LOGO DESIGN BLOG   LOGO DESIGN REVIEW

Many people are surprised to hear that when Caroline Davidsion designed the Nike swoosh in 1971, the fledgling shoe company paid her just $35. But it might similarly be surprising to read that the man who designed the 2008 Olympic logo was paid just pennies by the Chinese Government.

Han Meilin, the 70-year-old man who led the teams that designed the 2008 Beijing Olympic logo, as well as the five mascots: a fish, a panda, a Tibetan antelope, a swallow and a “child of fire”, received less than $0.13 (1 Yuan) for his work. But Meilin, who also sculpts and paints, seems undaunted. “A little misfortune is not a bad thing,” he said. Who will get all the money from merchandise sales is yet to be decided, but it won’t be Meilin.

You can read the full story about Meilin and his designs in this Straits Times article.

While there are differences in cost of living between developed countries and China, this payment seems way, way too low, no?

The Colonel has undergone a makeover (see his new apron?), and to promote the new logo, KFC has crafted a gigantic logo that is visible from space near Rachel, Nevada. You can see video of workers creating the huge logo from what looks like foam or plastic squares here. The logo appears to be several square acres in size, and if I hadn’t seen the video of the construction I’d think it was a quick Photoshop job.

Said Gregg Dedrick, president of KFC’s U.S. division, of the new logo, “This change gives us a chance not only to make sure we stay relevant but also communicates to customers the realness of Colonel Sanders and the fact that he was a chef.”

As if a giant Colonel Sanders face wasn’t enough, KFC has hidden a message in the logo, and if you can guess what it is, you can get a free KFC Snacker Sandwich. Woo Hoo!

The results are in! A few weeks ago a panel of 25 expert designers ranked the NFL’s team logos best to worst. We’ve shown you the best, and now you can see the worst.

With the designer’s choices of 10 worst NFL logos, I’ve also found some interesting facts:

* Six of the 10 worst rated logos currently have losing records (Browns, Lions, Bengals, Redskins, Bills & Steelers)
* Four of the top five worst have losing records (the exception are the Jets; 5-4)
* Six of the worst have never won a Super Bowl (Browns, Lions, Bengals, Chargers, Saints & Bills-who lost four in a row)
* Three have never even been to a Super Bowl (Browns, Lions, & Saints)
* Two of the four teams who have won a Super Bowl did so more than 36 years ago or more (Jets in ‘69, Chiefs in ‘70)
* Of the four teams who have won a Super Bowl, the most recent victory took place 14 years ago when the Redskins won in 1992. (The exception is Pittsburgh, who won in 2006).

The Bengals logo, rated 3rd worst by our panel of experts, was just redesigned in 2004. While the Steelers (rated 10th worst), who based their logo on the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) mark, have the oldest logo, which dates back to 1962.

Seven of the 10 worst logos have gone basically unchanged for 32 years or more. The Bengals (2004), Jets (1998) and Chargers (1985) have undergone more recent updates. It’s also interesting to note that 7 of the 10 worst logos are $9 million or more under their salary cap, based on these estimates for 2006. Which means it might be time for these teams to invest in some players and an updated logo design, No?

Here’s the rankings of 10 worst NFL logo designs.

And remember, the polls are still open for our readers to vote, here.