LOGO DESIGN BLOG   LOGO DESIGN REVIEW

If your small business had customers as loyal as Pat Lean, your advertising and PR budgets would probably be cut. Lean has been a loyal customer of Pizza Shuttle for a long time now, but recently redefined ‘customer loyalty’ when she decided she wanted a tattoo of the company logo on her arm, according to OnMilwaukee.com.

“It is my favorite pizza in Milwaukee for sure,” Lean said in an interview with OnMilwaukee.com. Her favorite order: a 14-inch thin crust with grilled chicken, mushrooms, and double garlic, all brought together by a cold Miller Lite.

Company logo tattoos are not a new phenomenon. Back in July, a Utah woman auctioned off her forehead as a place for a permanant tattoo to pay for her son’s school tuition. She got $10,000 and a GoldenPalace.com tattoo on her forehead. When asked whether the tattooing process would make her head numb, the tatttoo artist responded “It’ll go as numb as your head,” to which she replied, “My brain is already numb.”

No doubt, considering the cost of most advertising. A one-third page black and white ad in Vanity Fair for one month goes for more than $27,000, for example. And that ad only lasts for a month.

Another example: In 2004, a 26-year-old New York woman was skateboarding when she fell on a burning hot Con Edison manhole cover that tattooed (or branded) her back. She is yet to be paid for the lifetime ad she’s running for Con Ed, not to mention her bruised back end.

Other tattoo logo opportunities: Man auctions ad space on forehead, German man says “Tattoo your ad on my head, $15k!”.

Image Source: OnMilwaukee.com

What would you say are the top logo designs in the world? You can take a look at what others think by visiting GoodLogo.com This is an interesting site that allows visitors to rank hundreds of the world’s most memorable logos. Right now the number one all around logo design is Stussy, which came as a surprise to me (though it is a fairly global brand). You can also sort the logo rankings by styles such as “decade” and “classic” logos, as well as by categories, such as “Food and Beverage” and “Automotive.”

The number one 80s logo, for example, is Atari, probably because of the simple, memorable design, and because it brings warm fuzzies to so many people.

Other notables:

Best Logotype: Sony
Best Metaphoric: World Wildlife Fund
Best Food and Beverage: Coca-Cola
Best Automotive: Ford

I still like the TIC TAC logo, and it did well in the rankings here, but was disappointed that other strong marks, such as Macromedia and 7Up, ended up so low in the rankings. Of course, some people who vote probably do so from a brand popularity and recognition standpoint instead of from a graphic design perspective. But the site is still an interesting place to go to see–and remember–some of the top logo designs from accross the globe.

What happens to the logos of the more than 500,000 businesses that defunct each year? Many end up in the Logo Graveyard. This site is a neat compilation of dozens of now out-of-commission logos. Some of the designs were mercifully euthanized and will not be missed, while other marks ought to receive mourning from graphic designers. Please pay your respects.

Some favorites: DeLorean , Enron, BP Shield Logo, (old) (Here’s the new logo), and PanAm. All have interesting stories and seeing the logos again brings a feeling of nostalgia.

The site also offers a place to comment on the logos. It’s a great peak into some of the most famous logos from past decades that, when you see them, you’ll wonder, “What ever happened to that company?” and may prompt Internet searches on the companies’ undoings.

Source: + LOGO R.I.P. +