Design Changes of Famous Brands’ Logos

Look closely at the rows of images and you’ll see two things: the evolution of popular brands’ logos over the years and the evolution of popular design through the latter part of the 20th century.

• Firefox’s logo went from comic-book icon to sleek, stylized and glossy fox.
• Microsoft’s logo progressions looks fairly staid and simple. They’re not cool but they’re going to keep trying.
• Google, just 10 years old, has cycled through a number of different wordmarks, logos and icons to represent their brand.
• IBM has been around a long time and shows one of the finest examples of how changing times influence logos.
• Ford also provides a great view through time at logos but their wordmark has remained more consistent, with slight updates on texture.
• Shell’s logo moves from a natural feel to an icon representative of its origins and now has even lost the company name.
• Nokia’s logo feels like its come the furtherest in the shortest period of time, from fish cooperative to Scandinavian blocky text reminiscent of Volvo.
• In the right column, Kwanon evolves to Canon as the company shed its national roots to target a potentially xenophobic international marketplace.
• LG’s logo feels the least meaningful of all. It’s winking face and Life’s Good as nutritious as rice crackers.
• Eastman Kodak’s logo feels like it shows the rise and fall of the company, from technical roots to become a global signature to its current bland, rounded oddity.
• Pepsi’s logo, subject to much scrutiny of late with its inflammatory redesign, also provides instructive examples of how design has changed throughout the 20th century.
• Nike, lauded for its consistency and simple swoosh brilliance, feels like the same brand as it has always been.
• BMW logo gets blinged up a little in various ages, then retreats to its staid roots.
• Apple’s logo feels like the evolution of Steve Jobs, his vision for a company, and a generation of computer nerds.

What do you think? Any other notes to add? Any other favorite logos that provide insight into the changing context where they appear?

Tags:
apple, Apple Computers, Bavarian Motor Werks, BMW, brands, canon, changes, Dutch Royal Shell Petroleum, Eastman Kodak, famous logos, Firefox, Ford, Ford Motor Company, Goldstar, google, IBM, identity, International Business Machines, Kodak, Kwanon, LG, Life's Good, logos, microsoft, Mozilla, nike, Nokia, Pepsi, Pepsi-Cola, PepsiCo, Shell, Volvo, word marks

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Very cool stuff. Would it be possible for you to put up a higher res file of the image, so that I can use it in presentations? You can put a watermark, and Ill ensure I credit you.

Kanishk
DDB India.

Hi Kanishk, I don’t have a higher-resolution version of the graphic but you can find bigger versions of the graphics at low-resolution over on Neatorama:
http://www.neatorama.com/2008/02/07/the-evolution-of-tech-companies-logos/

Good luck!

this is a really great post.
thanks a lot for sharing.
great work good job….greetings from bremen