LOGO DESIGN BLOG   LOGO DESIGN REVIEW

Today I came accross a little known fact dealing with the FedEx logo. There is an arrow nestled into the design between the ‘E’ and ‘X’. I find it amazing that for the thousands of times I’ve seen the logo, I’ve never noticed it before. And probably most people–especially those outside the design community–never see that aspect of the design either.

FedEx logo designer Lindon Leader said the arrow represents speed and precision, two of the company’s greatest attributes. This may be the best example of subtlety in logo design today.

You can read an interview with Mr. Leader on The Sneeze and learn more about the process that went into designing one of the world’s strongest and most award winning marks in the world today. It is very interesting and is a good illustration of the amount of work and thought that goes into designing strong, lasting logos. You also get a good sense of the creativity necessary to excel in the graphic design industry.

My favorite question from the interview is one probably everyone who just barely saw the arrow in the logo would want to know: Why make the arrow so subtle?

Mr. Leader’s response: ‘The power of the hidden arrow is simply that it is a “hidden bonus”. . . [and] not “getting the punchline” by not seeing the arrow does not reduce the impact of the logo’s essential communication.’

True enough. But why didn’t I see it before?

Source: The Sneeze - Half zine. Half blog. Half not good with fractions.

Ever wonder what some of the failed logo design concepts from NBA teams were? Here is a neat page on NBAhoopsOnline.com that lists some of the most memorable unchosen team names and logo designs. You’ll be glad some of these concepts were passed up. The site also contains an archive of NBA logos throughout franchise history. Some of the logos from a while back are pretty entertaining, such as the 80s Denver Nuggets logo, the “tinman” Pistons icon from the early days, and a couple of the first Golden State Warriers designs that wouldn’t pass as PC today. The site provides an interesting peak into the history of sports logos and quality of design.

It is interesting to see how the designs change over time and to see some of the similarities between designs. Notice how nearly every team has used the likeness of a basketball in their logos. In fact, I believe only two teams have never used a basketball in their logo: the Portland Trailblazers and Chicago Bulls (expansion team Charlotte Bobcats hasn’t either, but they’ve only been around since ‘04). The other 27 teams in the league have ceded to using the most obvious image an NBA team logo can have. And among the league’s current team’s logos, the majority still use one in their official logo.

Featured logos: Header-Rejected 76ers Logo; Top-Rejected New Jersey Swamp Dragons icon from 1994; Middle-Denver Nuggets Logo 1981-1993; Bottom-Boston Celtics logo 1950s.

I came accross a neat website this morning that coordinates graphic design contests. You can check it out at DesignContest.net.

Organizations that need a logo, website, flash animation or other graphic design project can submit their contest and registered designers will compete for the winning design. Rewards can range from $75 to $300 depending on the project and how much the company is willing to provide as a reward.

The designers come up with some pretty good concepts, and if they win, they get the prize money and the chance to add a logo to their portfolio that someone is actually using. Designers must join a network to participate, but it seems like a relatively easy process.

The logo above is an example of one of the recent winning designs on DesignContest.net for a website called XOOPS, who will now be designing a new website around the logo.