I often site examples of great logo design in my presentations. A logo can say so much about a company before anyone has even seen the company’s offerings. No other visual symbol is as valuable to a company as their logo.
Three logos that stand out as shining examples of great strategic identity design are those of Nike, Apple and Starbucks.
-
The Nike swoosh has speed and power, which is exactly
what Nike customers want. It is also suggestive of a road. Nike started
out making running shoes, so the road reference was perfect. -
The Apple logo is a reference to Sir Isaac Newton, an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural
philosopher, and alchemist, regarded by many as one of the greatest
figures in the history of science, and the bite out
of the apple immediately engages people on an emotional level. Further, the apple is an incredibly powerful symbol from the tree of knowledge in the Book of Genesis, tapping even further into our emotional core. -
The Starbucks logo made coffee, a murky brown, gritty,
often burnt stimulant, sexy. People are
willing to pay more for sexy goods than ugly goods. How do you sell a
ten cent cup of coffee for four bucks? Make it sexy. Job well done.
All of these companies’ logos instantly come to mind when their names are mentioned, whether or not you use their products. We all know what these names stand for. That is some very powerful imagery that was not created by accident.
Kelly Hobkirk - teaching marketers how to harness strategy, goals, reality, and purpose to connect and do better work.
Kelly Hobkirk has been helping companies succeed in creative ways for nearly 25 years. His work has been featured in Time Magazine, and books by Rockport and Rotovision. Get exclusive articles when you sign up for his monthly newsletter.