What is Logo Design

Logo design is arguably the most well known aspect of graphic arts. If you had to ask someone who isn’t a designer what graphic design is you will most likely get an answer which is or refers to logo design.

LOGO DESIGN AND COMMUNICATION

Logo design is about communicating through an image that will represent a company, a product, a service or even an individual.

The idea of relating a visual image to a person, place or thing has been around since the dawn of time.

Ancient cultures used various mediums or art to create symbolic value.

The ancient culture of Egypt branded their rulers in god-like manifestations such as the Sphinx.

The Indian culture used ceremonial art, also known as Mehndi, which is intended to be a symbolic representation of the inner and outer sun and is most commonly applied at weddings.

African tribes used different shapes and colours in their art to distinguish themselves from other clans or tribes.

Early Christians used a fish symbol to associate a fellowship with like-minded people during times of persecution.

THE BIRTH OF BRANDING

Heraldry is all about branding a family with a unique crest that represents and distinguishes them from the others.

Even famous authors such as J.R.R Tolkien had a monogram, which he used to distinguish himself from other authors.

The term branding finds its roots specifically in cattle ranching in the 1800’s. Open ranges meant cattle would sometimes wonder into other herds. So to help avoid confusion, ranches created their own unique brand-marks/logos which they would then sear into the hide of their cattle to claim their ownership of it.

And thus branding in its truest form was born. But please don’t confuse logo design with branding.

All of the above mentioned historical occurrences have lead to our modern definition and practice of branding. The popularized phrase “brand,” and it’s association with logo design and commercial oriented art however was originally coined by advertising legend David Ogilvy.

But brand logos aren’t anything new. There are commercial oriented brands that have been around for a very long time, for example: Macdonalds, Nike, KFC, Pepsi and many more.

However a brand and a logo should not be confused as they are not the same thing.

A logo is the face of a company, person or service, the brand defines who you are and what you do.

With this in mind you can understand that through the ages people have always used conventional means to distinguish ideas, things and activities from one another. This is an excellent reason to get a logo made for you business, service, product or even for yourself.