logos to make their form an identity. One could find the remnants of such a family “coat of arms,” as it is commonly called, even to this day.
Take, for example, the French car brand Peugeot; their very first logo was used by the family decades prior to the time when they started making cars.
Let’s take another example: this brand also makes cars and originates approximately 9,700 kilometers away from France in the land of the rising sun. Mitsubishi came about when two Japanese individuals from two distinct families collaborated to start a business, and when they started, they combined the logos of the two families to create the uniquely distinctive “Mitusbishi clover” that we see today.
In their own words,
“In the 1870s, the shipping company Tsukumo Shokai, which was the precursor of Mitsubishi, used a triangular water chestnut icon on its ships' flags, and it is from this icon that the current three-diamond Mitsubishi icon originated. It is derived from the three-layer chestnut family crest of Yataro Iwasaki, founder of Tsukumo Shokai, and the three-leaved oak family crest of the Yamanouchi family, from the Tosa Clan. Records suggest that the Mitsubishi company name was settled on later.”
Post WW2 and the industrial revolution, and as different print products such as magazines, newspapers, and billboards became commonplace, the “logo” as we know it began undertaking even more changes.
Enter Paul Rand
One of, if not the most influential figure in the history of modern logos might be the American designer Paul Rand. Rand is responsible for creating the visual identities for most of the big names in tech, including IBM, American Express, Steve Job’s NeXT, and many more. It was Rand who introduced the concept of “brand identity.” Logo design before then was, as the name suggests, “logo design." A brand would approach a designer to create a visual identity for them; they’ll create a logo and that was it ! But Rand understood the importance of brand placement. As print mediums were fast progressing during those times, Paul identified that at the time and in the future, brands would have to showcase their visual identity in several different ways based on the medium, including at the time the newly emerging digital media.
And what was the outcome of all this? Rand’s logo presentations were legendary; he not only made his logos adapt to different mediums but also mentioned his creative journey and the way in which his mind worked while creating those logos.
A page from Steve Job’s NeXT brand handbook.
With the emergence of new technologies and their associated brands that sprung up during the dawn of the information age, brands and visual identity evolved the way they are today: inclusive, simple, and conveying an idea.
Embracing Imperfection & Precise Communication
A business owner might be attached to their business like a father is to his infant baby. And this would create a sense of perfection that is diabolical. But one thing you’d have to realize is that nothing that exists in the universe is perfect; take the earth, for instance, a perfect sphere floating in the abyss of space, right? Well, not so much! Earth is an elongated, uneven sphere with a 23.5-degree tilt along its axis. And yet, you aim for your brand’s logo to be a perfect sphere? Well, that might not be the best of ideas!
This is one of the most fundamental things to be considered when creating the visual identity of the brand, embracing imperfections. Let’s take an example from the previously mentioned Paul Rand logofolio.
This is an excerpt from the “NeXT” logo handbook; see how he intentionally makes the logo stick to an angle as opposed to having perfect symmetry?
This is one of the techniques used to make the logo distinct and stand out from a sea of competitors. The idea is not necessarily making imperfections for the sake of imperfections; rather, it is to understand what your brand and ultimately your products and services would stand for and tweak them in a way where the logo that you’re trying to create would mimic or reflect the ideals of your company.
Now how might one achieve this? The answer is easy, clear, and precise communication. Think of your average logo designer as a very fancy sponge. Because of the strong inclination towards aesthetics, most of the time the taste of a UI/UX designer would leak into his everyday style, his clothes, his taste in music, cars, etc. But a trait of a very seasoned designer, almost all the time, would be his/her immaculate ability to empathize with their client.
Oftentimes in our UI/UX design agency we have witnessed our clients being emotional when briefing about their company when they approach us for improving their brand identity. Now why is that? Like described previously, companies are like an infant to their founders, or like an artist hand-painting a mural, where every stroke contributes to the grand vision over countless hours. Bottom line is that every brand or company is built on a sea of struggle, and no matter what they’re trying to sell or what kind of company they end up being, the initial years of struggle and the burning desire of the founders for what they’re trying to achieve will always define the organization.
So what is the takeaway in all of this? When you’re trying to create a legacy for your company, you must stay true to its mission, and most of the time, for most people, that mission stems out from a very personal principle of the founder, like the great filmmaker Martin Scorcese once said, “The people who are the most personal are the ones who are the most creative.” Which implies that true passion and innovation stem from something that is close to the heart of the creator.
This brings us to the idea described earlier as designers being sponges: through effective communication, the mission and vision of the founder should be made understood to the designer, so that they can soak everything about that company and translate that into a visual identity that is going to be embraced by generations to come.
Applying Theories Into Practice
It’s one thing to lecture about a topic but a whole other thing to put all those things together and make it work, and we believe that the best way to create the future is by plunging into the abyss and making it happen, so what better way to talk about applying the best logo design principles than showing it how we’ve done it? Below is one of our best works and the story of how different ideas and factors influenced it.
Branding 101 - Alphanomy
Alphamony is a stock prediction platform whose mission is to provide its users with the best insights into the possible outcomes of their investments by providing smart insights based on the stock history.
When Alphomony came to us, they had very little experience working with tech and a similar environment. The founders mostly consisted of highly experienced equity investors & investment bankers. Which implies that these weren’t “tech people” in the traditional sense. And they had the very awesome idea of building a software product that would do their job for them and a lot of others by utilising the years of experience they have in the industry.
It was not an easy job; the only thing that these folks had was an idea. And the thing with ideas are that they’re indestructible. So was their drive to make it work, so our team took our pens and pencils and started extracting their ideas like a dementor pulling a soul.
And here’s what we found out:
The founders decided to build this because of three fundamental reasons:
- India was witnessing a boom in investments and surplus income, and they wanted to take advantage of that.
- They’ve been doing this for decades, and they still find joy in doing so.
- They see it as their duty to improve India's financial literacy so that people could have fulfilling lives.
So we started with an idea;
We decided to take the graph depicting the upward trajectory that one would normally see in a financial setting that represents exponential growth and played around with it…
We took that idea and consolidated it into a simple, precise symbol that conveys the message.
Colors
Blue and purple colors are pretty rare in nature. If one takes the time to observe, a person could figure out that these two colors are very rarely seen. Added to the fact that humans are the only primates that could see the color blue, coupled with the fact that during a certain time period these colors were reserved with royalty, has made people, over the centuries to associate with trustworthiness and wealth.
That is why oftentimes blue is the go-to color for financial institutions. Because at the end of the day a brand and especially a finance brand, is based on nothing but trust of their customers. Considering this important detail, we married these colors into a beautiful gradient, and here’s how it turned out!
Final result
Brand positioning
Remember the time when we described Paul Rand’s work as being the pioneer of brand positioning? Well, we took the exact same principles and applied them to our work as well. From the beginning, we’ve understood that the main use for this brand would be in the digital spheres, and we put emphasis on that, and here’s how it turned out:
As an app icon.
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Conclusion
Logos have evolved from ancient symbols and noble emblems into powerful tools for modern branding, capable of conveying complex ideas and creating instant associations. Effective logo design combines psychological insight, clear communication, and a brand’s unique essence, as inspired by pioneers like Paul Rand. Embracing imperfection while maintaining precision is key to crafting memorable logos that resonate with audiences. With the rise of spatial technologies, the future of logo design promises immersive, dynamic experiences, allowing brands to engage consumers in innovative ways beyond traditional visual elements.
Good luck creating the next big thing !
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