The best logo designs are simple Logo Design Love

“Minimalism” Is Just Designer Speak for Laziness

Michael Martin

Great selection David. The Innocent logo has been one of my favorites since I first saw it. :)

The Nike logo is another very simple, but great, one.

Michael Martin’s last blog post..

Hi Leslie,

Glad you like the new blog.

I included the 3M logo because of its timelessness. It’s not based on a trend, is instantly recognisable, and brings what was otherwise
a very long company name into a scalable identity.

Let me know if you want an extra opinion on your current project.

Michael,

I agree, Innocent is a fantastic brand, and I love their advertising (not to mention the drink).

Richard

For what it’s worth, I think Innocent is a brilliant brand despite it’s logo. An illustration of “one logo does not make a brand”. It’s pretty
poorly designed: horizontally scaled name and tag line spaced to fit. Yes, that little guy has character but the overall impression is a
logo that looks like it’s been thrown together in-house. Which may be exactly what they wanted. Only it wasn’t thrown together in-
house. Still, don’t get me wrong: superb brand built on great values. A well crafted logo not being one of them.

Great blog idea David. We’ll be back for more.

Hi Richard,

Interesting to get your take on Innocent. As I’m sure you know, the design agency, Deepend, went into liquidation two years later, so I
reckon there are plenty of others who share your thoughts.

Glad you like the blog idea, and I look forward to your opinion on future logo showcases.

Harry Roberts

Really like a lot of those. I think it’s a nice notion to state the designers too, it brings home the fact that these massive brands were
made by ordinary people (with extraordinary talents, granted), if you get me :s lol.

Thanks - Harry

Bendik Almås

I’m a bit surprised to see the logo for “Shelter” up on this list. It might be simple and memorable, but that’s due to it being so ugly. It’s a
pain to see the “roof” of the H being bent in straight lines when the rest of the characters are smooth and curvy.

Quotable Business: Success VS Value

Mike Smith

This blog is awesome. Just so you know ;)

5/19/09 7:57 PM

The best logo designs are simple | Logo Design Love

Page 5 of 12

http://www.logodesignlove.com/15-wonderfully-simple-logo-designs

My favorite logo on the list is the USA logo. I’ve loved it since the first time I turned the TV on and it was in the bottom right corner. lol

Keep up the great articles!

Mike Smith’s last blog post..

When The End Is Just The Beginning

inspirationbit

Hi David! Congratulations with the launch of your new logo blog. I’m sure it will be a very successful blog in a near future! When did
you have time to post all those articles here?!

I love Families logo. I featured it in my post of

8 Clever Logos

. I’m also very fond of the WWF logo, it is very cute.

It’s interesting how you have an image of a red heart at the beginning and the word LOVE at the end of your site’s name ;-)

inspirationbit’s last blog post..

Designing to Meet User Expectations

10.

Steven Snell

Very nice collection David. In general, I prefer simple logos.

Steven Snell’s last blog post..

Jan 26th, 2008

11.

Silly Ad for Providence Graphic Design & Arts Meetup

Harry, Mike,

You’re both very welcome.

Bendik,

I’ll admit that when I first saw the Shelter logo on shop-front signage I didn’t like it, but for such a simple change to the type, it certainly
does the job.

Vivien,

Thanks for the kind words. It’s interesting that you pick up on the heart at the beginning of the site name, with ‘love’ at the end.
Initially, the heart came after the type. That was until I saw my favicon in the browser tab and address bar. I figured it would be more
consistent to switch the logo around to match.

The ‘Families’ logo is one of my all-time favourites. Without doubt.

Steven,

Great of you to mention Logo Design Love on your Vandelay Design blog. Thanks very much.

Jan 27th, 2008

12.

Kelly

David,

Love this list! The best, simple logos are almost like looking at a Barnett Newman painting. You can just stare and stare at the
intricacies of every choice the designer made. Zen for design aficionados.

Two favorites not on this list: FedEx and amazon. Oh, the arrow hiding in FedEx’s name! *Teary* just thinking of the mastery of
minimalism there. And amazon’s smile under the name! Perfectly corny and Jeff Bezos’ grin comes right to mind.

The clean, timeless logo can look fresh for decades, as you show here. A great list for a logo addict like myself. Thanks!

Regards,

Kelly

Kelly’s last blog post..

Tip of the Week

Jan 27th, 2008

13.

Douglas Bonneville

I would would love to see a list of the top 10 or 20 oldest logos still in use. The GE and CocaCola come to mind, but I had no idea that
Mitsubishi was that old or had a logo that old. 130 years old and it still looks like fresh. And the Underground? Wow - 100 years just

5/19/09 7:57 PM

The best logo designs are simple | Logo Design Love

Page 6 of 12

http://www.logodesignlove.com/15-wonderfully-simple-logo-designs

Mitsubishi was that old or had a logo that old. 130 years old and it still looks like fresh. And the Underground? Wow - 100 years just
about. Looks spring-chicken fresh! I’ve been posting my own logos on my blog lately - it’s certainly the most fun area of design for me,
personally.

Douglas Bonneville’s last blog post..

Jan 27th, 2008

14.

Rearranging thumbnails and renaming files in Adobe Bridge

Hi Kelly,

Glad you like this list, and thanks for dropping by to comment on my new blog.

Douglas,

Nice idea for a list of the oldest logo designs still in use. I think CocaCola or GE would look infantile placed beside the Christian cross,
or

Weltenburger Kloster

of 1050 (I can’t be sure of that, but it’s a good idea of yours).

Jan 28th, 2008

15.

Jennifer

Hi David,

Congratulations on the new blog, it looks great. Already love the content too!

Jennifer’s last blog post..

16.

Thanks Jennifer. ;)

17.

Making something simple, yet usable and effective is by no means easy. Much respect to all the above mentioned logo designers! I
guess, we can add PUMA’s and ADIDAS’ logos to the list, too. Though, it’s better to write a separate post on sport logos o the other
hand as they are worth reading of :)

P.S.: I won’t be too original congratulating you on the new blog, but really - congrats! Launching a good website takes a lot of time and
effort, and even more when you have two of them :)))

Jan 29th, 2008

18.

Edit Your CSS Code Live In Both Internet Explorer And Firefox Simultaneously

Sports logos, that’s one for the future. Thanks Helen.

I also appreciate your kind words on my latest blog launch, and look forward to your interview email.

Jan 29th, 2008

19.

brian kohlmeier

Right now I am working on a art project designing a logo for a product. It is good to know that simple ideas still work.

Jan 29th, 2008

20.

An Jay

Great blog David! Logo you collected above are all great and I really got surprise that some of the logo are more than 30 years old but
its amazing. Keep up the good work!

An Jay’s last blog post..

5/19/09 7:57 PM

The best logo designs are simple | Logo Design Love

Page 7 of 12

http://www.logodesignlove.com/15-wonderfully-simple-logo-designs

21. Dax

Great set of logos! And congratulations on a great new blog by the way.

I think a lot of these logos are down to opinion here as everyone seems to be asking; why this one, why that one?

Well I’ll add another query for you! The British Golf Museum logo. What in your opinion makes this logo one of the best simple logos?
The reason I ask is because personally, I think its dreadful! The inner text is far too small on what is actually quite a large/wide logo,
the shape is awkward to work with, it takes a few moments to actually realise it’s a golf ball on a surface (Am I right??), and its just one
of those logos that doesn’t quite feel right.

Tut…Tayburn.

22.

Adaptiv Media

My favourite is Message. Very creative. WWF has always been a hit with its perfect combination of being a non-profit organisation in
posession of an extremely well designed and simple logo.

LaurenMarie - Creative Curio

23.

I really like the Families one (seen it before, still love it). I also admire the

Mother & Child

logo. Lubalin had a very elegant simplicity to

his designs! I didn’t realize some of these logos had been around so long! I wonder what they looked like in the beginning…
Prudential (you probably know it as Pricoa or Pramerica) has an interesting logo history. It’s great to see it evolve over time. I’ll see if I
can get you an image of it.

LaurenMarie - Creative Curio’s last blog post..

Review of Wacom Intuos and Graphire Pen Tablets

24. Kane

Great article.
I think 3M is a great logo for more than it’s durability. I think it may hook many of us subconsciously as it can be seen as the word ME
as seen in a mirror.

Feb 1st, 2008

25.

Brian, An Jay,

Thanks for commenting.

Dax,

Your compliments on my blog are appreciated. Cheers. It’s true that there’s an element of subjectivity with logo design. Only the very
best ones will find agreement from all designers.

I’m not surprised that you pick up on the British Golf Museum logo, as I was contemplating leaving it out, or including a different one in
its place. It actually shows a golf ball dropping into the hole - the ultimate goal in golf.

Lauren,

Lubalin certainly created some of the best logos I’ve seen, and the Mother & Child design is fantastic. In the UK we know Prudential
as just that,

Prudential

. Do you mean the same organisation I’ve linked to?

Kane,

The 3M logo such a strong symbol. Glad you like it too.

Feb 1st, 2008

26. sercan ozen

bayer’s logo was designed by “ihap hulusi görey” who was almostly the first graphic designer of turkey.

Feb 3rd, 2008

27.

LaurenMarie - Creative Curio

Hello Sercan,

5/19/09 7:57 PM

The best logo designs are simple | Logo Design Love

Page 8 of 12

http://www.logodesignlove.com/15-wonderfully-simple-logo-designs

According to Wikipedia, Ihap was just 6 years old when the Bayer cross logo was introduced in 1904. Is that a mistake?

28.

Awesome!

29.

Nice write up David. I haven’t come across the Families logo before, I can’t get over over beautiful it is!

Feb 5th, 2008

30. Steve

I love it, but I think FedEx should be on here too.

Feb 5th, 2008

31.

David, unfortunately, no–that’s the first organization that had the name Prudential in Europe but it’s not

. I guess there’s some law

that two organizations cannot have the same name (or maybe it’s two organizations in the same industry), so we had to change it. We
even have a

disclaimer page

about that. You would know my division (real estate) as Pramerica and my division’s sister group as

Pricoa (relocation services) in the UK. Which reminds me that I was going to send you those logos…

LaurenMarie - Creative Curio’s last blog post..

11 Must-Have Tools for Web Designers

Feb 6th, 2008

32.

Davey

It’s neat to see how great designs can stand the test of time.

Feb 7th, 2008

33.

Jerry Kuyper

I would agree that the WWF panda is one of the classic icons. Sir Peter Scott may have designed the original in 1961 but the panda
you show was designed in 1987 at Landor in San Francisco.

At that time the WWF in the US was using one version and international was using another version. Jenny Leibundgut was the lead
designer and I was the design director. The logotype was changed sometime in the late nineties. I would be glad to send a few files if
you are interested.

Feb 7th, 2008

34.

Inverted Reality Designworks

Keith,

Glad you like the Families logo. I think it’s fantastic.

Steve,

There’s no doubting the Fedex logo, and how effective it is, but this list isn’t exhaustive, and I’ll be featuring more simple logo designs
here soon. Stay tuned.

Lauren,

Thanks for confirming that, and also for sending me an email. I’ve been incredibly busy lately so sorry for not replying sooner. I hope
all’s well with you.

Jerry,

Good of you to stop by and comment. I am very interested in those files you proposed sending over, and will drop you an email
shortly.

Feb 11th, 2008

35.

5/19/09 7:57 PM

The best logo designs are simple | Logo Design Love

Page 9 of 12

http://www.logodesignlove.com/15-wonderfully-simple-logo-designs

Cool post. Some of these are really inspirational. Some are just so, so. But its amazing when some of these were designed. You
wouldn’t think some of them would be so old.

Inverted Reality Designworks’s last blog post..

Graphic Design Resources - Tutorial on Creating Complex Custom Patterns in Minutes

Using Illustrator

Feb 17th, 2008

36. Byron

What’s the Panda got to do with wrestling? (kidding!)

Great new blog, thanks :)

Mar 8th, 2008

37.

david jones

It’s Siegel & Gale, not Siegal & Gate. Hey, your avatar is still Univers ;)

david jones’s last blog post..

Adriana Lima nude for GQ

Mar 23rd, 2008

38.

david jones

Oh, by the way, here is the WWF logo from the 70’s, not sure if it’s the original Panda by Peter Scott, but it is one before Landor
stepped in ;)

http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/7048/wwfho7.jpg

david jones’s last blog post..

Adriana Lima nude for GQ

Mar 23rd, 2008

39.

Blog Mastermind nimmt neue Studenten auf

You’re very welcome, Byron.

David,

Thanks very much for catching that typo, and for the Peter Scott link. Nice to see again.

Mar 24th, 2008

40.

Douglas Bonneville

David:

I propose, as you suggested up top, a list of the “World’s Oldest Logos”. You trumped me by going to the Cross (or “fish” symbol).
That would be a fascinating story. I wonder what commonalities ancient marks have in common with “new” marks with longevity. What
traits do they share? What gives a logo staying power? 1000 years for a brewery isn’t too shabby!

Apr 10th, 2008

41.

Felix

The WWF, 3M and the Shell Logo are probably the most timeless ones I have seen so far. Great list!

Felixs last blog post..

May 19th, 2008

42.

kailoon

I love the wwf logo so much

Jul 3rd, 2008

43.

Rich

How many people would have honestly spotted the arrow in the FedEx logo if it weren’t for smile in the mind?

I didn’t until I read the book and love pointing it out to people. Afterwards it’s all I can see and wonder how I didn’t spot it in the first
place. Bravo to the designer…

Good call with the logo list above. i would’ve also added the IMB mark by Paul Rand.

5/19/09 7:57 PM

The best logo designs are simple | Logo Design Love

Page 10 of 12

http://www.logodesignlove.com/15-wonderfully-simple-logo-designs

Take care.

Rich

Aug 12th, 2008

44.

Douglas,

You ask some great questions. Ideal for a future blog topic. Thanks.

Felix, Kailoon,

Cheers for dropping in.

Rich,

I’ve not read ‘A Smile in the Mind’. Would you recommend it? I’m always on the lookout for good graphic design books.

Aug 17th, 2008

45.

rich

smile in the mind is class…

old book but worth a look at.

rich

Aug 22nd, 2008

46.

Justin

Not so much convinced as including the shelter logo in this post. I would have placed a simpler logo such as the FedEx - with that
subtle forward arrow. Still definately a nice collection - particularly the iconic London Underground logo - 1918 and it still rocks !

Aug 25th, 2008

47.